Hammers News

A sensational new development at Spurs could have major implications for West Ham and hand David Sullivan the perfect exit strategy.

It could be third time lucky for West Ham United if under-fire David Sullivan takes a huge opportunity that has presented itself over at bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Five years ago Sullivan confirmed he rejected a £650m bid from Red Bull for the Hammers.

PSG’s Qatari owners also saw an offer for West Ham knocked back in 2023.

That very same group have been linked with a takeover at Tottenham Hotspur since then – and they’re not alone following the departure of chairman Daniel Levy.

West Ham fans are protesting for Sullivan and the board to sell up and ship out of the club after a vote of no confidence in the ownership last month.

Protesting Hammers fans won’t stop until Sullivan and co sell up

Supporters were given hope their activism will eventually achieve that when Levy stood down at Tottenham after years of their fans campaigning for his departure.

Hugely unpopular Hammers vice-chair Karren Brady insisted West Ham’s owners are not going anywhere when fan anger bubbled back to the surface following a 3-0 drubbing at Sunderland to open the new season.

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But that was before the huge new uprising among supporters who are boycotting the home game against Brentford after the international break to make their point.

It has become increasingly clear that a West Ham takeover is the only viable long-term solution to the mess in east London.

There is no way back for Sullivan and Brady and Daniel Kretinsky has no interest in increasing his Hammers stake.

Potential interest in West Ham from US bidders at the end of last season has come to nothing.

Yet the moment Levy left Tottenham, three bidders were immediately in the running – one of which were looking at West Ham too.

A potential mystery investor was given a tour of West Ham’s facilities, including the Rush Green training ground, recently.

The tour, believed to have been conducted by Brady and sporting director Mark Noble, was allegedly for a potential investor interested in buying the Gold family’s stake in the club.

Harry Redknapp has claimed David Sullivan will sell West Ham to rich new owners when he leaves.

Now a sensational new twist at Spurs could hand the Hammers chief that opportunity and a potential way out of the club that suits all parties.

Hammers News reported yesterday on a development at Tottenham which was a crushing blow to West Ham’s hopes of new investment that would lead to a big takeover.

Sensational Spurs twist could offer Sullivan a West Ham exit

Following Levy’s exit, one of the expressions of interest in buying Spurs came from Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners.

Tottenham ownership announced the club were not for sale, though. And that piled pressure on Sullivan and co given PCP’s links with West Ham.

Staveley’s consortium was heavily linked with a West Ham takeover last season.

The former Newcastle chief put together a consortium using the funds raised when selling the Magpies on to the Saudi PIF and is said to have a reported £500m kitty to buy an “in” at another Premier League club.

Staveley helped set up the Man City takeover before then arranging the Saudis to make Newcastle the world’s richest sports team overnight.

A leading West Ham board source close to Sullivan claimed last season that the Staveley-led fund could buy into West Ham instead of Spurs.

But the mega-rich financier made a choice between Spurs and West Ham, opting for the north Londoners following Levy’s exit.

The family of Tottenham owner Joe Lewis hosted Staveley as a special guest at Tottenham’s stadium for the NFL at the weekend, sparking fresh claims a takeover was still on the cards.

There is new hope for the Hammers overnight, though.

Because leading Sky Sports journalist Kaveh Solhekol has revealed Staveley will have to look elsewhere to buy into another Premier League club.

That’s after Tottenham and Staveley once again confirmed they are definitely not doing a deal.

West Ham-linked Staveley hunting new club after Spurs confirmation

“Tottenham are not for sale,” Solhekol said in light of the fresh Staveley rumours following her guest appearance as Spurs hosted the NFL.

“There were three expressions of interest – of varying degrees of seriousness – in buying the club. As some Tottenham shares are still held by private investors, prospective bidders had to make their intentions clear, as set out in the Takeover Code.

“They have all now confirmed they will not be making bids.

“That means they cannot bid for six months – unless someone else enters talks about buying the club.

“The Lewis family are committed to owning Tottenham and are looking forward to a sustained period of stability and long-term success.”

Opportunities like this do not come around very often.

Staveley has a proven track record of spearheading hugely successful takeovers which have completely changed the fortunes of Premier League clubs who have spent most of their history in the shadows of others.

Staveley took Newcastle out of the hands of an owner who was reviled by their supporters and look at the Magpies now.

Throw in the fact that Staveley has already been linked with a move for the Hammers and Sullivan simply cannot afford to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Protesting Hammers fans are not going anywhere this time and won’t be placated by Nuno Espirito Santo leading the club out of relegation danger.

So Sullivan and co must make it clear to Staveley the club is available – and at a reasonable price – to end the misery for all concerned.

Hopes of a super rich and well-connected financier investing in West Ham with a view to a full takeover have been dealt a major blow by rivals Spurs.

West Ham fans are desperate for their current owners to sell up and leave the club.

Hammers fans have been protesting for majority owner David Sullivan and co to sell or at the very least step aside and let specialist professionals run the club.

West Ham supporters were given hope recently when Daniel Levy stood down at Tottenham Hotspur after years of campaigning for his departure.

Hammers vice-chair Karren Brady insisted at the start of the season that West Ham’s owners are not going anywhere.

