Vesper

Liverpool https://thedailybriefing.io/i/174992514/liverpool Arne Slot has confirmed Alisson Becker will miss the Chelsea game with an injury: “It is never a positive sign when a player has to go off like this. Alisson will not be available to play on Saturday.” Jamie Carragher has branded Liverpool a “mess” after their back-to-back defeats, and believes Arne Slot may now need to drop summer signing Florian Wirtz! Read more here. Does Arne Slot not trust Jeremie Frimpong? Alan Shearer suggests the summer signing is already facing serious issues at Liverpool. Full story here.

Harsh criticism of the highly-prized Wirtz and Liverpool: "He's not up to par, he's a disaster." The defeat against Galatasaray has once again put the spotlight on the German international. https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/champions-league/20251001/1002542828/durisima-critica-carisimo-wirtz-liverpool-esta-altura-desastre.html Florian Wirtz is back in the spotlight. The approximately €135 million Liverpool paid for the 22-year-old former Bayer Leverkusen player is weighing heavily on him, and he's receiving constant criticism. The English side's 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday only fueled a firestorm that was already burning. In nine appearances for Liverpool , the German international has zero goals and just one assist. One of the harshest analyses after the knockout against the Turks came from former footballer Jamie Carragher on CBS Sports. “He's just not up to the task. He's a young lad coming into a new league, he has a lot of time ahead of him as a Liverpool player , but right now I think he needs to leave the team, for Liverpool to get back to what it was last season, and from there, regain confidence and defensive solidity.” He added: "Right now it's a disaster. It's not about the defeats. This has been going on since day one. I don't think I'm watching a top team. Liverpool aren't playing football, they're playing basketball."

