West Ham United

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The Sun journalist Jack Rosser still believes West Ham were right to get rid of David Moyes at the end of last season.

The Hammers are 17th in the table under Graham Potter, whereas last season the club finished ninth.

Since starting a second spell at Everton in January, Moyes has taken the club to 13th in the table, winning five and drawing six of his 14 league games.

Speaking on BBC Radio Sussex's Albion Unlimited podcast to preview West Ham's game at Brighton on Saturday, Rosser said: "Ten or 15 games feel like 100 games at the moment. There hasn't been loads to get excited about. There was the result against Arsenal.

"Not because of Graham Potter, but it's been a difficult season. There was a lot to do in the summer in terms of moving on from David Moyes. That was still the right decision - a lot of people thought it had run its course.

"What he's doing now at Everton doesn't help. No-one really saw where West Ham are coming. I think they're at their lowest position at this point of the season since they last got relegated.

"Everything this season has rested on Jarrod Bowen. They've had injury problems - , Niclas Fullkrug being a big one, while Crysencio Summerville has had a lot of time out, Bowen a bit of time out and Luas Paqueta has had his FA spot-fixing case hanging over him all season and not played to the level West Ham fans know he can reach.

"A lot of people are just waiting for next season. Southampton are one of the worst teams in Premier League history. If you can't go out and put them to the sword then there really are problems.

"Difficult and hard to watch is the story of the season."

You can listen to the full chat here

West Ham and Ghana winger Mohammed Kudus, 24, is a top target for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr.

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James Jones
Fan writer

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Niclas Fullkrug's post-match outburst after West Ham's 1-1 draw with Southampton on Saturday has shone a huge spotlight on our struggles under Graham Potter.

Fullkrug's rant hit differently and has been met with widespread praise among an equally angry and frustrated fanbase. Not because he had every right to say what he said and not because everything he said was correct, but because it showed that he cares and it displayed the very kind of mentality the rest of his team-mates should have.

Fullkrug is an elite footballer. He is a Germany international and less than 12 months ago he was starting a Champions League final for Borussia Dortmund. Yes, his maiden season in England has been blighted by injuries, but the impact he has had on the team since his return to full fitness shows just how good he can be.

So for a player like him to make such a public outburst speaks volumes for how bad things are within the dressing room right now.

He will not be used to this. Fullkrug is used to winning. He is used to playing with players who carry the same focus and the same mindset to succeed at the very top.

It is no surprise he is angry with his team-mates for failing to beat one of the worst teams the Premier League has ever seen. It was not just a failure to beat them - it was a struggle to even get going for much of the 90 minutes. Simply not good enough.

The hope is that his words will have given some of his team-mates the rocket they so desperately need.

You can count on one hand the West Ham players who can genuinely hold their heads high this season. The fact Fullkrug is one of them despite his injury problems says a lot.

Jarrod Bowen, the captain, is another. Beyond that, there are not many who can honestly say they have given everything for the shirt this term.

It was not long ago fans were hoping the club would cash in on Fullkrug in the summer. Now we should be desperately hoping he stays, because it is that kind of passion, that win-at-all-costs mentality and that brutal honesty West Ham need to truly get back to where we were under David Moyes.

Hopefully this is the wake-up call the players needed, but something tells me it runs much deeper than what we see on the surface.

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between West Ham and Southampton.

Here are some of your comments:

West Ham fans

Ian: Another disappointing performance after a promising display at Anfield last week. There is a complete lack of cohesion especially the midfield three. James Ward-Prowse and Carlos Soler are not good enough and this is where we need to improve next season with younger and hungrier players. I don't blame Graham Potter as these are not his players but these performances have been going on for some time under different managers and a major construction of the team is urgently required in the summer.

Chris: Too many inconsistent and underperforming players. Slack defenders, a lack of mobility in midfield, and unfit and misfiring forwards for about two years now. Can't just blame the managers. The recruitment and squad have been equally to blame.

Ken: In a poor season for West Ham, this result has got to be the most embarrassing yet. I believe Potter can do a good job next season but has got to get seven or eight players out in the summer break and try to find better replacements. There are too many players who don't have the Hammers pride.

Southampton fans

Colin: A better performance, we never gave up and were unlucky not to win. A crying need for a regular goalscorer. Let's hope we can get a few more points.

Stuart: So happy to get a point. Just wish our luck would be that little bit better. So many times we have been in the game, only for luck, and then confidence to desert us. But we left it all out there and that's all I can ask. Let's now see if we can get one more win before this season ends.