West Ham owners under pressure to sell after Levy exit

That was before the latest uprising among fans, which continued when West Ham supporters defied Arsenal stewards to protest at the Emirates on Saturday.

West Ham and Tottenham have both been linked with takeovers in recent years.

A buy-in from a new investor or full takeover seems the only viable long-term solution to the current ‘civil war’ at the London Stadium.

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In an official statement back in 2020, Sullivan confirmed he rejected a £650m bid from Red Bull for West Ham.

It was recently claimed PSG’s Qatari owners saw an offer for West Ham snubbed in 2023. The same group have been linked with a takeover at Tottenham Hotspur since then too.

They were not the only new money being linked with the bitter London rivals, though.

Following Levy’s exit, Tottenham have rejected expressions of interest in buying the club from Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners and a Chinese consortium.

Tottenham then announced the club are not for sale.

That piled pressure on Sullivan and co given PCP’s links with West Ham.

Staveley’s consortium was linked with a West Ham takeover last season.

Staveley helped set up the Man City takeover before then setting up the Saudi PIF investment at Newcastle.

After selling her stake in the Magpies, Staveley put together a consortium in order to invest a reported £500m for an “in” at another Premier League club.

Surprise guest at Spurs NFL clash is devastating for West Ham after £500m link

A leading Hammers board source close to Sullivan claimed last season that the Staveley-led fund could buy into West Ham instead of Spurs.

The mega-rich financier made a choice between Spurs and West Ham, opting for the north Londoners – only to be rejected.p

But while there was potential good news for Hammers fans who want to see Sullivan and Daniel Kretinsky sell up, the timing was critical.

Now a surprise guest at the latest Spurs NFL clash is devastating news for West Ham after the £500m link.

Many West Ham fans believe Sullivan and co have been putting off potential Hammers takeover suitors with an over-inflated valuation of the club.

Five years ago, Brady’s personal website listed West Ham as being worth a whopping £800m.

Whether that remains the case is unclear.

But the Gold family’s 25 per cent stake in West Ham has now been up for sale for two years with no takers.

Hopes Staveley could buy into West Ham with a view to ultimately connecting the club to nation state or oil money have been dealt a major new blow.

West Ham were warned they must strike while there was a window of opportunity to lure Staveley after her Spurs bid was rejected, because it was claimed that would not be the end of her interest.

But journalist Alan Nixon has revealed Staveley was a surprise VIP guest at Tottenham for the NFL clash between Cleveland Browns and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Staveley was also seen in the company of members of the family of Tottenham owner Joe Lewis.

Nixon says Staveley and her backers, a consortium with American and Qatari cash and interests, are still keen on Tottenham ‘if a deal was right’.

Missed opportunity for West Ham as Spurs back on Staveley radar

The Sun journalist adds on his Patreon that while Spurs have claimed they will not sell, the stance has not stopped major interest behind the scenes.

The news is a crushing blow to West Ham and any hopes Staveley would turn her attentions back to east London.

West Ham look ripe for a takeover given the unrest between fans and the ownership.

There were rumours of potential interest in West Ham from US bidders at the end of last season.

A potential foreign investor was also given a tour of West Ham’s facilities, including the Rush Green training ground, recently.

The tour, believed to have been conducted by Brady and sporting director Mark Noble, was allegedly for a potential investor interested in buying the Gold family’s stake in the club.

As if David Sullivan is not under enough pressure already at West Ham, Wayne Rooney is applying even more with his verdict on Spurs star Mohammed Kudus.

West Ham fans let Mohammed Kudus know what they think of him when Spurs visited the London Stadium last month.

Tottenham ran out comfortable 3-0 winners against Graham Potter’s weak, featherweight Hammers in a defeat which sparked the first conversations with Nuno Espirito Santo.

While Kudus ran a gauntlet of hate that day, the only people to truly blame for Kudus joining West Ham’s bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur is the club’s board.

At the end of the day ambitious, well-run clubs simply do not sell their star players to a direct rival.

West Ham board only ones to blame for Kudus joining Spurs

But that’s exactly what West Ham chief David Sullivan and the board did by allowing Kudus to join Tottenham.

Not only that, West Ham sold the Ghanaian to Spurs for £54.5m – some £30m below his utterly pointless £85m release clause.

Hammers fans had made peace with the fact Kudus was always going to be leaving in the summer when West Ham’s owners started pleading PSR poverty.

The Hammers could have sold him to Chelsea – who even agreed terms with Kudus – but turned down a player plus money swap deal involving Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall because they wanted pure cash.

Kudus was poor last season by the high standards he set himself in his debut campaign and with Ajax before that.

Deep down, though, West Ham fans know he is a player waiting to explode in the right team with the right manager.

The fact that is Spurs makes it all the more unbearable.

West Ham made their own bed and the fact they had to sell to Spurs for the first time in over 14 years speaks volumes of the state the club is in.

It added further fuel to the fire as West Ham fans protest against their owners in a bid to force them out.

Hammers supporters are planning to boycott the next home game after the international break as their latest show of activism until Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady leave or step aside.

Rooney leaves Sullivan sick with regret over Spurs star Kudus

Should Wolves beat Brighton at home, West Ham will go into the October international break bottom of the Premier League table.

