What Has Gone Wrong For Graham Potter At West Ham United?

Graham Potter has found wins hard to come by since being appointed manager of West Ham United in January.

Following the sacking of Julen Lopetegui, the Hammers viewed Potter as someone who can turn around their season having flirted with the relegation places for the majority of the campaign.

However, with a record of three wins, five draws and eight defeats from 16 matches, things seem to be going south in East London once again.

What’s gone wrong?

West Ham currently find themselves in 17th position, three places below Lopetegui’s position when he left the Hammers.

Potter’s win percentage of 18.75% is also lower than Lopetegui’s last 20 Premier League matches in charge (30%) despite winning just six of his last 20.

BREAKING: Despite reports, Graham Potter's 2.5 year contract does NOT include a break clause.@TheAthletic pic.twitter.com/NU1c8NvbDh

— Central (@WestHam_Central) May 5, 2025

On the goal scoring front there hasn’t been much of an improvement either, having scored 16 goals over this period compared to Lopetegui’s 24.

Despite all the struggles that West Ham have had to deal with under Potter, things have taken a turn for the better on the defensive end.

Potter’s use of a back five has seen the number of goals conceded decrease since being implemented. West Ham have conceded 20 goals in the league under Potter, 19 goals less than the 39 conceded during Lopetegui’s reign.

West Ham have an xG against per 90 of 1.3 under Potter. A drastic change from the 1.8 with Lopetegui at the helm.

With that being said, Graham Potter’s side are currently on an eight match winless run, including a 1-1 draw against rock bottom Southampton - making it only the seventh time the Saints have avoided defeat this season.

The positives

West Ham have managed to stray away from the direct based approach seen under the likes of David Moyes in favour of a possession based system.

The change of system has allowed for a more solid and structured defensive shape due to Potter’s preference to drop midfielders and attackers deeper to help in build up.

West Ham also find themselves able to turn defensive actions into attacking phases through Potter’s tactical knowledge.

With the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jean-Clair Tobido, James Ward-Prowse and Lucas Paqueta having great technical ability, Potter strategically places all of these players down the right-hand side. This allows the Hammers a greater chance of getting out from the back.

Jarrod Bowen's and Mohamed Kudus' heat maps from the first half against Brighton when Graham Potter opted for a 3-5-2 set-up.

[@SkySportsPL] pic.twitter.com/ioLf5ZaZGX

— COYIrons (@COYIronscom) May 2, 2025

The use of Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus is also vital to the system as the two forwards are expected to be constantly moving and involving themselves in build up to progress the team up the field.

This also allows the opposing team to be further away from the goal, as West Ham have limited opposition touches in the box to 26.6 per 90 minutes.

What’s next?

West Ham United are in desperate need of a rebuild if they wish to hit the heights of their UEFA Europa Conference League success in 2023.

With the likes of Bowen, Kudus and Paqueta on the shortlists of some of Europe’s elite, the Hammers will have a fight on their hands to keep their stars.

However, Potter has a track record of elevating clubs once given time, having proven himself with the likes of Brighton, Swansea City and Ostersund.

"At Brighton, my job was taking a team fourth from bottom and we ended up leaving a team fourth from top over a three year period.
It can be done, I have the experience for what's required but it isn't a quick fix."

- Graham Potter ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/e17gagnAsq

— COYIrons (@COYIronscom) April 24, 2025

Having spent over £120 million in signings during the 2024 summer window, West Ham will need to do the same in the upcoming window if they wish to challenge for European football and avoid the risk of being left behind by the rest of the league.