The only downside to watching Freddie Potts swagger around the pitch – as former West Ham United manager Alan Pardew did during Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Newcastle – is that such a sight should not have taken this long to arrive.
It had been a common question, or complaint, if you like, throughout the first nine matchdays.
What more did Freddie Potts need to do to start a Premier League match? Graham Potter felt the Hammers starlet wasn’t ready.
Nuno Espirito Santo came in for criticism, too, especially after picking Andy Irving and Tomas Soucek ahead of him, Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa during the 2-1 defeat at Leeds.
So a commanding, classy and mature Potts performance, as West Ham United roared back to beat Newcastle at the London Stadium, was one in the eye for those who doubted the 22-year-old’s top-flight credentials.
And Alan Pardew, who coached both clubs during a lengthy managerial career, feels that it is no exaggeration to compare Potts to a young Mark Noble on Sunday’s evidence.
Alan Pardew likens Freddie Potts to West Ham United legend Mark Noble
The frustrating thing is, how much better would West Ham have been – against the likes of Brentford, Leeds and Everton – had Nuno put his faith in Potts a month or so earlier in his tenure?
Only El Hadji Malick Diouf made more tackles against Newcastle. Only Max Kilman and Aaron Wan-Bissaka completed more clearances. Only Lucas Paqueta made more passes.
Twenty years after Pardew handed legendary captain Noble his first start in a claret and blue shirt, he could not help be reminded of the man who now has the luxury of watching his potential protege from a front row seat in his position as sporting director.
“Forget about his disallowed goal, it was just his all-round performance,” Pardew says, Potts denied a first senior West Ham goal due to a narrow offside against Tomas Soucek.
“He looked like Mark Noble to me, I can’t give him higher praise than that. His dad [Steve] must be so proud.”
Pardew watches Potts follow in the footsteps of dad Steve
Steve Potts was promoted to Nuno’s first-team staff last month, alongside fellow academy coaches Mark Robson, Gerard Prenderville and Billy Lepine. The former Wolves, Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest coach seems determined to make more use out of one of Britain’s most prosperous youth systems.
Freddie Potts’ first start comes after Callum Marshall made his Premier League bow under Nuno. Ollie Scarles started successive matches too before dislocating his shoulder at Elland Road.
Potts is now the third member of his family to play top-flight football in claret and blue, by the way. Steve played over 500 games for the club while older brother Dan – now at Luton Town – also rose through the ranks in East London.
“It carries so much weight with West Ham fans, when they’ve got one of their own strutting about like he was [against Newcastle],” adds Pardew, who took the Hammers to the FA Cup final in 2006.
“His little touches on the ball, his movement, trying to find space, etc, etc. Brilliant. And that kind of pedigree is always nice. [Potts is following in the footsteps of] the Lampards, for example.”
West Ham academy graduate announces himself in the Premier League
Potts was named Man of the Match on Sunday, serenaded by a chorus of ‘One of our own’ from the home fans. Only a first senior goal would have improved a magical afternoon.
“I just wanted to fight for my shirt,” a delighted Potts said, speaking to the official West Ham website. “I think it’s a saying, but you’ve got to do everything on the pitch to show the manager and show everyone that you want to be here and you want to play in the Premier League.
“I just wanted to win every battle that I could out there and do everything I could for the team, and I think we all did that together as a team today.
“I think it wasn’t just me, but there were a lot of players, everyone did it. We all fought for the shirt, and we came away with three points, which I think was deserved.
“I feel like everyone today showed that we’ve got the character and the challenge to come back from positions that we have been in the past, and we can win games, especially against teams like Newcastle who attack really well,” adds the former Portsmouth loanee.
“We can definitely attack back and win games, and we showed that today, that we’ve got that fight and desire, and I feel like everyone showed that, and it was really good to see.
“Honestly, after that goal when it was ruled offside, I forgot about it until someone told me after the game! I was told by Ollie [Scarles] it was so close, and I remembered about it.
“But the main thing today was to come into the team and help everyone and do what I can, and, thankfully, we showed a performance and fight where we were deserving of three points.”