Many Hammers supporters have been telling Tottenham fans Kudus isn’t all that.

Yes his end product has needed improvement, but West Ham fans know the heights he can hit when on song.

Perhaps it is a self-coping mechanism having suffered the ignominy of seeing Declan Rice sold to Arsenal too.

Hammers fans have legitimately asked why the club moved to their soulless athletics bowl if they are having to sell their top players to London rivals.

Now Wayne Rooney leaves West Ham chief Sullivan sick with regret over Spurs star Kudus.

It has emerged that Kudus wanted to leave the Hammers after his stunning debut season.

Knowing that – and with his stock high – West Ham should have taken action and moved him on for a more fitting valuation than the paltry £54.5m they ended up getting from Spurs.

It is another example of West Ham being badly run and not having a clear, coherent strategy in place.

Instead they knew they had a player agitating for a move who then tanked in his performances all last season in order to get it at a vastly reduced price.

What’s becoming perfectly clear is that Kudus is looking like the player who starred for West Ham in that debut season where he registered 14 goals and six assists.

The Black Stars ace got another assist and scored his first goal for Tottenham as they beat Leeds 2-1 at Elland Road on Saturday.

The result puts Tottenham third in the table going into the international break.

Rooney hails ex Hammer Kudus as ‘top signing’ for Spurs

Kudus put in a man of the match display as he ranked first in all key metrics including duels won (10), successful dribbles (6), shots (3), touches in the opposition box (4) and sprints (20).

Rooney says Kudus is helping take Spurs to the next level and has been a breath of fresh air.

Alan Shearer agreed, saying the former Hammers attacker is now Spurs’ best player.

And Sullivan will surely be listening with his head in his hands.

“I think he’s been a breath of fresh air,” Rooney said about Kudus on Match of the Day.

“You look at the stats from the game he’s first in everything…

“He’s had a real impact for Tottenham this season and he’s got four assists this season, joint first in the Premier League, he’s by far had the most successful dribbles in the league and all that was missing was the goal.

“That goal will push him on that next step now and he’s been a real top signing.”

Can things really get much worse for West Ham from here?

Two years on from winning the Europa Conference League, the Hammers are surely now at rock bottom as they watch Kudus shining for Spurs, Rice scoring against them for Arsenal and sweat on Wolves’ result so they can stay off the bottom of the table a fifth of the way through the new season.

Overnight news from bitter rivals Spurs is utterly depressing for West Ham and it only piles more pressure on David Sullivan, Karren Brady and the board at the London Stadium.

There may be no love lost between West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur, but events off the pitch in north London this season have proved inspirational in the east of the city.

Hammers fans were hugely encouraged when Daniel Levy stepped down as Tottenham chairman earlier this month.

Spurs fans had been campaigning over many years for the removal of Levy, accusing him of holding the club back.

As one leading journalist put it following Tottenham’s easy 3-0 win over them at the London Stadium a couple of weeks ago, ‘imagine how West Ham fans feel then’.

Fed-up Hammers fans encouraged by Levy’s Spurs exit

Levy’s departure has given Hammers supporters hope their own activism against the board can get results.

The situations are different of course. Levy was chairman at Tottenham while David Sullivan – the primary target of protest action – is the majority owner of West Ham.

West Ham’s Fan Advisory Board issued a public vote of no confidence in their ownership not long after it was announced Levy was leaving Spurs.

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The aim of subsequent protests is to force Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady to leave or, at the very least, step aside and hire specialist professionals to make wholesale changes to the way the club is run.

A public spat between Sullivan’s fiancée and West Ham fans and the shambolic handling of the managerial situation – once again – means this time there may be no way back for relations in what the national press have labelled ‘civil war’.

A new power struggle has erupted at West Ham this week in which it has emerged the club’s second biggest stakeholder Daniel Kretinsky has come out of the shadows to make several demands amid chaotic scenes in east London.

A West Ham takeover appears to be the only real long-term solution to the situation.

Sullivan isn’t getting any younger at 77 and the Hammers have been the target of several bids since moving to the London Stadium in 2016.

In an official statement back in 2020, Sullivan confirmed he rejected a £650m bid from Red Bull for West Ham.

When rumours emerged yesterday that they were sniffing around Bristol City, it was claimed PSG’s Qatari owners saw an offer for West Ham snubbed in 2023.

Overnight news from Spurs is utterly depressing for West Ham

PSG’s Qatari owners were said to have held talks with Daniel Levy over investing in – or buying – Tottenham around that time too.

West Ham fans watched the rumours about the Qataris potentially investing in Bristol City wondering why not them.

Hammers supporters believe Sullivan and co are putting off potential West Ham takeover suitors with an over-inflated valuation of the club.

That is more than just a theory because, back in 2020, Brady’s personal website listed West Ham as being worth £800m.

Now overnight news from Spurs is utterly depressing for West Ham as pressure grows on the owners.

Reports from fellow Hammers site Claret and Hugh yesterday claimed Sullivan and Kretinsky are refusing to inject any more cash into the club, hence the use of payday loans to fund West Ham in recent years.

While no real surprise to fans, it has only deepened the resentment from the terraces towards the board.

Now Hammers fans can only sit and watch as Tottenham are the subject of a world record £4.5bn takeover bid from a US consortium.

