Graham Potter will once again come under renewed pressure at West Ham after a 3-0 defeat to bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur and one of his big signings isn’t helping.
It was a tale of two halves of the first half for West Ham as Spurs came to the London Stadium.
The Hammers went into the international break on a high after a shock 3-0 win at Nottingham Forest.
Tottenham came to east London off the back of a home defeat to Bournemouth.
And it showed in the opening exchanges as West Ham started the brighter against Thomas Frank’s expensively assembled Tottenham.
But Spurs slowly got a foothold in the game and when Lucas Paqueta spurned a golden chance to put the Hammers in front, it was a bombardment.
West Ham somehow made it in at half-time 0-0 by surviving an aerial assault from Spurs at corners.
Potter signing could end up costing him the West Ham job
Frank’s side racked up corner after corner at the London Stadium.
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In fact they had so many that West Ham fans got bored of booing returning villain Mohammed Kudus as he came to take them.
Tottenham perhaps should have had a goal when Cuti Romero headed home from one, but VAR stuck with the referee’s on-field decision of a foul on Kyle Walker-Peters.
It was incredibly fortunate, even if Mateus Fernandes looked to have been hit in the mouth just beforehand.
It mattered little, though, because the set-piece pressure would eventually tell on meek West Ham.
And one Graham Potter signing could end up costing him his job.
As encouraging as the victory at Forest may have been, this was a reality check for the Hammers.
Blame for a dreadful start to the new season first and foremost must sit with the club’s owners.
On the evidence so far, Potter’s squad is nowhere near good enough to be competitive in the Premier League over the course of a 38-game season.
The failure to sign a young, powerful forward is downright negligence.
But West Ham’s biggest problem is at the back – and particularly Potter’s goalkeeper signing Mads Hermansen.
It says everything about Hermansen’s shortcomings – pun intended – that his fellow Dane Thomas Frank based Tottenham’s entire gameplan around specifically targeting the £15.5m signing from every set piece.
Tottenham were actually actively playing for corners at one stage to get another crack at Hermansen.
Another Hammers horror for targeted Hermansen
Potter has made Hermansen his number one but he is so vulnerable on crosses and corners it is frightening.
Spurs eventually got their goal – from a corner – and it owed as much to Hermansen’s lack of command for his box as it did horrendous West Ham marking.
The Hammers already have centre-backs who don’t want to and can’t head the ball in Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo.
The one who can, Konstantinos Mavropanos, is ridiculously error-prone. So Potter is stuck between a rock and a hard place over who to pick.
Mavropanos was up to his old tricks, being done by a long ball over the top from the first action after Tomas Soucek was sent off.
Lucas Bergvall had all the time in the world to loop a header over Hermansen, who got caught in no man’s land.
The goalkeeper’s lack of reach not helping the situation.
The third from Micky van den Ven was just a case of West Ham throwing in the towel. Unforgivable against rivals like Spurs.
Tottenham could have gone for the jugular but Frank elected to make sweeping changes.
It is now just six wins for Potter in 24 games as West Ham manager.
Only two of those have come at the London Stadium.
Owners to blame for West Ham squad shortcomings but Potter must change
The Hammers have conceded more goals than any other side in the top flight and Potter’s new goalkeeper has unfortunately been at fault for far too many of them.
There were some positives for West Ham in patches but the fact the London Stadium was almost completely empty bar the away end for the last 20 minutes speaks volumes.
Potter is not the root cause of West Ham’s problems but he has to prove he has some solutions soon.
If he wants to save himself then he may have to hold his hands up on Hermansen, who has looked a decent shot-stopper but sorely lacking in the stature needed.
West Ham look like they will concede from every corner and set-piece into their box.
They will be relegated if something is not done about it.
That may have to start with a change of goalkeeper.
West Ham player ratings:
Mads Hermansen, 4/10: Enough said above.
Kyle Walker-Peters, 4/10: Started well but faded and Aaron Wan-Bissaka was missed.
Konstantinos Mavropanos, 4/10: Looked good against Forest but made his obligatory error leading to a goal.
Max Kilman, 4/10: Not the kind of defender you want and need in a relegation battle.
El Hadji Malick Diouf, 7/10: Probably West Ham’s best player overall. Kept Kudus quiet for the most part and showed passion and endeavour.
Tomas Soucek, 3/10: Never lacking in effort but the game passed him by and he should have been subbed off long before his red card.
James Ward-Prowse, 4/10: Potter’s obsession with Ward-Prowse is another matter that could cost him his job. Offered little yet again.
Mateus Fernandes, 5/10: Started brightly but will be having PTSD after suffering relegation with Southampton. Will be the key if West Ham are to survive.
Lucas Paqueta, 4/10: Did little and spurned the best chance of the game when he should have laid it off to Crysencio Summerville.
Crysencio Summerville, 7/10: Excellent, West Ham’s joint best player along with Diouf. Keeping him fit will be key to any hopes of survival.
Jarrod Bowen, 6/10: Not the captain’s best day. Always gives his all of course and looked the most likely for West Ham but the team just did not get the ball to him enough.