The last seven games were a mixed bag in the league. What have you made of our recent efforts?
Dawud Marsh: It’s been a tough gig watching our underperforming team drag themselves to the end of the season with nothing to lose or play for. I feel for the away fans that’s for sure. But what a win against Man Utd to push us above them and Spurs in the league. That is what we play for – to be above those two teams when the final whistle blows at the end of the season. We finally saw what we can do as a team. Shame we didn’t do this for much of the season.
David Meagher: I think that the defining feature of these recent results has been our inability to avoid conceding late goals. We managed to drop 10 points by leaking goals in the final 15 minutes of those games, mainly by dropping too deep. Obviously we need to look at our defence but for me the big problem is a lack of energy in midfield to stop sides pinning us in. There have been glimpses of the Potter plan but my sense is that he needs a lot of new players if a new system is to work.
Paul Brand: Mixed bag sums it up. Worryingly, I think I’ve learnt less from the second half of the season than the first, although I hope Potter’s seeing enough to put all the necessary pieces in place for a better 2025/26.
Where does that Man United away victory rank compared to others in your living memory?
Dawud: It was not a classic, that’s for sure. You cannot beat Carlos Tevez’s goal against Man Utd on the final day of the 2006/07 season to secure our Premier League survival after winning seven of our final nine matches. The great escape. That will live long in all our memories.
David: I agree with Dawud, nothing compares with the 2007 Tevez game that sealed the great escape. Unbelievable stuff. I have been to Old Trafford twice – in 1999 when Paolo Wanchope put us briefly ahead before we succumbed to a 7-1 drubbing. Again, I was there for a 4-1 defeat in 2008 which was softened by a stunning Dean Ashton overhead kick goal. Yesterday may have been a game of little importance but a win at Old Trafford is never to be sniffed at.
Paul: The Di Canio – Barthez moment in the FA Cup obviously stands out. There have been some memorable home victories but not so many at Old Trafford, but all previous ones in my lifetime would have to rank higher simply because winning there this season is about on a par with collecting three points at Portman Road.
What have you made of Potter’s outbursts in recent press conferences?
Dawud: I feel for Potter, he has a difficult job and a team of mainly underperforming players, some of whom don’t want to be here. There are issues for sure, Fullkrug’s post match analysis recently showed us that. But I believe Potter is doing his best to protect the team. I do trust Potter but I need to see something more from the team and maybe that’s what we got in our win away at Man Utd – Potter finally getting something out of the team.
David: I think the enormity of the task is dawning on him. He is going to need to do a lot of squad shuffling to get a side that has the energy his system requires. I think he’s a canny sort and realises that it’s going to take time to get to where we want. Of the current squad, apart from Bowen, Kudus and Wan Bissaka, there aren’t too many players you would feel devastated if they moved on.
Paul: Potter’s always conducted himself well in the past but West Ham can do strange things to a man – he certainly wouldn’t be the first to crack! He’s joined us in a bizarre purgatory state in which we have nothing much to play for, which is a frustration in itself, so I’m withholding judgement until next season.
The club has announced that Fabianski, Coufal, Cresswell and Ings will all depart at the end of the season. What will be each player’s legacy?
Dawud: They have all been great servants to the club. Ings just couldn’t get into the team but he has been professional throughout. Coufal is one of my favourite players. I love his passion for the club and what he brought to the team with his desire to win tackles and go forward to whip in a cross. He was part of the Europa Conference winning team and he, along with everyone at the club during that season, will always be remembered for what we achieved. Fabianski wasHammer of the Year in the 2018-19 season and that was well deserved. He has been an excellent back up keeper for us since Areola took over too. Cresswell has been an excellent player for us, and although he has had limited chances to play recently, he leaves us with some wonderful moments, such as his 25 yard free kick against Man Utd in Dec 2020 to seal a 2-0 win. But then there are the sending offs in our 21/22 Europa League campaign, particularly in the semi final defeat against Frankfurt. It will be sad to see these all leave, but we need to move on and develop.
David: Cresswell has been a fantastic servant and fully deserves a testimonial. Fabianski and Coufal have been quietly dependable. Poor old Ings thrives in a two-man attack which we don’t favour so he has been an expensive marginal squaddie.
Paul: Fab is our most dependable and consistent keeper in a generation so it’s almost a shame for him that he stayed first-choice for so long and Areola got the glory of being the ‘cup’ keeper on most of our European adventures. Cress didn’t have his best nights in Europe but I hope he’s remembered more for years of great service than those slips. Coufal is definitely a cult hero for his ‘one of us’ attitude. And Ings unfortunately leaves no legacy other than becoming another byword for an expensive dud signing.
Looking back on the season, which games should we have got more from? How many points extra could we have had? Any games that spring to mind where we were lucky?
Dawud: It’s been an underwhelming season and we hope the mistake of employing Lopetegui won’t be made again. What that sorry episode brought to the fore was the chaos behind the scenes with ongoing issues around player recruitment and Steidten’s role finally coming to an end. What a soap opera. But we did the double over Man Utd, and beat Arsenal and Newcastle away. But so many games we just couldn’t get that winning goal nor hold on to a lead. The away game against Everton and home games against Bournemouth and Southampton come to mind. We are where we are because that is the level we are at. Wishing we had won more doesn’t change the fact we only got the points we deserved. We have to be honest. My stress levels will go down after the final whistle is blown on this season.
David: I thought after an emphatic 4-1 win over Ipswich in October that we would push on but alas we stuttered and in fairness our league position is about right. We were very unlucky to lose to Leicester away but probably fortunate to nobble Man United 2-1 before Christmas. Yes, with better luck we could have picked up an extra 12 to 15 points but we have been tactically lacking throughout the season. We are stuck in rebuild mode for now, but Potter really reminds me of the patient system-based managers of the past – John Lyall in particular springs to mind. Hopefully we can have a run at a European spot next season because those nights have been fabulous over recent seasons.
Paul: I still can’t believe we lost 3-1 at Leicester in a game we dominated; that felt like the death knell for Lopetegui. And the narrow defeat to Villa on day one set the tone – that could have gone either way, as could the cup tie at Villa Park. Overall though, we’ve mostly got what we deserved.
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