It is claimed by the likes of The Sun that tech entrepreneur Brooklyn Earick is heading a 12-man group that has lodged the stunning offer for West Ham’s rivals while Sullivan and co cling on for dear life at the London Stadium.

Earick and his partners are reportedly offering £3.3bn to buy out the entire club from owners ENIC and the Lewis family.

World record Tottenham bid piles pressure on Hammers board

The next bit will truly pain Hammers supporters everywhere. Because the proposed new owners are then ready to set aside a further £1.2bn for the “player budget” inclusive of wages, fees and agent payments.

The money would be available for Thomas Frank to use from the opening of the January window.

The total package would be a world record takeover for a football club, exceeding the £4.25bn set by the Todd Boehly-led group that bought Chelsea in 2022.

Earick, who is 36 years Sullivan’s junior at 41, has assembled a consortium which includes NFL and NBA investors.

The news will have West Ham fans feeling very sorry for themselves and wondering when it will be their day in the sun.

It also ramps up the pressure on Sullivan and co to sell the club as it looks increasingly like there’s no way back from here.

Just hours after West Ham United suffered a 3-0 defeat by bitter Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Keith Andrews picked up where Thomas Frank left off as Brentford snatched a late draw with Chelsea.

On an evening of two London derbies, Brentford maintained their unbeaten home record under their rookie manager as Fabio Carvalho drifted in behind Alejandro Garnacho and snaffled a stoppage-time equaliser.

That, by the way, was the seventh goal Brentford have scored from throw-ins since the start of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, when under the stewardship of the now-Spurs boss.

Now, Thomas Frank is far from a modern-day Tony Pulis. But while his North London neighbour Mikel Arteta appears increasingly reliant upon Declan Rice’s fizzing corner kicks, Frank’s teams are just as fearsome from dead-ball situations.

Frank has presided over 15 set-piece goals in the last 13 months, at the helm of Brentford and Tottenham respectively. As midfielder Joao Palhinha later told The Athletic, Tottenham set about exploiting West Ham’s weaknesses following a goalless first half at the London Stadium.

And as Pape Matar Sarr broke West Ham United resistance – unmarked at the far post, Tony Cottee hadn’t even finished his pint before the Spurs midfielder beat Mads Hermansen on 48 minutes – the comments made by captain Jarrod Bowen at full-time certainly do not reflect well on Frank’s opposite number.

An increasingly under-fire Graham Potter.

Jarrod Bowen provides damning insight into Graham Potter’s West Ham United weakness

West Ham have now conceded a remarkable six set-piece goals in 2025/26 alone. Tottenham clearly targeted Mads Hermansen, not that the Dane needed much encouragement to stay pinned to his goalline.

Former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson has big doubts about Hermansen’s ability to command his penalty area. He is not the only one expressing such concerns.

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Just to add insult to injury, meanwhile, Bowen admits that West Ham were hardly taken aback by Tottenham’s threat from set-pieces. Though such comments will hardly improve the mood. Suggestions that Potter knew full-well about Frank’s party piece and still failed to prevent it is damning in itself.

Even before Sarr gave Spurs the lead, Cristian Romero saw a similarly close-range finish ruled out by a harsh referee decision.

“In the first half, I thought we did OK,” Bowen tells the club’s official website. “I thought we had a couple of chances, and got a couple of crosses into the box on the front foot.

“For the majority of the first half, we defended the set-pieces really well.

“We knew Thomas Frank from Brentford. We knew he’s inventive with set-pieces. He had some real success over the years with it.

“So we knew we had to be on our ‘A’ game, and they did have the corners [in the first half]. We defended them well. We were in a good position at half-time, but then the goal we conceded from a set-piece… these are the details that we need to look at ourselves and just take pride in keeping the ball out the back of the net.”

Joao Palhinha admits Spurs exploited Hammers set-piece problems

West Ham, and Hermansen, kept a first clean sheet of the season away at Nottingham Forest before the international break. But after those old weaknesses returned with an almighty vengeance, that trip to Arsenal on October 4th looms like a thunderstorm on the horizon.

“It was one of the areas we tried to explore because we knew we were stronger in that moment of the game. We started to put more focus on set pieces and we did well,” said Palhinha, the man fouled by Tomas Soucek in the incident which resulted in his 54th minute red card.

“Congratulations to the coach and staff because sometimes people only speak about the players, but the staff played an important role in this.

“They choose the position for the players [to take up inside the box], so we need to share this moment with them.”

Graham Potter is not the only West Ham United employee who Alan Pardew had some sympathy for after Saturday’s 3-0 blitzing by Premier League and London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

A poor start to the season went from bad to worse at the London Stadium. After conceding five goals in 43 minutes against Chelsea, Tottenham scored three times in just 17 minutes. A 17 minute spell in which Tomas Soucek saw red for a reckless challenge on Joao Palhinha.

Pape Matar Sarr broke West Ham United’s resolve just moments into the second half.

Soucek exited stage left only seven minutes later. Sent for an early bath, the Czech colossus had barely turned on the taps before Lucas Bergvall doubled the visitors’ lead with a towering header. Konstantinos Mavropanos and Kyle Walker-Peters allowed Bergvall to drift in between them before looping his finish over a helpless Hermansen.