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A Foodie Insider Shares His Favourite Dishes & London Hotspots https://slman.com/life/food-drink/my-life-in-food-james-holdsworth Have you always been a foodie? I was always a big fan of eating. My dad taught me basics at home – how to make a roux, a white sauce, simple cooking techniques. Moving to London after school opened up a world of cuisines I hadn’t tried before. The real spark came when I moved into my own flat at 20. I started experimenting – it was trial and error, but I was cooking every night and planning meals in detail. When did you take the next step? During lockdown, I was furloughed and staying at my girlfriend’s parents’ countryside home. Everyone else was working, and we hadn’t been seeing each other that long, so I figured I couldn’t just lounge around all day. I started cooking for everyone instead. With brilliant farm shops nearby, I’d jump in the car and make the most of seasonal produce, experimenting with meals for the whole family each week. I’d always photographed my food but was shy about posting – I didn’t want to look like that millennial taking pics of dinner. But I shared recipes and videos on Stories, and it quickly became a habit. When I returned to London, I carried it on, cooking dishes I was proud to photograph or film. And then supper clubs came into the picture? My friend Liv, a chef, suggested we give it a go while she was between restaurants and moving to Paris. Supper clubs weren’t as common then, so it felt like the start of a wave. We ran a few events, and I learned not just new skills, but how to plan and organise properly. Tickets started selling, strangers came along, and it grew from there. At the time, I was in property finance – a steady job, but not fulfilling. I began filming recipes on Instagram, got a few opportunities, and eventually took a sabbatical. Just under a year later, we’re full throttle. What’s in the diary right now? This week I’m at the Camberwell Arms, creating a seasonal menu with a couple of brilliant cooks – it’s a great pub with amazing food. In November, I’ll be back with my friend Rosie for a charity supper club supporting mental health, and later that month I’ll be at Sandridge Barton vineyard in Devon, cooking with their team. I’m not formally trained, so experiences like these are invaluable – there’s nothing like learning from people who do it day in, day out. Where do you enjoy eating in London? I’m definitely a creature of habit, though I try to tick off new places when I can. Locally, I love the Lady Mildmay – it’s my pub and they do great food during the week. Albers in De Beauvoir is another favourite. It has that neighbourhood feel, a few tables outside when it’s sunny, and it’s just relaxed and intimate. Beyond that, the place I’ve probably been to most is St John – it’s food I love, done perfectly. I’m also a big fan of Cadet on Newington Green: a couple of glasses of wine, pâté en croûte, saucisson, a few nibbles – that’s my kind of eating. Jolene is in that same bracket. And when I worked in the City, I went to Sweetings all the time. I still love it – no frills, just proper old-school food done well. If you had one perfect day to eat your way around London, where would you go? For breakfast, I’d go to St John Bread & Wine in Spitalfields – the devilled kidneys on toast are one of my favourite things in the world, and the blood cake with a fried egg is outstanding. Lunch is tricky, because I love a long one. I think I’d go for a proper pub lunch at The Cow in Notting Hill. Crab, oysters, a pint of prawns, plenty of Guinness – and a few friends around the table. Dinner would be Brutto. I love Italian food, it influences so much of my cooking, and the atmosphere there is great – plus the negronis are fantastic. For drinks, I’m more of a pub man, but I do like Bambi in London Fields. You can have a cocktail after dinner, then the records come on and suddenly it’s a dance floor – it’s brilliant fun. Next Door Records is another good one – I actually did a supper club with them a few years ago, and now they’ve opened a spot near me. Are we more likely to find you at the supermarket or the farmer’s market? I’d never say you can’t shop at supermarkets – you absolutely can – but you need to be checking labels and asking yourself, is this in season? You’ve got to know what’s in season before you start filling your basket. The classic example is asparagus. We have incredible asparagus here in the UK, but you’ll still find supermarkets stocking asparagus from Peru during the British season. People think, ‘Oh, it’s asparagus season, I’ll buy some,’ but if it’s travelled across the world, it completely defeats the point. Seasonality matters then? For me, seasonality is everything. If you eat with the seasons, your menu naturally changes every month. You won’t have asparagus all year, but when spring comes, you’ll be genuinely excited for it. The same with game when autumn arrives. And