Steve: The best football Southampton have played all season is when Simon Rusk has been in charge. They could do a lot worse than giving him a permanent crack at it in the Championship next year.

Sam Drury
BBC Sport journalist

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West Ham were little more than three minutes away from a much-needed win.

It had not been pretty, the Hammers had not played well but had they held on, it would not have mattered.

Three points, a first win in six and a chance to end a disappointing campaign on a high.

Instead, after Lesley Oguchukwu's injury-time strike earned Southampton a point, the hosts were booed off.

They offered nowhere near enough against the Premier League's bottom side and were arguably fortunate to take a point from the game.

Given the quality of the players in the squad, it seems remarkable that the Hammers are languishing in 16th but it will come as no shock to anyone who witnessed their draw with Southampton.

Julen Lopetegui's time in charge could not have gone much worse but there has been no significant improvement under Graham Potter with just 13 points taken from his 13 league games.

An important summer awaits but with five games still remaining, Potter needs to have a way to break the current malaise and bring some optimism back to London Stadium.

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West Ham manager Graham Potter, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "Southampton were worthy of a point, for sure.

"Our performance wasn't good enough, first half especially. Nowhere near what we wanted to do. Credit to Southampton but we need to do better with the balance between attack and defence.

"In the modern Premier League, you have to do both sides of the game - we're struggling to do that, to sustain attacks, keep the ball well to create chances. We struggled.

"The we looked was in transition, which is where the goal came from, but overall we're disappointed."

On period after going 1-0 up: "You have to score the second goal, do the right things, attack well, not give the ball away and unfortunately we didn't do that well enough.

"There are probably not too many players who can say 'I had a really good game today'. We need to look at that collective to find out the reasons - it's not a lack of effort.

"But we're suffering a bit at home, we're suffering here. We need to do better."

On fans' booing: "Sure [I understand that]. The performance wasn't good enough and the result isn't what we want. So I completely understand that."

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West Ham have gone six Premier League matches without victory (D3 L3), their longest winless run since between January and February 2024 (D3 L3). This was the first time they've scored first at home and not gone on to win in the Premier League this season.

Were you at the game or following elsewhere?

Have your say on West Ham's performance

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Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Five matches make up Saturday's Premier League action and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Brentford v Brighton

• Crystal Palace v Bournemouth

• Everton v Manchester City

• West Ham v Southampton

• Aston Villa v Newcastle (17:30 BST)

All kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Already-relegated Southampton are still trying to avoid taking one away from Derby for the lowest Premier League points tally.

They need a point from their final six games to make it to 11 points and equal the Rams' total from 2007-08, but they are not going to get it here.

West Ham are not in any danger of going down but they will still certainly not want to finish 17th, which is where they are right now.

They were decent against Liverpool last time out, and still lost, but they won't have to play as well as they did at Anfield to take three points this time.

Hammers boss Graham Potter could really do with a win, because their fans will want to finish a forgettable season with a bit of optimism, and they should have something to smile about on Saturday.

As for the loyal and long-suffering Southampton fans, well I've said before how miserable this season has been for them. I think I'd have switched to supporting Bournemouth, Brighton or even Portsmouth by now.

Being serious, I've got a lot of admiration for the travelling fans that have stuck with them through this, and I guess the consolation here is that they won't have a long journey back from London to the south coast.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport multi-platform journalist

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After 12 games, it is fair to say the Graham Potter revolution at West Ham has not really kicked into gear yet.

The Hammers have picked up just 12 points from these 12 games - and some of their metrics have dropped since the departure of Julen Lopetegui.

As you would expect, West Ham are playing a far more possession-based game.

However, although they have tightened up defensively, the Hammers are far less effective in the opposition box.

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Earlier, we asked you to name the current West Ham player from a series of clues.

The correct answer is Max Kilman.

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West Ham manager Graham Potter has praised James Ward-Prowse for how he has settled back in at the club since returning at the start of February.

The midfielder, 30, spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Nottingham Forest but was recalled shortly after Potter succeeded Julen Lopetegui as Hammers boss.

"He's come from his loan spell where he wasn't playing so much but his level in terms of his training and how he acts every day is of a top standard," said Potter.

"That's really helpful to the team and really helpful for the environment we want to create here.

"In midfield he brings a balance, a quality, and his set-pieces are very dangerous for us. He's still getting to know how the team functions better and better but I've really enjoyed working with him.