And when Micky van de Ven swept in a third, the game was over as a contest.

Yet, while Soucek’s 54th minute dismissal wrecked any Hammers hopes of a derby day comeback, Alan Pardew could not help but feel some sympathy for a footballer who does not have a vindictive bone in his body.

Alan Pardew ‘felt so sorry’ for Tomas Soucek after West Ham United collapse against Tottenham

This was only Soucek’s second career red card, and his first in half-a-decade.

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As the ball ran loose, his was less of a challenge and more a desperate attempt to retrieve possession. Palhinha got their first, however. And when Soucek’s studs tore through the Portugal international’s shin pad, referee Jarred Gillett could only really make one decision.

“When I was West Ham manager, the most emotional game in the calendar was Spurs. There are so many derbies but this is more than a London derby,” recalls Pardew, speaking to talkSPORT. “A big emotional game.

“And not only do you lose 3-0, you get a guy sent off. Soucek, I felt so sorry for him. [The ball] runs away and he tries to retrieve it, and then it’s a high tackle and he’s off.

“But then Potter is on the sidelines. Every set play, it looks like they are going to score. We’re getting out-thought, and that comes back to you as a manager.”

The only positive, as Spurs started to pop the ball around to a chorus of ‘oles’ from the travelling support, is that most of the home fans were no longer present to see it.

“When you are down to ten men, you’ve got this opposition which the fans despise and they are passing it around, getting ‘oles’,” sighs Pardew, who spent three years at Upton Park from 2003 to 2006.

“Is [Potter] in a difficult position? Absolutely. Are West Ham fans a little bit rebellious against him and the board? Yes. So, there is a lot of bad feeling there, that needs to be addressed somehow.

“I thought that win at Forest might have given them a little bit of a lift [but] the international break could not have come at a worse time for Potter.”

Pardew explains the difficulty caused by international breaks

While Niclas Fullkrug picked up a calf injury on Germany duty – he was passed fit only for a role on the bench – Hermansen, Mavropanos, Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and the aforementioned Soucek returned to East London later than Potter would have ideally liked with such a high-pressure fixture to prepare for.

“I just want to give you a little bit of insight into that, as a Premier League manager. You are getting your players back Thursday night and sometimes Friday, but you don’t know how much work they’ve done. The international teams sometimes give you no information,” adds former Newcastle, West Brom and Crystal Palace coach Pardew.

“It is very difficult [to prepare]. Sometimes, you see strange selections after an international window because you want to pick players you’ve been working with on the training ground.”

Pardew also feels that West Ham are paying the price for a difficult transfer window.

While captain Jarrod Bowen argues the Hammers ‘recruited well’ in the end, Hermansen has endured a nightmare start in goal, Callum Wilson arrived without a pre-season, and midfield duo Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou have made only one start between them after being made to wait until the end of August for their moves to be completed.

“The transfer window that they’ve just had has been a bit of a let-down in my opinion,” Pardew hits back. “They really needed to do some work in that and, if I was [Potter], I’d be disappointed with what I’ve been given.

“I’d have expected a little bit more investment. I think West Ham fans feel that as well.

“He’s got Bowen, a player who can get him out of trouble in terms of quality. A real top drawer quality. You’re blessed with that, I think there’s a good base there, some decent quality. But they don’t look like they’re going to threaten the top of the league for sure.

“The one thing that Potter is going to worry about is threatening the bottom of the league.”

Before Tony Cottee had even stepped foot inside the London Stadium ahead of Saturday’s 3-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, the West Ham United icon had already suffered a considerable loss of pre-match confidence.

Graham Potter made only one change from the West Ham United side which finally got off the mark against Nottingham Forest on the other side of the international break.

But while Crysencio Summerville was rewarded for his exhilarating cameo at the City Ground – captain Jarrod Bowen says the winger is like a new signing following eight months out with injury – there was no place on Potter’s team sheet for another who made a huge impact off the bench on the banks of the Trent.

Much to Tony Cottee’s bemusement, Callum Wilson was conspicuous by his absence from the West Ham XI.

Tony Cottee baffled by Callum Wilson omission as West Ham United lose to Tottenham Hotspur

While a calf injury denied Niclas Fullkrug a starting spot – the big German was fit enough only for the bench Cottee cannot understand why Potter opted to start Lucas Paqueta as a makeshift number nine.

And if he were in Wilson’s shoes, the door to Potter’s office would be rattling off it’s hinges.

“If I was Callum Wilson, I would be banging the door down,” says Cottee, speaking to talkSPORT. “Because he came on at Forest and made the difference.

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“The manager, to be fair, started with Summerville. But to go into a home game without a centre- forward, I don’t get it. You’ve got Fullkrug and Callum Wilson on the bench, and surely Callum, after scoring against Forest, quite rightly [must be] knocking on the door saying; ‘Gaffer, why didn’t you play me?’.

“I don’t understand that. Perhaps he should have gone with the team that finished at Forest. It [creates] a bit of negativity in the crowd. I’m sitting there in the pub when the team comes out and saying; ‘Oh, they’re not playing with a centre-forward!’.”

Cottee slams ‘shocking defending’ as Graham Potter’s side conceded three more goals

To paraphrase former England international Darren Bent, West Ham have signed a potential 15-goal-a-season striker in Wilson.

