Details have started to emerge about the tumultuous reign of former West Ham head coach Graham Potter.
The 50-year-old was sacked and replaced by Nuno Espirito Santo on Saturday, and The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas has revealed the tensions in the dressing room that have been present throughout his nine-month spell in charge.
Potter had to discipline two different players for arriving late for training; one of whom is no longer at the club.
Jean-Clair Todibo was dropped for his poor timekeeping a day after Potter had warned him about his lacklustre efforts in training.
Thomas claims that Emerson Palmieri turned up for pre-season not fully fit before failing to turn up to training on time.
The Italian international was subsequently told to train with the Under-21s before being sold to Marseille. His performances since his move to France have been praised.
There’s an absence of leadership in the West Ham squad
Another big concern is the poor reaction from the team after defeats. There have reportedly been several instances where the dressing room has been silent, with captain Jarrod Bowen not even speaking up to address the squad and asking for accountability.
Bowen’s suitability for the captain’s armband has been called into question, and Potter’s decision to allow Vladimir Coufal, Aaron Cresswell and Michail Antonio to leave has created a vacuum in terms of other players who possess the requisite experience.
Alvarez and Potter did not get along
In addition to the fallouts with Todibo and Emerson due to their attitude, it appears the former Chelsea head coach had a disagreement with Edson Alvarez.
There is no information as to why the pair fell out, but it was clearly significant enough for the Mexican international to be sent out on loan to Fenerbahce.
It looks like Nuno has an almighty mess to clear up based on this inside information. He may have to make substantial changes to the squad when the transfer window reopens in the New Year. Whether there will be money available to do that, though, is another matter.
Read more about the West Ham First Team Squad for 2025/26 here
