
I haven’t written anything until now because the first three matches I attended! Sunderland, Chelsea, and Wolves, felt like a continuation of everything we had already seen under Potter’s rigid 3-5-2 / 5-3-2 formation.
The results, unsurprisingly, followed the same pattern: a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Sunderland, a 5-1 demolition by Chelsea, and then somehow allowing Wolves to score twice in as many minutes to come from behind and draw 2-2. The common denominator? Predictable tactics and questionable personnel choices.
In each game, I was left with the same conclusion: we’re being undone not just by quality, but by a system that doesn't fit the players we have, or vice versa.
Then came a glimmer of hope. The club signed Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa, two midfielders who immediately offered something different. Until then, our midfield had been painfully pedestrian. These signings looked like a genuine attempt to address that.
But just as spirits were lifting, we woke up on matchday to the bombshell news that our only real flair player Lucas Paquetá, the one who could carry the ball, beat a man, and genuinely excite, was leaving for Aston Villa.
Now, I wasn’t sure whether this was another of David Sullivan’s classic PR tactics to turn the fans on a player, or a genuine sale. But it was Fabrizio Romano reporting it, and he's usually spot on.
So with a weakened side, unrest brewing, and expectations low, we walked into the City Ground…
Nottingham Forest 0 – West Ham 3: Reactions & Redemption
Against all odds, the performance was unrecognisable.
- The system shifted. Whether by necessity or choice, the formation finally allowed our players to express themselves.
- Mateus Fernandes looked like the real deal. Composed, energetic, and always offering himself for the ball.
- We bossed midfield. Calm under pressure and broke up play brilliantly.
- Goals from Bowen, Paquetá and Wilson silenced a Forest side who looked utterly shell-shocked.
- Paquetá’s goal celebration will forever live in our hearts as he showed he is going nowhere.
"That’s the West Ham I’ve been waiting for — brave, quick, and ruthless." – @IronLad91
"Fernandes is everything we’ve been missing. How was he not signed earlier?!" – @HammersAnalyst
"Funny how it takes losing your only flair player for the rest of the team to suddenly click. Not complaining, though." – @ClaretandBru
"Potter finally ditched the 5 at the back and look what happened. Football’s not that complicated." – @TheRealEastEnd.
Final Thoughts:
One win doesn’t fix the problems overnight, but maybe, just maybe, this is the turning point. If Potter can stay out of his own way and let the talent breathe, we might be in for a few more nights like that, and if Fernandes continue to grow and we add Magassa? Then this might just have been the shock this squad needed.