While plenty of problems remain at the other end of the pitch – Mads Hermansen conceded three more goals against Tottenham while Gianfranco Zola questioned the positioning of Konstantinos Mavropanis and Kyle Walker-Peters in the build up to Spurs’ crucial second goal – Cottee is better placed than most to explain the importance of a centre-forward.

And how the issues a lack of a striker can cause up against a team like Spurs who prefer to dominate possession.

“The defending is absolutely shocking. Players not taking responsibility. [Tomas] Soucek’s sending off doesn’t help but players have to take responsibility as well as managers getting the players right,” adds Cottee, who scored 146 goals over two spells at Upton Park.

“[Striker] is a specialised position. It’s alright asking Paqueta or even Jarrod Bowen – both fantastic players- but they are not centre-forwards. They don’t know the specific runs you’ve got to make just to put pressure on the defence.

“Callum Wilson is great at playing on the last man’s shoulder. Fullkrug, more of a target man. But it’s a specialised position and, as soon as you don’t have that, you don’t have an outlet. Paqueta and Bowen want the ball into feet, so you lose all your options.

“It gave Tottenham lots and lots of possession. It’s a big game for West Ham, local rivals, but if you don’t play a centre-forward, how are you going to get on the front foot? There was frustration about the team selection.”

Potter told he must start Wilson or Niclas Fullkrug or both against Crystal Palace

Cottee predicts West Ham will keep Potter in situ until the November international break at the earliest. There are a handful of so-called ‘winnable’ fixtures to come before then – against Brentford, Burnley and Leeds United – the manager may be fortunate to survive another heavy home derby defeat.

And while Cottee is more in tune than most to the feelings of the Hammers faithful, it is difficult to imagine the fans brushing off a 4-0 battering by Palace regardless of Potter’s intent.

“Palace on Saturday, you’ve got to play a centre-forward. Maybe even two!” Cottee argues. “Go and have a go.

“If West Ham get beat 4-0 playing two centre-forwards, going gung-ho, the fans will accept that. They won’t accept getting beat 2-0 at home by Palace with no centre-forward.”

A Spurs star has trolled Graham Potter in the aftermath of West Ham’s meek defeat to their London rivals and it will surely have the club considering change, in more ways than one.

When you are a manager under pressure – like Graham Potter is at West Ham – the last thing you need is a player from your biggest rivals sticking the boot in.

The Hammers hit a new low when Tottenham Hotspur comfortably beat them 3-0 at the London Stadium.

And that is saying something given the 19 months of rapid regression that has taken place at West Ham United.

The Hammers and struggling manager Potter should actually be grateful to Spurs.

At 3-0 up, and with West Ham down to 10 men, Thomas Frank declared. He made sweeping changes and feathered the brakes with the start of Tottenham’s Champions League campaign in mind.

Champions League indeed. The holy grail of West Ham’s big move from Upton Park to the London Stadium.

Potter back on the ropes at West Ham after Spurs rout

The fact West Ham will bring up a decade in Stratford closer to the Championship – if not actually in it – than Europe’s top competition neatly sums up why fans are so utterly disillusioned.

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Many of those supporters will rally in protest ahead of Saturday’s must-win game against Crystal Palace.

West Ham were warned this season would be one of the most competitive of the last 15 years.

But while the rest of the Premier League, bar Aston Villa, were out breaking the Premier League spending record for a transfer window, West Ham were pleading PSR poverty.

A vote of no confidence in the owners from West Ham’s Fan Advisory Board shows who they feel is ultimately to blame for the situation.

Hammers fans have watched the departure of Daniel Levy from Spurs with envy.

Time will tell whether Levy was truly holding Tottenham back.

But while Hammers supporters renew their fight to remove David Sullivan and Karren Brady, the immediate issue is on the pitch.

And whatever the chaos above him at the London Stadium, Potter should be doing better.

West Ham have won a dismal six times in 24 games under the ex Brighton boss, who was chewed up and devoured by the Chelsea job.

Expectations in east London are nowhere near as voracious – yet Potter is struggling to cope with those too.

Losing at home to Tottenham is a sore one for any Hammers manager. But to roll over and submit so insipidly piles the pressure on Potter.

Word is Potter may have been sacked had West Ham lost to Forest before the international break.

A shock win meant that theory was not tested.

Spurs star trolls Potter over West Ham setup

But the manner of the defeat to Tottenham has seen the likes of Nuno Espirito Santo linked as Potter’s potential replacement at West Ham.

Now a Spurs star has trolled Potter and it will surely have West Ham considering change – in more ways than one.

The jibe comes at a time when pressure is already mounting.

The galling thing for West Ham supporters about the defeat to Spurs was that everyone in the stadium, and those watching at home, could see that first goal coming.

Potter pushing to spend a club record £15.5m fee for a goalkeeper on Mads Hermansen looks even more unfathomable with every passing week.

The Hammers boss is sticking with the Dane, who has such little command of his box that he has earned damning comparisons to Roberto – widely regarded as the worst West Ham goalkeeper of all time.

While the defeat to Spurs was not exclusively Hermansen’s fault, it was clear from the first minute that Frank had specifically targeted the 25-year-old, who is shorter than Lukasz Fabianski and a full 10cm smaller than Alphonse Areola.

