Clinton Morrison: Slaven Bilic is the right man for West Ham
With Graham Potter under pressure at West Ham, Clinton Morrison has had his say over who would be the best of the candidates to replace him.
Nuno may be top of the odds with sports betting sites, but Clinton has a former fan favourite in mind.
Clinton had a chat with Free Bets about Potter's future, as well as this weekend's matches.
Graham Potter's West Ham Future
Graham Potter is a man under pressure at West Ham. How close do you think the club is to cutting ties with him?
I would be surprised if it happens now because the next two games are difficult, and you don’t want the new manager coming in to two tough games and getting under pressure straight away.
Everyone can hear the outside noise though, because the results have been nowhere near good enough, the owners are under pressure from the fans and that usually ends up falling on the manager and they are the ones to pay the price.
That’s how they get the fans back onside, and in this case it just hasn’t worked out.
Potter hasn’t been helped by recruitment at the club. They made a big mistake when they replaced David Moyes with Lopetegui - I think that’s the worst mistake they’ve made in a long time and the recruitment hasn't been good enough either.
It is a big problem for Graham Potter, and the next two games are tough for West Ham.
The next two games are against Everton and Arsenal, and as Ruben Amorim showed against Chelsea, you never know what’s just around the corner, but it is very tough.
Does the international break seem like the obvious time to part ways?
Yeah I think it could happen.
West Ham need to stay in contention, they can’t get cut adrift because a club that size shouldn’t be in a relegation battle.
These next two games are massive, I think if he gets a result then he stays in the job but if not, then we’ve all heard the rumours, there will be a lot of managers waiting by the phone for a call.
Nuno is the massive favourite in the football betting markets, followed by Slaven Bilic, Gary O’Neil, Sean Dyche and Michael Carrick. Do any of those stick out as obvious candidates?
Nuno is top of the betting because of the players he had at Forest, and being able to use them on the counter-attack, but West Ham fans didn’t like that style under David Moyes.
They want to play attacking, free-flowing football and don’t really have the players to be able to play like Forest.
They don’t have a Chris Wood or a Morgan Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi or Elanga, or the brilliant defence.
It would be difficult for Nuno to go in there. I think he would be ideal, but it would be a tough fit with the fans.
For me personally, I can see someone like Slaven Bilic, someone who typifies the club. I think West Ham fans like to see someone who knows the club inside out, and care about it as much as they do.
He’s been there before as a manager and as a player. Gary O’Neil and Michael Carrick too, they’re the three standout candidates for me.
I would imagine their (owners) favourite is Nuno because of what he did at Forest, but he won’t be able to do it at West Ham and I think they need someone who knows the club inside out.
Coventry v Birmingham
It’s Coventry v Birmingham this weekend. Split loyalties for yourself?
It is a hard one, I want them both to win and have good seasons!
Birmingham needed that result last week against Swansea, it was a big game and a big result for them.
Coventry have done okay too, getting a good draw against Leicester.
They’re both where I expected them to be, although I think Birmingham will finish a bit higher than they currently are but come the end of the season, I’ll think they’ll both be pushing for promotion.
If you asked me where they both are at the moment, I’d say Coventry are happy. Yes they’d want to be closer to the top two, but they’ll be happy to be in a good position but Birmingham definitely would want to be a bit higher.
Kyogo was a player you picked out at the start of the season as one to watch. He’s not quite got going yet, why do you think that is?
He is getting the chances, he just hasn’t been taking them. He was a bit more ruthless at Celtic, and has had a slow start here but he is still getting the chances.
His movement is brilliant and his work rate is good, and he fits into the system, he just needs to be a bit more ruthless and the goals will come.
You look on the other side at Hadji Wright and he’s scoring goals for fun at the moment, and their (Coventry’s) best player from last season, Jack Rudoni, hasn’t even got started yet and they’re picking up results.
Even without Kyogo though, Birmingham have the likes of Lyndon Dykes and Jay Stansfield scoring goals. They have four good strikers who can all score goals in the Championship, so they have good competition for places.
Kyogo will come good, I have no doubt about it, but I am surprised its been a slow start.
There has been a bit of talk about the EFL opening up more play-off spots in the leagues. What do you think of that?
If it ain't broke, don’t fix it.
If I was still a player, I would be happy with it but as a supporter, if someone who finished seventh or eighth got promoted after you finished third or fourth, I’d be a bit disappointed.
I don’t get it to be honest, but it gives teams more opportunity but I don’t get why you would complicate it even more.
It gives more teams something to play for towards the end of the season which is a good thing, but I can see why some clubs wouldn’t be happy about it.
I’ll be interested to see how it works if/when it comes in.
EFL Game of the Week
And your game of the week this week?
We’ve already talked about it, but it has to be Coventry v Birmingham, I can’t see past that.
It stands out because they are two teams I picked out at the start of the season, and they’re both playing well at the moment.
In terms of players to watch out for, I won’t say Rudoni because he isn’t at full speed yet and I don’t want to pile pressure on him, so it has to be Hadji Wright.
He’s been outstanding for Coventry and scored some big goals and is in good form.
As for Birmingham, they chop and change so much up front so it is hard to pick one but I will go for Demarai Gray. He will be key for them and has the ability to rip it up on his day.
We have to give a shoutout to Southampton v Middlesbrough - the job Rob Edwards is doing is first class - and West Brom v Leicester, but it’s the early Saturday game for me.
Crystal Palace v Liverpool
Palace v Liverpool on Saturday, your old club has had an unbelievable start to the season haven’t they?
To be in fifth place is amazing, and having already played some good sides already and remain unbeaten.
Liverpool are the favourites for the Premier League but going to Selhurst Park won’t be easy.
We should get to see Isak up against Guehi, who will be playing against the team he could have been signing for at the end of the window so there are a lot of interesting match-ups in the game.
Palace will fancy their chances.
Are Liverpool outperforming at the moment, or is it just the sign of a good side that they’re winning games without playing well?
I think you earn your own luck, and no one would have said that when it was Fergie time and Man Utd were doing it time and again.
I don’t think it is a fluke, maybe the first time it can be seen as luck but when it happens three or four times, you believe it will happen every time.
This team is relentless and keeps going til the bitter end - that is a sign of champions and a top team, and that’s what Liverpool are.
If people don’t think they have clicked yet, then I feel sorry for the rest of the league because when they do click….it’s pretty ominous. You might as well give them the title now if that’s the case.
Everyone expected it to be a tougher season for Palace after losing Eze, but they have kicked on. What is their ceiling? Could they be the surprise team this season?
I hope so! The thing is though, they need everyone to stay fit.
I don’t think the squad is big enough if they pick up a few injuries. Sarr and Wharton have just missed a few games though and they did okay, and they are due back soon so they should be back to near enough full strength which is a good place to be.
There is always a team that surprises you and they do have a top manager, but two or three injuries to key players - especially at the back - and the progress could be halted.
Let me tell you though, no one will want to go to Selhurst Park and play Crystal Palace.
EFL Pre-Season Predictions
Gab Sutton is the in-house EFL tipster for Free Bets, and before the season started he had a look at how he thinks the EFL will pan out this year.