if you follow the seasons, you can still eat a balanced diet – there are always vegetables and greens available, just different ones. What about meat and fish? For meat and fish I put in a lot of effort. I go to a couple of excellent butchers and fishmongers. My friend Alex and his father run a company called Vincenzo – they usually supply restaurants but also deliver to homes. They know every single farmer they work with and can tell me exactly which region, which farm, everything is from. Do you think it’s realistic for most people to shop that way? I appreciate that not everyone can shop like this – it is a luxury – so I’d never tell people on social media they must buy from certain places. But if you can, meat and fish are where it really makes a difference. At the butcher's the other day, they told me about a piece they’d just broken down – the breed, where it came from, how they’d prepared it. That kind of knowledge and connection makes you more conscious about what you’re eating. Do you think people in the UK are adventurous enough with their cooking? I think too many people in this country eat the same five meals on repeat all year round. That sounds incredibly dull to me. Each year, I discover new ingredients I’ve never cooked with before, and it keeps things exciting. What’s your ultimate comfort food? Carbonara, without question. I make it all the time. I try not to repeat too many dishes throughout the year – as most of my cooking revolves around seasonality – but Roman pastas are an exception. The beauty of carbonara is that it’s made with guanciale, eggs and parmesan – things you can always have in the cupboard – so you can make it any time. It also has a nostalgia factor. My mum used to make us carbonara every Friday when I was a kid. It wasn’t what I’d call a carbonara now – it had cream, it was pancetta or even bacon rather than guanciale – but it stuck with me. Talk to us about guilty pleasures… A Bleecker burger – it never misses. I used to live near one of their dark kitchens, so it would arrive in ten minutes, still piping hot, which was dangerous. Another one is curry goat with rice and peas. If I’ve had a stressful day and I’m on my own, I’ll often order it – because the portion is enormous and I don’t want anyone to see me eat it all. Fried plantain, some proper scotch bonnet hot sauce on the side – that’s heaven. And your death-row meal? I think I’d start with a dozen escargot – I love them with a whole baguette, and loads of garlic and herb butter. Then a proper carbonara as my pasta course. For main, a big bistecca alla fiorentina – a Tuscan T-bone steak. I’m not really a dessert person, but I’d finish with madeleines from the French House – they’re not too sweet – with a glass of dessert wine. What’s your go-to drink order? Usually a beer, depending on where I am and my mood. If it’s a cocktail, it’d be a negroni or a Campari soda. I also love a martini – gin, sometimes dirty, sometimes just with a twist. Frank’s Bar under Maison François is a great spot for cocktails and the food’s brilliant too. If you could cook for three people, who would they be? Stephen Fry, because I’d love to hear him telling stories while I cook. Nigella, of course – I’ve always loved her relaxed style of cooking, and I like her line about being a cook not a chef, which I’ve sort of stolen for myself. And then, a bit different, but Loyle Carner. I met him briefly the other day at an Ottolenghi event and he was lovely – and he’s big into his food. I think he’d bring great energy to the table. One cuisine for the rest of your life? It would have to be Italian. Italy is so special because it’s held on to its regional cooking and identity. That can cause heated debates online when I cook something one region’s way and someone from another region disagrees, but that’s part of what I love about it. There’s still so much for me to discover, and I definitely plan to. If you did open a restaurant, what would it be like? It would be a pub. I love The Fox in the Cotswolds – when you walk in, it still feels like a proper pub, but the food and art are fantastic. I’d want to create something like that in London: a real pub atmosphere downstairs where you can just have a pint or some pub grub, then a smarter dining room upstairs with a weekly changing menu, a bit more refined, with Italian influences and always seasonal. If I won the lottery, I’d have a farm and source everything from there. Finally, James, what’s your foodie hill to die on? I’ve got two. First: seasonality. I bang on about it all the time, but I think it’s the key to better, more sustainable eating. Second: there’s no excuse for bad food. It doesn’t take much to make a dish good – you don’t need fancy training, just a little thought and care. Once you’ve done that a few times it becomes second nature. Even with cheap ingredients, you can make something delicious. I don’t think it’s all about money – I know people who earn plenty who still eat rubbish food.

