Graham Potter tactics will separate wheat from the chaff after Ward-Prowse’s concerning claim
Graham Potter brought James Ward-Prowse back to West Ham United on transfer deadline day two weeks ago.
James Ward-Prowse was allowed to leave the London Stadium in the summer, and it is alleged that the Hammers owners now accept that that decision was mistake.
Graham Potter made the decision to recall the 30-year-old to West Ham though, and the general consensus is that the Hammers head coach made the correct call there.
The 49-year-old has made a difference to how the Hammers play, but the results haven’t been great by any means.
The 1-0 defeat to Brentford was hugely disappointing, and Potter suggested that only three players deserved praise after the game, Ward-Prowse included.
West Ham United manager Graham Potter during the post match press conference during the Premier League match between West Ham United FC and Brentfo…
It will definitely take time to turn things around.
Hopefully everyone at the club has the patience to stick by Potter.
West Ham ace James Ward-Prowse makes Graham Potter claim
The midfielder made his first appearance for the Hammers since returning to the club against Brentford on Saturday.
Things didn’t go to plan on the pitch for West Ham.
We were absolutely awful in the first-half, and despite slight improvements after the half-time break, Brentford stood firm to collect all three points.
Ward-Prowse spoke to reporters after the game, and was incredibly honest in his verdict.
He suggested that the Hammers players are struggling to implement Potter’s instructions right now, as quoted by WHUFC.com:
West Ham United’s James Ward-Prowse during the pre-match warm-up during the Premier League match between West Ham United FC and Brentford FC at Lon…
“We had a good period of training [before the game], working on things we wanted to implement in the game, but I think throughout the game we struggled to implement them.
“It’s still early days though, and for me personally it’s been a good week being back in the building and seeing how the manager’s been working.“
It is, as Ward-Prowse said, still very early days.
I have total faith that Potter is the right man to take the Hammers forward.
However, there are numerous players at the club who either don’t want to be here or are simply not good enough to implement the gaffer’s tactics.
Numerous players will leave West Ham this summer
I believe that a maximum of 12 players from the current first-team squad will still be here at the start of next season (not including the under-18s and under-21s).
If the Hammers are to make any kind of real progress going forward, Potter will have to make some ruthless decisions in the summer.
The remaining 13 games of the season will give us all a good idea regarding which players are up for the challenge and which ones aren’t.
James Ward-Prowse is the type of character who will give his absolute all to meet the standards set by Graham Potter at West Ham.
However, I fully expect at least half-a-dozen players to fall by the wayside before the start of next season.
I just can’t envisage the likes of Konstantinos Mavropanos, Mohammed Kudus, Emerson Palmieri and Carlos Soler playing under Potter at West Ham next season.
