In the wake of Graham Potter’s sacking the beans are being spilt by journalists and it seems the axed head coach was really struggling to implement his family culture at West Ham.
Unity, alignment, family culture, all-for-one and one-for-all, looking after each other, taking responsibility.
Those were just some of the lines Graham Potter would utter when trying to turn the sinking ship that is West Ham around.
It sounded great at the start and some of it right out of the David Moyes playbook.
The difference is Moyes, a taskmaster who is nobody’s fool, could get nasty when he needed to.
And West Ham’s mish-mash squad looks like it needs more stick than carrot.
West Ham’s regression pre-dates Potter all the way back to the turn of the year 2023/24.
But things got undeniably worse under the Englishman.
Potter fell out with three West Ham stars but there was more
That did not seem possible when Julen Lopetegui was surviving week to week around this time last year before eventually being sacked in January.
Leaks from the club back in December revealed mutiny chaos as five West Ham stars united to try and force the owners to sack Lopetegui.
When Lopetegui was eventually shown the door around a month later, all the stories came out.
The Athletic reporter Roshane Thomas revealed all on fall-outs behind the scenes with various players and the manager.
Now the cycle is repeating itself.
Potter was axed on Saturday and replaced by Nuno Espirito Santo.
The timing was a shock even if the actual deed wasn’t following just six wins in 25 games.
If performances and results are anything to go by, it has been clear for the best part of two years that all is not well behind the Irons curtain at West Ham.
Now it has been confirmed. Again.
Potter fell out with three West Ham stars but the biggest is on the cards after his sacking.
There were laughable claims this weekend that senior West Ham players were still backing Potter and did not want to see him sacked.
Besides the fact they had a funny way of showing it on the pitch, an article on that backing completely missed the point.
Potter’s biggest player fall out is on the cards after sacking
There is no player in West Ham’s squad bar Jarrod Bowen who has any standing or credibility among fans or ownership to carry any weight whatsoever when it comes to managerial decisions at the football club.
So if Max Kilman and James Ward-Prowse want Potter to stay, it’s irrelevant.
Change in the dugout was needed if West Ham are to stay in the Premier League.
Although fans know that more significant and fundamental change at the very top is required for long-lasting improvements in east London.
Now journalist Thomas has spilled the beans from behind-the-scenes once again.
The reporter has named the three players Potter fell out with – but it is more like five based on what is known about the goings-on at the club this year.
The biggest may be yet to come, though, after Thomas’ revelation from Potter’s side.
It has been claimed that Potter had fall outs with £32m defender Jean-Clair Todibo, bombed out midfielder Edson Alvarez and outspoken striker Niclas Fullkrug.
Fullkrug’s spat with Potter was played out in public after he called the team and the manager’s tactics “s—“. So that is hardly a major revelation.
Reports on a row between Alvarez and Potter were also well publicised at the end of last season.
But Todibo was a problem for Lopetegui and his attitude has now been called further into question.
Thomas revealed Potter called the French defender into his office to tell him to improve his effort levels in training.
Todibo’s response? He turned up late the next day – hence being dropped from the team and squad altogether recently.
Bowen’s West Ham leadership questioned in Potter leak
Emerson Palmieri made it clear he did not see eye-to-eye with Potter before and after leaving for Marseille.
West Ham fans are convinced Potter also fell out with Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
But the biggest fall-out could be with captain fantastic Bowen.
Because Thomas has claimed sources close to Potter have revealed he had serious concerns over ‘Bowen’s inability to captain the team’.
The report states that Potter clearly acknowledged Bowen was the club’s best player but did not feel he naturally suited the captaincy role.
A penny for Bowen’s thoughts on that, especially after the Hammers talisman fronted the disastrous Potter reign on a weekly basis for the cameras.
It will be interesting to see if Nuno agrees with Potter and indeed whether he can get a tune out of a dressing room that clearly still has a level of toxicity to it.