Pool go down to Gala 1 nil

it's a win but what a meh performance

fucking RED because of that bullshit first yellow the ref has really fucked us

hell NO to Trubin he has been shit every time I have watched him in the past 6, 9 months

fucking Sanchez with shit passing

shit yellow on Buonanotte he clearly got the ball

woooooooot

we look shakey as shit Sanchez is wank

Antonio Silva has so regressed, he is shit atm

madness (the line-up) no (in the starting line-up) Reece James João Pedro wtf

Xavi and Silva: Outlet names 10 managers who could replace Enzo Maresca at Chelsea https://Chelsea.news/2025/09/xavi-and-silva-outlet-names-10-managers-who-could-replace-enzo-maresca-at-Chelsea/ 10. Julian Nagelsmann 9. Diego Simeone 8. Unai Emery 7. Antonio Conte 6. Carlo Ancelotti 5. Oliver Glasner 4. Andoni Iraola 3. Liam Rosenior 2. Xavi 1. Marco Silva

I am not all that hopeful

Is Chelsea’s focus on youth and squad churn harming their ability to compete? https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6661949/2025/09/29/Chelsea-squad-age-churn-recruitment-analysis/ It has been more than 30 years since the legendary Liverpool centre-back turned pundit Alan Hansen uttered six words that continue to resonate with football fans today. And though the Scotsman’s claim — “you can’t win anything with kids” — has been repeatedly challenged in the seasons since, the idea that competitive sides require a healthy balance of youth and proven experience continues to hold weight when it comes to building Premier League squads. Chelsea have not stuck to that line of thinking since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital consortium took over the club in 2022. There has been more than £1.5billion ($2bn) of investment into the squad in transfer fees alone, with 36 of the 48 permanent signings made aged 23 or below since the deal was struck. It means the potential at Enzo Maresca’s disposal is frightening, but there have already been games this season in which his side have looked a little overawed and undercooked for the gruelling schedule to come. “In terms of experience between them and us, I think there was a huge difference,” admitted the Italian after the recent 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich, in which his opponents boasted more than seven times the Champions League appearances of the 23 players in his squad. Even after an uncomfortable Carabao Cup win against third-tier Lincoln City, Maresca pointed out some of his players have not yet been exposed to the physicality and intensity of English football. “Jamie Gittens had never played against a League One side. Jorrel Hato had never played this kind of game before,” said the manager, cooped up in the cosy press room at the Sincil Bank stadium. “We need this experience. We need it.” On Saturday, they lost 3-1 against Brighton & Hove Albion — giving them two wins, two draws and two defeats from their opening six Premier League games. There are tactical issues for Maresca to iron out and key injuries to account for too. But there is also a distinct feeling that, despite enormous outlay in the transfer market, the constant churn of players for the future is making it difficult to lay lasting foundations for the season. Chelsea’s squad has been drastically reshaped over the past three campaigns, with the aim of bringing in exciting, technically gifted players at an early age and giving them time to develop — sometimes on loan, other times with the first team — while contracted to the club. That strategy is clear when tracking the average age of Chelsea’s starting XI since the turn of the century, where we can see a noticeable dip in recent years. Chelsea’s team has been the youngest in the Premier League in each of the past three seasons, while only six of the 20 current Premier League squads, including the three promoted sides, have made fewer cumulative appearances in the competition. That does not have to be a bad thing. Chelsea’s title-winning squad in 2004-05 was the youngest to win the Premier League in the competition’s history, while their 2024-25 side was the youngest to finish in the top five (they finished fourth). If the talent is there, and it is managed well, then there is little concrete evidence to suggest younger teams are at an inherent disadvantage over their more seasoned rivals. But circumstances have changed over the summer for Chelsea, now competing in the Champions League rather than the Europa Conference League, who face much sterner examinations of their squad depth during midweek games. A persistent groin injury has kept the talismanic Cole Palmer out of action, while Liam Delap, Levi Colwill, Dario Essugo and Tosin Adarabioyo are also on the treatment table. This means too much responsibility has been placed on young and inexperienced shoulders in these early weeks of the season to realistically expect consistent results. Maresca was criticised for his team selection in the 2-2 draw at Brentford, when he included the 19-year-old Hato from the start, alongside debutant Facundo Buonanotte, 20, and the out-of-form 21-year-old Gittens. With just 22 minutes of competitive action under his belt for his new club before his maiden start, it was evident Hato was still getting to grips with his new, very specific role in this Chelsea side. The €40m-plus summer signing from Ajax was tasked with drifting into midfield and disrupting the opposition’s shape when his team-mates had the ball. He struggled to impact the game like Marc Cucurella often does from that position, but it is difficult to blame him for playing it safe on his very first Premier League start. The Netherlands international often looked hesitant to drift too far from his prescribed position in Maresca’s highly structured system. Jorrel Hato, 19, struggled in the 2-2 draw with Brentford (Harry Murphy/Getty Images) Things will undoubtedly click into place, but patience is required, and that is something that has not always been afforded to Chelsea’s project players since the new owners took over. It is not only that they are attempting to “win with kids” — which can be done in the right conditions. Chelsea are trying to win with a different set of young players every year. More stability in the market would allow them to develop more reliable depth across the squad. The Athletic recently looked into the impact of overhauling playing squads on performance and found that generally, the best-performing teams maintain a stronger spine of players from the previous season. The graphic below illustrates the average “squad churn” of each team to finish in each position over the past 30 seasons. It is a metric that calculates how the share of playing minutes shifts from one season to the next, where a churn percentage of zero would mean that every player from last season played the exact same proportion of minutes. A score of 100 per cent would indicate a completely rebuilt side. Unsurprisingly, newly promoted sides tend to experience the most turnover as they look to bridge the gap in quality between the Championship and the Premier League, but there is an interesting trend towards tighter-knit squads as the position in the table gets stronger. Chelsea made nine permanent signings in the summer, with four teenagers joining the squad, while 16 players left the club for good. Of those who departed, 10 had joined Chelsea within the last two years. The speed at which Chelsea are happy to replace players who have not quite clicked means that, aside from a small core, they have a constantly revolving selection of inexperienced players who have not been afforded the time to settle in. Looking at Chelsea’s own squad churn over a similar time period, we can see they have undergone continuous upheaval across the past three years, way above the current rates that, historically, correspond to high Premier League positions. The sheer extremity of Chelsea’s approach means that they are likely to defy precedent. No team have invested so heavily, and so frequently, in so many high-potential players across such a short period of time — wherever they finish at the end of the season, they will likely be the youngest Premier League team to do so. There is no doubt the transfer strategy has yielded some players — from Palmer to Moises Caicedo, Colwill to Enzo Fernandez — who will drive the progress of the club for years to come. In Joao Pedro, Estevao, Kendry Paez, and Hato, they may have identified some more. But it is also clear the current group of players lack some of the intangibles — genuine leadership, dependable consistency, and good old-fashioned knowhow — that only come from experience at the level required. It feels like it is time to supplement the squad with proven talent, or at least give the newest recruits sufficient time before ripping up the plan and starting again next summer.