Everyone could see that was the case and Hermansen is also not being helped by Potter brainlessly sticking to zonal marking from set-plays.

West Ham have given away a record 32 corners in four Premier League games – conceding from six of them.

If that is not proof something needs to change then what is?

Now Tottenham’s own players are making it clear Potter needs to change his ways.

Being outed by rivals must have West Ham considering change

Joao Palhinha was a big target of West Ham’s before he joined Bayern Munich.

He is back in the Premier League with Spurs and if West Ham valued his talent as a player previously, perhaps they should value his opinion too.

Speaking after helping Spurs to an easy win over West Ham, Palhinha admitted they targeted Hermansen and Potter’s preference for zonal marking.

“It was one of the areas we tried to explore because we knew we were stronger in that moment of the game,” Palhinha told The Athletic.

“We started to put more focus on set pieces and we did well. Congratulations to the coach and staff because sometimes people only speak about the players, but the staff played an important role in this.

“They choose the position for the players (to take up inside the box), so we need to share this moment with them.”

The most astonishing thing is Potter doesn’t seem to see the issue.

After the game the Hammers boss said he felt his side defended corners well and that the zonal marking worked well until the goal.

Surely a Tottenham player coming out and publicly highlighting your biggest weakness will force Potter to change his ways?

If not then it must have the owners thinking of a change of their own.

Whether they could be trusted to make the right appointment to replace Potter is another matter entirely.

Tottenham went out and paid the money to get a coveted manager like Frank. The difference is night and day.

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

If Potter does not address this glaring issue then West Ham will find themselves staring into the abyss very quickly.

All eyes were on Mohammed Kudus as he returned to West Ham victorious with Tottenham Hotspur following his controversial summer move.

In the cold light of day the only people to blame for Mohammed Kudus leaving West Ham for bitter rivals Tottenham are the club’s board.

Kudus was always going to be leaving in the summer when West Ham started pleading PSR poverty.

The Hammers could have sold him to Chelsea but turned down a player plus cash swap deal involving Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

West Ham made their own bed and the fact they had to sell to Spurs for the first time in over 14 years speaks volumes of the state the club is in.

In the end Kudus’ performance against the Hammers was pretty typical.

The head down merchant is one of the best dribblers around but has no end product and Tottenham will find the same frustrations soon enough.

Kudus all show but Spurs rout drowned out West Ham jeers

It was all show as usual, quite literally, as Kudus showboated with a pointless backheel control – something he did on a regular basis at West Ham.

The Ghanaian did not help himself by burning bridges with West Ham as he declared his love for Spurs when unveiled in north London.

Tottenham have been incessantly goading West Ham with posts about Kudus before, during and after the game.

The former Ajax attacker was booed and jeered throughout.

The biggest cheer of the day from the Hammers fans came when a ball boy refused to give Kudus the ball for one of his plethora of corners.

Tottenham had so many of them, West Ham fans actually got bored of booing Kudus.

El Hadji Malick Diouf keeping Kudus quiet as least spared Hammers supporters the ignominy of him scoring or assisting.

But West Ham fans have been venting their fury at another meek surrender from Graham Potter and his side the moment Tottenham took the lead.

The Hammers roll over and have their bellies tickled at the first sign of adversity under Potter, who has been criticised over a perceived lack of leadership.

In the build-up to the game, Potter refused to take the Kudus bait as he was quizzed on his return to West Ham with Spurs.

What Kudus did to Potter and said to backroom team is revealed

The Hammers boss even refused to mention Kudus by name or offer any pleasantries about him, which is usually par for the course in those circumstances.

West Ham fans are not sure Potter truly grasps the rivalry between the two clubs.

Particularly after he angered them by saying he hoped they would go on and win the Europa League last season.

How naïve and ill-advised those comments look now.

Spurs winning the Europa League meant qualification for the Champions League and an instant £100m transfer funds advantage over the likes of West Ham.

An advantage Tottenham used to take one of Potter’s best players away in the summer window.

Although Spurs making Europe’s top competition gave Potter another convenient excuse after the insipid 3-0 defeat as he trotted out that West Ham struggled to compete with “Champions League side Spurs”.

The same “Champions League side” that finished 17th last season, three places below Potter’s hapless Hammers.

Kudus kept his emotions in check as he was understandably barracked by the home support.

You don’t leave West Ham for Tottenham and then come back expecting a warm reception. Especially when you go on to say things like ‘I only wanted Spurs’.

Now what Kudus did to Potter and said to the West Ham backroom team in the Spurs rout has been revealed.

The Ghanaian forward’s actions towards Potter were actually caught on camera and have driven fierce opinion among supporters.

And the words he shared with the backroom team have been revealed by a Hammers journalist.

Kudus embraced Potter and grateful for stool return

A reporter for 3 Sports Ghana was following Kudus’ return to the London Stadium.

And he captured footage of Kudus making a point of running over to Potter, after lining up ready for kick-off, to embrace his former boss and salute the West Ham bench.

Kudus is then seen shaking hands with Lucas Paqueta on the pitch.

While it is a touch of class from Kudus, West Ham fans felt the whole situation summed up the lack of bite and spite in their team for the biggest derby of the season.

