Carlton Cole is not the first and nor the last West Ham United supporter who came away from Friday’s 2-1 defeat by Leeds questioning Nuno Espirito Santo’s team selection, and the ongoing omission of Freddie Potts.
Only a couple of weeks ago, the homegrown midfielder looked destined to play a key role in Nuno’s attempted East London revival project.
Nuno immediately got fans onside bringing Freddie Potts back into the club’s plans for the 1-1 draw at Everton which marked his debut in the West Ham United dugout. The Barking-born dynamo made such a difference on that Monday evening on Merseyside too. He brought a purpose and a positivity, the sort of which Nuno’s other midfield options can only dream of.
But, while many felt that Everton cameo was the precursor for a first Premier League start, Freddie Potts has been limited to a further two appearances off the bench since then. Nuno baffled the West Ham supporters when calling upon Guido Rodriguez instead against Brentford.
And, as Leeds deepened the Hammers’ gloom, Potts found himself playing back-up to a midfield duo with about as much agility as a double decker bus trying to squeeze its way around a roundabout. Andy Irving and Tomas Soucek were chosen ahead of him, before spending their Friday evening chasing shadows.
Carlton Cole, though, has a theory about why Potts’ wait for a first league start is dragging on.
Carlton Cole shares Freddie Potts theory as West Ham United lose at Leeds
The former striker, in his role as the club’s Loans and Pathways Manager, watched Potts blossom at Portsmouth last season. Pompey boss John Mousinho could not speak higher of the all-action 22-year-old, watching him depart to a ‘deserved’ standing ovation from the Fratton Park faithful after 38 appearances in 2024/25.
Cole, though, wonders if opportunities remain at a premium in a West Ham shirt because the club feels a need to ‘protect’ the youngster’s mental state and footballing development.
“I question that [team selection] as well. I look at it and I don’t get it, but [Nuno] has obviously seen something,” Cole said in response to a West Ham supporter baffled by another XI shorn of Potts, Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa, not to mention with Ollie Scarles at right-back and Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the left.
“Also, he’s trying something different to what Graham Potter did. You don’t see what is happening behind the scenes. He can see certain players, probably [thinking], ‘do you know what, he will fight for me’.
“I haven’t been privy to how he’s thinking, but it does all feel a bit strange.
“Nuno is trying to work miracles. It looks as if he is trying to find a formula that he might have dreamed of that looks credible in his eyes. But, from the outside looking in, people are confused with the line-up.
“I think there’s a little bit of protection for Potts,” adds a striker who scored 68 goals for West Ham in nearly a decade at the club. “He’s a young player, he’s just come back from loan. We have to try and protect our future as well, because he could be a player for future generations to come.
“And I think it’s a cauldron, to go to Elland Road and get a result.”
For the second match in a row, Irving was chosen to start in the middle of the park. While the Scot brings obvious determination and a neat left foot, his lack of mobility was something exposed by Leeds time and again.
“Andy Irving will try for you,” Cole says. “I like his spirit and, from where he’s come from, he has done really well. But, yeah, I would love to see Freddie Potts, one of our own who we have worked on. And I think he deserves more game time.
“When he was at Portsmouth, he was fighting relegation there. So he does have the know-how, and he was one of their better players. I know it’s a step up, the Premier League is a different animal, but he’s got it in him!”
West Ham are repeating the failings of the Avram Grant era
Cole knows from experience the failings which spark a relegation campaign. He was there in 2011 when West Ham were relegated under Avram Grant. And he cannot help but feel that history is repeating itself 14 years on.
“I am disappointed. I think every West Ham fan out there [is],” Cole explains. “I’m a fan, and I don’t like seeing this club in this place where we can’t buy a win.
“January cannot come soon enough. I just hope we can get some type of team spirit that is going to lead us out of this doom and gloom, because it’s bad. It’s bad. I’ve got to be honest, I cannot sit here and say we are looking up.
“We are looking down the barrel of the gun, and it looks like we have not learned anything from Monday. That was really bad.
“Nuno is trying his best. He is trying to figure out his team, who he can rely on. But some of the boys need to take ownership of their performance.
“I remember the ‘Great Escape’ season [of 2006/07] when not everybody was pulling their weight, and then we had Carlos Tevez at the end who saved our season. And then we had the season under Avram Grant, when we did get relegated. That was bad.
“I am kind of feeling that same energy. They are trying but nothing is coming together. There is no luck, no togetherness.”