"He's not a ranter and raver but he's a quiet leader who leads by example. Every day he gives his absolute best and trains like it's the last day of his career so he's a fantastic role model for other players.

"He brings a calmness and an experience and a humility which is really impressive."

Ward-Prowse, who will come up against his former club Southampton on Saturday, is still one short of matching David Beckham's Premier League record for goals scored directly from free-kicks.

Potter added: "James will be the first to say it's not about him and the record, although we hope that he can get it. It would be nice for us if there was a bit of football karma and he gets it on Saturday against Southampton."

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Southampton have lost 26 of their 32 Premier League matches this season, the most they've ever lost in a league campaign in their history. Their current loss percentage of 81% is the highest by any side in a top- flight season in history.

West Ham are 17th in the Premier League and this is the lowest position in the table they'll be heading into a game as late as this (33rd game) in a season since the final day of the 2010-11 season, when they were 20th and relegated.

Guess the current West Ham player from these three clues:

• I am an England futsal international.

• I played every minute of every game during the 2023-24 Premier League season.

• I made my West Ham debut in August 2024 against Aston Villa.

Come back to this page at 17:00 BST for the answer

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

West Ham boss Graham Potter has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Southampton at London Stadium (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Crysencio Summerville will still be out a "few weeks yet" as it has been a "complicated" issue and will "take some time". Aaron Wan-Bissaka has "needed an injection in his toe" but should still be available for the game.

• Potter said Michail Antonio is "progressing step by step" in his recovery following a car crash and they are continuing to "support him". However, he added that it is "not for me to comment" on any talks over his contract and when there is anything to announce, the club will do so.

• On Niclas Fullkrug's fitness: "He's just been out for a long time, and with a hamstring injury it's hard to replicate those 90 minutes of Premier League football. You have to build players up safely, but he's getting stronger and stronger, and that is good for us."

• On the Hammers' home form: "It's something we want to put right. We need to play well on Saturday, and we'll be trying to do that. The supporters have been brilliant since we've been here, home and away. They've got behind the team, and when we haven't been so good they have been fair on us. We understand when we haven't been winning or performing as well as we would like then there is frustration around."

• He added: "This is a difficult period for us, but when we come through this we are hoping it is a nice foundation to achieve something exciting here."

• Potter does not believe they need a "a major rebuild" in the summer: "We're not where we want to be right now. We need to improve, that is a simple thing. But, we have to make the right decisions with all the resources that we have and come together to put a team together our fans can be proud of."

• On team spirit: "It's really positive. The daily work has been of a high level since we've been here, and I'm frustrated for the players that we haven't converted that into consistent results. But a lot of what I see is really positive. I think there's a foundation there for us to go forward. But the players' attitude and spirit in training has been really good - the way they have handled themselves is first class. I've been really impressed with them."

• The West Ham boss is not expecting an easy game against already-relegated Southampton, insisting the south coast side will "be prepared, competitive and have quality players so we have to respect that".

Michail Antonio is waiting to see if he will be given a new deal by West Ham, with the forward out of contract at the end of the season. (Times - subscription required), external

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West Ham United want to sign 26-year-old Liverpool and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher in the summer. (Mirror), external

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James Jones
Fan writer

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West Ham don't win at Anfield. We've won there just once since 1963 and only four times in 74 attempts since our first visit in 1914, so Sunday's latest defeat wouldn't have come as much of a surprise to any West Ham fan.

But for an hour of the game, we looked good. We weren't perfect by any stretch and indeed, Liverpool weren't at their mercurial, swashbuckling best, but we deserved our equaliser and arguably deserved to come away with at least a point.

For all the recent concerns about West Ham's struggles in front of goal since Graham Potter's arrival - averaging exactly a goal per game, the lowest of any permanent manager in the club's history - we registered more big chances (four) than Arne Slot's champions elect (two) in their own back yard, and we hit the bar twice. On another day, we score at least twice, probably more.

Is that a sign things are about to improve in attack? It's too early to say but it's most certainly one of the biggest positives we can take from Sunday's defeat. It's a sign that the players are improving in Potter's style and system.

He's improved us defensively since replacing Julen Lopetegui, with our average goals conceded per game slipping from exactly two to 1.23 since his appointment. Now there are signs improvements are being made at the other end of the pitch.

If we can build on that performance against Liverpool in the coming weeks, it will lay a really solid foundation for Potter's plans for the summer and next season.

As I said, it's not perfect yet, but there is lots to be positive about with West Ham under Potter. We've just got to remain patient.

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