They bought a shedload new, decent players.

you said which is a general statement implying we have no MFers of that level

Inside Graham Potter’s eight months at West Ham: Intense pressure, clashes with key figures https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6637420/2025/09/28/west-ham-graham-potters-inside-clashes/ It was during a team meeting on Saturday morning that West Ham United’s squad suspected something was different. Training at the club’s main hub, Rush Green, was scheduled to start at 9.30am and head coach Graham Potter arrived early to prepare for Monday’s match away to Everton. But that session with his squad was disrupted by the 50-year-old wandering in and out of the room. It was not common for him to behave in this manner, which confused the players. It turned out Potter, who only succeeded summer 2024 appointment Julen Lopetegui in January, had been told he too had been relieved of his duties. The former Brighton and Chelsea manager then informed the players and said his farewells, with many of the squad shocked at the timing of the decision. Club secretary Andrew Pincher tried to ease their concerns by reassuring them someone new would be overseeing training at 12.30pm. The players were initially unaware that person would be Nuno Espirito Santo. Former West Ham manager Slaven Bilic held conversations with the board over a return, but Nuno was their preferred option. They first entertained the possibility of the Portuguese replacing Potter earlier this month, when he was sacked as Nottingham Forest head coach. West Ham officially announced Potter’s dismissal at 10.35am and confirmed Nuno, who has signed a three-year contract, as his successor four hours later. The 51-year-old will be assisted initially by academy coaches Mark Robson, Steve Potts, Gerard Prenderville and Billy Lepine, with a further announcement on his coaching staff expected in due course. “I am very pleased to be here and very proud to be representing West Ham United,” Nuno told the club’s website. “The work has already started and I am looking forward to the challenge that is ahead.” Potter won only six of his 25 games during his eight months at West Ham, including two (against Fulham on January 14 and Leicester City on February 27) of his 12 home matches. Supporters turned on him during the 2-1 defeat by visitors Crystal Palace last Saturday with chants of, “You don’t know what you’re doing”, and, “You’re getting sacked in the morning”. But, despite being under pressure, he did not expect his week to end like this. Graham Potter talks to players during his last game in charge on September 20 (Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images) He oversaw training on Monday, gave the squad Thursday off with the Everton match not until Monday and conducted his usual media duties on Friday. At that pre-match press conference, Potter spoke about his appreciation of the board, the need to fix West Ham’s problems together and the rather peculiar viral face-swap trend that involves him. But as he acknowledged in a statement released after his departure, “the results have just not been good enough up to now”, and he leaves with West Ham 19th in the 20-team Premier League. The Athletic has talked to people at the club close to the hierarchy and to players, and people close to the outgoing head coach. Everyone spoke under the condition of anonymity, to protect relationships. We can reveal for the first time what went wrong for Potter at West Ham, including how: He was under intense pressure as early as May He clashed with players Edson Alvarez and Jean-Clair Todibo His concerns over captain Jarrod Bowen’s ability to lead the team The summer departures of Michail Antonio, Aaron Cresswell and Vladimir Coufal proved detrimental to team spirit. Before Potter signed a two-and-a-half-year contract to manage West Ham in January, a picture leaked online of him meeting their then technical director Tim Steidten in the foyer of a hotel. This annoyed Potter, who felt holding talks in such a public place was an amateurish move. But despite his frustration, he felt it was the right time to return to the touchline, 20 months after being sacked by Chelsea in April 2023. “As soon as I spoke to this club, it felt right for me,” Potter said in his first West Ham press conference. “I spoke to the board and everyone connected with the club. This one felt like the right one. I’m really excited to be here with a passionate and brilliant fanbase. I think it’s a good fit.” Potter learnt Spanish and sought advice from former England manager Roy Hodgson and current England rugby union head coach Steve Borthwick during his time away from the game. He was also heavily linked with the England job before Thomas Tuchel’s appointment late last year, so his arrival at the London Stadium was considered a coup. But it was a relationship that was strained from the