Latest Opinion

I'm not quite sure what I expected on Sunday against Forest – although to be honest that’s mostly been the case with West Ham throughout the 65+ years I’ve supported them!

You never really know what’s next on the menu. WHU - West Ham Unpredictable!




Sunday, I’d hoped we could maybe kick-on from the excellent win at Old Trafford the week before. Sadly not the case. But let’s be fair, Nottingham Forest this season have been a far better side than Manchester United. Better than the majority of the sides in the Premier League in fact – their league position doesn’t lie.

They’ve taken on the big boys and smacked their backsides on several occasions. Nuno has expertly crafted his team into a formidable shape and got them playing in a highly effective way. Ironically a similar way to that David Moyes operated with so successfully during the majority of his time with us. Low block designed to stay tight and give nothing away, complimented by quick and effective breaks.

We returned stats on Sunday which should have delighted Moyes’ critics – who last season regularly flagged up what they saw as our deficits in those areas of play under him. Possession was 61% to 39% in our favour, total shots were 16 to 12 in our favour, passes were 499 to 326 in our favour.

But the only stat which really matters in the final outcome, the score, finished 2-1 in Forest’s favour. Nuno is a pragmatist, the way Moyes was happy to describe himself, and he was more than delighted with the way the end result went. Some claimed we were terrible on Sunday. We weren’t – we just weren’t good enough!

We handed our visitors a goal start – not for the first time this season – then found ourselves two down as a result of a ridiculously long and drawn-out VAR intervention which eventually decided a Forest player whose right boot, which is clearly in an offside position from the photos I’ve seen – wasn’t impacting on or influencing the play.

The legendary Brian Clough would have taken great delight in shooting that theory down with his famous quote: “If any one of my players isn’t interfering with play, they’re not getting paid!"

Our skipper did give us hope of doing what we’ve been on the wrong end of too often recently – grabbing a late goal and point – but Forest’s excellent ‘keeper Sels pulled off a brilliant save to deny Fullkrug and got his hand to a Soler goal-bound shot.

There were several other timely blocks from defenders willing to put their bodies on the line to protect their spoils, too. I’ve purposely not mentioned the referee’s part in the proceedings because finding the words to describe Sam Barrott’s performance is near impossible.




So disappointment again at the final result, a feeling that’s been all to familiar this season – and with it more criticism for Graham Potter from those who want him gone after just five months.

As well as being unhappy with the performance, his critics weren’t best pleased with his handling of those players on the pitch who we already know will be gone next term. He was criticised for taking off Aaron Cresswell on 58 minutes, along with Soucek, Rodriguez and JWP – some claiming he should have taken off Cresswell on his own so he would get personal applause from the fans.

Yet hadn’t we all shown our appreciation for Aaron's services before the game? I know I had! Bizarrely Potter also got stick for leaving Coufal on, after he suffered a heavy challenge which left him limping for a while.

Fabianski’s followers complained he should have started the game as a gesture of appreciation for his valued services. When things are not going for you, as they haven’t been for Potter, the shots rain in from all angles.

But he’s a big boy with broad shoulders and I’m sure he can handle it. Not surprisingly I haven’t seen anything about not saying a proper farewell to Danny Ings. Guess we’re all singing from the same song sheet with that one.

Now only Ipswich Town are left to face with the players Potter has inherited. His rebuilding and reshaping starts when the final whistle blows at Portman Road next Sunday. Hopefully the league table will show we have done enough to remain above the spuds and Man United – if nothing else proving we aren’t the only ones to suffer this season.

Some have clearly made their minds up on Potter already. They want him out. But that’s a pointless position to take up because it’s just not going to happen. Sullivan was reluctant enough to pay out compensation to one failed manager – he’s never going to shell out a second time in one season.

We have to give Graham Potter a chance - see who he brings in during the summer. Let's see how he sets us up for the new season. See what he can do with his own brand of players and stamp on the team.

* Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.

* Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the highlighted author/s and do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy or position of KUMB.com.