West Ham could be ‘forced’ to sack Graham Potter as they cave in to fans
West Ham could be forced to sack Graham Potter as large sections of fans have now turned on the board, according to their former senior scout.
Mick Brown, who also worked as the chief scout at Man United and Sunderland and remains very well-connected at his former clubs, exclusively told Football Insider that the board could pull the trigger to take the heat off of themselves.
West Ham fans have demanded Potter be sacked after a poor start to the season which has seen heavy defeats to Sunderland, Chelsea and Tottenham in their opening four games.
During West Ham’s 3-0 defeat to Spurs, the London Stadium was almost completely empty after just 70 minutes as fans made their displeasure clear.
Football Insider revealed on 16 September that West Ham are set to stick with Potter for the time being, but the growing pressure has made their position difficult.
West Ham forced to make Graham Potter sack decision
Brown told Football Insider on 18 August that Potter is facing huge pressure following a “disastrous” start to the season with supporters not happy.
The former scout, who has a wealth of experience working alongside elite-level managers including the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Ron Atkinson at Man United, insisted that the pressure on the board could now force them into a decision.
“West Ham fans are not happy with the board and haven’t been for a long time,” he told Football Insider.
“If we take a cold, hard look at the decisions they’ve made just in terms of managers, they had Moyes who had them regularly competing in Europe and lifted a European trophy, but they got rid of him because they wanted to play a different type of football.
“Since then, they’ve had two different manager, and it might even be three in the next few weeks, so what does that say about their plans for the club?
“But have they ever picked up the tab for that? No is the answer, the pressure on them always gets diverted elsewhere, usually onto the manager.
“In my experience with the board there, they don’t like pressure being put on them.
“I think that’s the case with a lot of people at the top of these clubs, but it certainly is at West Ham, and more often than not they’ll take the manager to take the heat off.
“It wouldn’t surprise me to see them go down the same route with Potter because they’re not going to like it when the fans start protesting against them.”
West Ham fans begin protests against the board
After issuing a letter of no confidence in the club hierarchy, the supporters are planning to step up their protests and are targeting their anger at the directors.
West Ham fans are planning to boycott their clash with Brentford on 20 October, with the fixture at the London Stadium set to be televised on Sky Sports.
Protests are also expected ahead of their home game against Crystal Palace on Saturday (20 September), with unrest now reaching boiling point.
Brown told Football Insider in October 2024 that West Ham fans can play a key role in managerial sackings with pressure on the board forcing them into a decision.
However, regardless of their stance on Potter’s future, there have been suggestions that David Sullivan could be forced to sell his shares due to the unrest.
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