start, given protracted negotiations over the length of his contract. Majority shareholder David Sullivan was initially only willing to give Potter a deal until the end of last season, terms he was reluctant to accept. Karren Brady, the vice-chair, then led negotiations, and all parties agreed to Potter’s terms. In his first week, he called a team meeting at the training ground and was happy with the players’ response about where improvement was needed. But he then got off to a rocky start on the pitch, losing 2-1 away to Aston Villa in the FA Cup in his first game in charge. Despite an encouraging performance that night, striker Niclas Fullkrug and winger Crysencio Summerville suffered hamstring injuries that would keep them out for three and seven months respectively. West Ham won only one of their next five games. (Warren Little/Getty Images) After the 1-0 home loss to Brentford on February 15, a team meeting was held. The players were aware that performance was not up to Potter’s standards. An honest discussion ensued, which yielded a positive display away to Arsenal a week later. Bowen’s solitary goal secured the win on what will be remembered as just about the only day in the Potter era where it clicked. His 5-3-2 formation worked, and the team spirit was palpable after full time: Potter embraced his backroom staff, Alvarez mischievously celebrated in front of the Arsenal fans seated behind the dugouts and Todibo hopped on fellow defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s back. Bowen led the walk to the away enclosure, where supporters serenaded the squad with various chants. Back in the dressing room, Potter told the players they had the next day off. It was not “Champagne football”, as he admitted in his post-match press conference, but it was a step in the right direction. Potter’s West Ham won 1-0 at Arsenal in February (Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images) Hours later, Potter was pictured travelling on the London Underground. He had a funny exchange with an Arsenal supporter, who was not best pleased to see him. But for the coach, it felt like a match where he was rewarded for his efforts on the training ground. A 2-0 home victory over Leicester a few days later meant West Ham had kept consecutive clean sheets for the first time since the November (when they drew 0-0 with Everton at home and won 2-0 away to Newcastle United under Lopetegui), and had their first back-to-back league wins since previous March, when David Moyes was still the manager. The positive run, though, was not to last. By the May 11 visit to Manchester United, West Ham were winless in eight games. Potter made three changes to the starting XI, with Coufal and midfielders Guido Rodriguez and James Ward-Prowse brought in to replace Emerson Palmieri, Lucas Paqueta and Fullkrug. Kyle Macaulay, the head of recruitment, emailed the team sheet to Sullivan, who was not pleased with the line-up. Potter was informed failing to win that day could cost him his job, but West Ham ended up leaving Old Trafford with a 2-0 victory, courtesy of goals from Bowen and Tomas Soucek. Despite the team’s underwhelming performances, Potter remained confident he was the right man for the job. He thought his squad were responding well to feedback from him and his backroom staff. In April, Potter spoke about the benefits of sharing “home truths” with the players. “You have to look people in the eye and speak honestly,” he said at a press conference. “They help clear the air and give people a chance to voice their frustrations. That’s something we do all the time. It helps us understand and look under the bonnet to see things clearer.” One of Potter’s first acts at West Ham was to increase the intensity in training sessions and then give players time off. Under Lopetegui, some of the squad found it hard to understand what the Spaniard was trying to achieve, with the team often playing a possession-based game in training that had the goalkeepers sometimes mixing in with their outfield colleagues. (Harry Murphy/Getty Images) But Potter was very much hands-on, although he delegated most of the work to assistants Billy Reid, Bruno Saltor, Narcis Pelach and Prenderville, who was promoted from the club’s under-21s setup earlier this month. Reid, Saltor and goalkeeper coaches Casper Ankergren and Linus Kandolin have all left the club with Potter. Many of the players enjoyed how meticulous the head coach was when going over details pre-and post-match but, as poor results continued, some felt this information went in one ear and out the other. Potter inherited a tempestuous group when he followed the shortest-lived managerial appointment in the club’s 130-year history, with Lopetegui sacked after just 22 games. The new boss did not want history to repeat itself, although there were further dressing-room incidents. He also had concerns about the lack of leaders in