After the game Kudus was also seen speaking to West Ham’s backroom staff near the family enclosure at the stadium.

Roshane Thomas claims the Hammers were returning the winger’s wooden elephant stool to him that he used for celebrations after scoring in West Ham home games.

Thomas claims Kudus had a brief chat as he received the Ghanaian stool back and duly thanked West Ham for returning it.

So much for being sworn enemies. Many fans have remarked it is further proof that ‘the game has gone’.

A penny for Roy Keane’s thoughts.

There is no love lost between West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur so what El Hadji Malick Diouf did after the 3-0 defeat was rather naïve.

Believe it or not the end of this season will mark 20 years since the infamous lasagne-gate incident when West Ham welcomed Tottenham to east London.

Spurs were visiting Upton Park on the final day of that season looking to clinch a Champions League spot and West Ham were preparing to play in the FA Cup final.

Tottenham just needed to match Arsenal’s result against Wigan in order to clinch the final Champions League spot at their bitter rivals’ expense.

A delicious possibility so good Spurs could almost taste it until disaster struck from an unlikely sauce.

Spurs’ team meal of lasagne caused an outbreak of vomiting and nausea among the players at their Canary Wharf hotel on the eve of the game.

A strong Hammers performance coupled with the impact of the dodgy Italian dish saw Tottenham lose 2-1 and miss out on the Champions League.

Do Potter and his players get the West Ham vs Spurs rivalry?

Arsenal fans sung bubbles at Highbury to rub salt in the wound.

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After Millwall, Spurs are West Ham’s most hated rivals.

The clubs simply do not like one another on or off the pitch from the terraces to the boardroom.

Daniel Levy famously fell out with Hammers vice-chair Karren Brady over the “battle” for the London Stadium.

The now passed David Gold publicly lambasted Levy after he reneged on a deal for West Ham to sign Emmanuel Adebayor from Tottenham.

There have been bites and fights – as recently as Mohammed Kudus flooring three Spurs players just last season.

And not a single player moved between the two clubs for over 14 years until Kudus crossed the divide this summer.

The point being, West Ham and Spurs really do not like one another.

Not that you would have known it from the Hammers’ timid and meek second half surrender to their fierce foes at the London Stadium on Saturday night.

Tottenham took great pleasure in dismantling West Ham 3-0.

The result and performance has piled pressure back on Graham Potter, who was allegedly being considered by Levy as a mid-season replacement for Ange Postecoglou at Spurs before he joined the Hammers last season.

Potter has been trying to find the positives after the game.

But even one of the few who shone have somehow managed to put their foot in it.

West Ham fans must lay off Diouf after ill-advised Spurs post

However, West Ham fans must lay off El Hadji Malick Diouf after his ill-advised Spurs post.

Diouf was one of the bright sparks for the Hammers against Spurs.

The Senegal left-back looks a real find for West Ham and has been mostly excellent since his arrival in a £19m deal from Slavia Prague.

Diouf was one of the very few who could come off the pitch with his head held high.

He was West Ham’s best player on the day, keeping Kudus largely quiet. Diouf was the only one to get stuck into the former Hammer.

Going forward he looked a real threat too, providing a number of brilliant crosses only to be let down by Potter’s inexplicable decision not to play with a striker for one of the biggest games of West Ham’s season.

Hammers fans are in no mood to be antagonised at the moment.

Sarr celebrates beating West Ham and Diouf responds with love hearts

Tottenham have been trolling the Hammers with incessant posts about Kudus.

And a video emerged showing goalscorer Pape Matar Sarr laughing and joking with his international teammate Diouf about a bet they had made that the loser had to cook the winner dinner.

Taking the raw emotion out of it, the video was pretty wholesome.

But many fans have taken a different view on the fact Diouf then responded to Sarr’s social media post about beating West Ham, with love hearts.

“This is how we bounce back,” Sarr said in his post alongside a picture of him celebrating his goal at the London Stadium.

Diouf then replied in the comments with two love hearts.

Yes it is very naïve from Diouf and someone in the West Ham media team needs to have a word.

Hammers fans need to keep some perspective, though.

If every player on the pitch put in the same level of energy, effort and enthusiasm as Diouf, West Ham would be a different animal.

Hammers must cut bright spark Diouf some slack

Keep all your badge-kissing and chest thumping, Hammers fans would rather see that in the performances on the pitch.

Supporters need to give Diouf a pass in this case.

Let’s first remember he is only 20.

He probably knows West Ham vs Spurs is a big game.

But with softly-spoken, mild-mannered Potter as his manager, Diouf probably doesn’t quite realise how huge the rivalry is.

Most Hammers fans are not even sure Potter has grasped that.

Especially given he stated he wanted Spurs to go on and win the Europa League last season – which they duly did, securing Champions League football and an instant £100m advantage over his side in the summer which they used to sign one of his best players.

When Diouf arrived at West Ham he named Sarr as his best friend in football.

These are two boys who have realised – by their own admissions – every young African footballer’s dream of making it to the Premier League.

It was their first game against one another and Diouf is clearly just a nice guy with a big heart.

He will know not to do it again but let’s cut him some slack, after all he is one of the only positives so far this season.