In a sense, West Ham’s problems date back to the aftermath of that euphoric night in Prague, when the club ended its 43-year wait for a trophy by beating Fiorentina in the Uefa Conference League final.
Owner David Sullivan announced virtually immediately that Declan Rice would be leaving and Tim Steidten came in as technical director to help reshape the Hammers squad with the £105m received from Arsenal.
Except it didn’t quite work out as planned.
For a start, Steidten and David Moyes were not aligned in their thinking, which eventually resulted in the German being banned from the training ground.
West Ham spent the Rice money and more on four signings, Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse, Kostantinos Mavropanos and Mohammed Kudus, all of whom initially flattered, then became either inconsistent or ineffective. Kalvin Phillips arrived mid-season on loan but made no impact. Kudus was sold this summer. Alvarez has left on loan.
When Moyes left in 2024 – a move most accepted had to happen – Julen Lopetegui was chosen as his replacement by Steidten. Another £140m was spent on new players but, as a collective, made limited impact.
Lopetegui was sacked in January. Steidten left the following month.
It was into this maelstrom that Potter stepped.
As is his way, Potter has played down a desire for new signings. He is not the type to bemoan his lot publicly. He prefers to work with players to try and improve the collective group. That will not change no matter what pressure he comes under.
The reality is that West Ham still rely on Jarrod Bowen, Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta, just as they did on their run to that famous night in Prague. The major difference is Rice is not there to hold it all together.
Potter is working hard to correct the situation. However, many West Ham fans have lost patience.
They also know, deep down, the players that have come in since the most famous night in their modern history, are simply not good enough to give anyone a chance of significant success.
