\u201cYou can write what you want, at any time,\u201d Graham Potter<\/a> said, when asked if this is already a relegation battle. He admitted he \u201cknows his responsibilities\u201d when asked about his future.<\/p>\n From that, you could of course write at least some of the good from this 5-1 \u2013 like Joao Pedro\u2019s supreme impact and how Chelsea might have now started a proper challenge. <\/p>\n Except, it\u2019s impossible not to get away from the bad. And this was very bad from West Ham<\/a> United, to the point that Potter looks in immediate danger. Might he even be gone before Nuno Espirito Santo<\/a>? Could the Nottingham Forest<\/a> manager replace him, given issues there?<\/p>\n West Ham certainly need basic defensive organisation. \u201cYou can\u2019t concede goals like we did,\u201d Potter said, as he referred to a second \u201csmash on the mouth\u201d after the opening weekend\u2019s 3-0 defeat at Sunderland<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here, the utter poverty of West Ham\u2019s performance felt far more influential than Chelsea\u2019s quality. <\/p>\n They were fortunate it wasn\u2019t so much worse, since the \u201cmatch\u201d was essentially over as any kind of contest by the 33rd minute. That was the moment of Enzo Fernandez<\/a>\u2019s easy third, which was when many fans first started streaming out. Their absence was perhaps the only reason boos were not so loud by the end.<\/p>\n You could understand them. For everything to be this dismal just two games into a new season is almost cruel.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t just how bad West Ham were, either. It was how many ways they found to be bad. They were bad at set-pieces. Three of the goals came through that route.<\/p>\n They were bad in the air. Joao Pedro\u2019s first was a header, and two other goals came from deliveries at corners.<\/p>\n They were bad at basic defending. All five of the goals came from just yards out, in a way that just shouldn\u2019t happen at Premier League level.<\/p>\n They were bad on the ground. Basic passing often eluded them, most conspicuously seen in the build-up for Pedro Neto<\/a>\u2019s goal, as three different West Ham players lost the ball.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Lucas Paqueta\u2019s brilliant early strike proves to be a false dawn (AP)<\/p>\n They were bad in the challenge. There were so many duels when a West Ham player was just muscled off the ball.<\/p>\n They were bad in goal. It was hard not to have considerable sympathy for Mads Hermansen, who endured ironic cheers as he finally saved an Estevao effort in the 72nd minute.<\/p>\n Because, of course, this isn\u2019t really about the players. They\u2019ve been thrown together in a situation that has been on the decline for some time, a multitude of different problems that are now crashing together at once.<\/p>\n Hence West Ham\u2019s defenders almost crashing into each other in the box, as Chelsea worked another few passes for an easy opening.<\/p>\n They were also bad tactically. Potter\u2019s approach didn\u2019t make sense for the players he had. They were so slow in midfield, to the point Chelsea utterly dominated the area. In front, Niclas Fullkrug was completely isolated. Behind, it was the opposite problem, as an extra centre-half ensured none of them seemed to know where to go. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Five different players score for Chelsea as they underline their title credentials (Getty)<\/p>\n As early as the first goal, they were somehow allowing Chelsea two free headers in their own six-yard box. Again, the kind of problems that should be impossible at this level. Such disconnect of course points to a deeper issue.<\/p>\n While there is a growing will to criticise Potter as a manager, and that is possibly a debate worth having, it\u2019s also a blunt reality that he just doesn\u2019t look a fit for this club.<\/p>\n There is at least an argument that Potter works best in a \u201cprogressive\u201d structure. In other words, Brighton: a club that gears all data-led recruitment to a modern way of playing, where the manager himself fits in with the ideology. West Ham are not that.<\/p>\n But the thing with West Ham is that, as dysfunctional as they can be, certain managers can still make it work. They can work well with someone who has a bit of an edge and gets his teams to dig in.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Chelsea are cruising after just 30 minutes (Getty)<\/p>\n Instead, Potter has always radiated that \u201chigh performance culture\u201d outlook at a club that looks like the last to ever be interested in that.<\/p>\n \u201cPerformance\u201d would of course just be a start. It was actually hard to square Lucas Paqueta\u2019s brilliant \u2013 and emotionally resonant \u2013 opening goal with the rest of this match. Did it really come in the same game? Were West Ham actually briefly ahead? Really?<\/p>\n Chelsea ensured that was irrelevant. This was really the perfect match for a team still adapting to the disrupted Club World Cup-shaped pre-season, and who were here missing Cole Palmer through a slight groin injury.<\/a><\/p>\n They could easily get up to speed. There were many pluses for Chelsea through that, from Joao Pedro\u2019s brilliance to Neto\u2019s rising influence. The Brazilian scored once and set up another two goals, with Neto often scorching West Ham. Estevao Willian<\/a> finally had an arrival moment with the pass for Fernandez\u2019s strike \u2013 of course from close range. Moises Caicedo<\/a> and Trevoh Chalobah<\/a> then enjoyed the confidence boosts that come from relatively rare goals.<\/p>\n![\"Lucas](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI262965830.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Five](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2231542657.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Chelsea](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI262969616.jpeg\")
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