the team, and appointed James Bell as a sports psychologist to help his squad better manage stressful situations. A common theme this season has been how quiet the dressing-room was after matches. Even following heavy losses to London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham, none of the senior players were vocal. Instead, it was Potter who did most of the talking. There were also questions over Bowen’s inability to lead the team. Although he is considered the club’s best player, he is not perhaps naturally suited to the captaincy and had a heated exchange with a West Ham supporter following last month’s Carabao Cup loss at Wolves. Jarrod Bowen tends to do his talking on the pitch (Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images) In April, Potter took issue with Fullkrug launching a diatribe against his team-mates after a 1-1 draw at home to already-relegated Southampton. The 32-year-old Germany international told Sky Sports of his “anger” at the display, saying “we didn’t have the ability or the motivation to push up”, and adding: “The motivation… sorry, we were s**t. I’m very angry.” Although Fullkrug didn’t get fined over the episode, Potter was not pleased with the comments, which further cemented his view of a player who is one of West Ham’s highest earners. To compound matters, Potter had a disagreement with Alvarez that same month and felt a summer departure for the midfielder would be best for all parties. In August, Mexico captain Alvarez joined Turkish club Fenerbahce on loan in a deal including an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season. Todibo is another who did not have the greatest relationship with Potter. Having initially joined on loan from Nice in the summer of 2024, West Ham activated a £32.8million ($43.9m at the current rate) obligation to buy in June. Todibo, who has two caps for France, rejected a move to Juventus in favour of West Ham. Countryman Alphonse Areola also advised the defender to turn down the Italian side and join him at the London Stadium. But Todibo frustrated Potter with his inconsistent performances and was dropped for the 3-0 defeat by Tottenham two weeks ago over bad timekeeping. He did not produce a performance in training that was up to Potter’s standards on September 11 and was called to the head coach’s office and told to improve. But then he arrived late the following day. Full-back Emerson lost his place in the latter stages of last season. The 31-year-old wanted to stay to fight for a recall, but Potter had other ideas. The left-back was not properly fit when he reported for pre-season and arrived late for training on a few occasions. Potter told the Italy international to train with the under-21s, and he was omitted from West Ham’s pre-season tour to the United States so he could find a new club. Eventually, on deadline day at the start of this month, Emerson joined Marseille for a small fee, becoming West Ham’s tenth departure in a summer that began with Mohammed Kudus being sold to Spurs for £55million. Antonio, the club’s record Premier League goalscorer, Cresswell and Coufal all departed in May upon the expiry of their contracts. The trio were popular members of the dressing room. Antonio, for example, was in charge of the squad’s fines system, would keep his fellow players in check and organised team-bonding sessions. Nobody has really replaced him as that figure. There is some sympathy for Potter among the players that this situation is not all his fault. He tried his best to unite the squad, but his decisions to get rid of some big characters counted against him. El Hadji Malick Diouf (Slavia Prague), Soungoutou Magassa (Monaco), Mateus Fernandes (Southampton) and Mads Hermansen (Leicester) came in over the summer, with Igor Julio joining on a season-long loan from Brighton, and Kyle Walker-Peters and Callum Wilson signing as free agents. West Ham spent around £125million altogether and, in pre-season, there was excitement from within over what they could achieve in their 2025-26 campaign. The atmosphere at the training ground, according to staff who work there, felt more together, more holistic. But the feel-good factor evaporated following a chastening 3-0 opening-weekend loss away to promoted Sunderland. Further defeats by Chelsea, Wolves, Tottenham and Crystal Palace added to Potter’s woes. Tara Warren, West Ham’s executive director, never usually attends their managers’ press conferences but was present when Potter addressed the media last Thursday, September 18, before the Palace game, and he faced reporters on Friday, the day before his dismissal, too. In a statement released by the League Managers Association later on Saturday, Potter said he was “incredibly disappointed” to be leaving West Ham, “particularly without being able to achieve what we set out to achieve at the start of our journey in east London”. Over to you, Nuno!