Thousands descended on east London to participate in the Hackney Half Marathon, while just a stone’s throw away at the London Stadium, Morgan Gibbs-White and Anthony Elanga were running circles around West Ham United’s defence.
The Nottingham Forest duo were shining lights as their club pushes for Champions League qualification. During the 2-1 victory, West Ham endeavoured to keep a semblance of defensive calmness, but it proved futile, with Gibbs-White and Elanga tormenting them.
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The England international pounced on Alphonse Areola’s misplaced pass for the opener, while Elanga assisted ex-West Ham transfer target Nikola Milenkovic after the hour mark. West Ham scored via Jarrod Bowen, but their late spirited fightback failed to yield a draw.
“Credit to Forest, they are a strong outfit with some fantastic players,” said head coach Graham Potter. “Their (opening) goal was disappointing from our perspective. I think we suffered a little bit from that.
“They’ve recruited well and Nuno (Espirito Santo) has worked another season with them. As a club, they’ve taken positive steps. So it’s credit to them and they’re an aspiration for us. We have to use the summer to make some good decisions to try to take the club forward.”
West Ham have lost nine of their 18 league games this calendar year, winning four and drawing five. An online petition was created on May 14 calling for the removal of majority shareholder David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady. It has garnered fewer than 2,000 votes at the time of writing, but it is a sign of the discontent.
The loss to Forest was the last home game of a disappointing season. There were special send-offs for Lukasz Fabianski, Aaron Cresswell and Vladimir Coufal, all of whom will depart when their contracts expire at the end of the season. Mark Noble, the sporting director, presented Cresswell with a framed jersey, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka received an award for winning player of the year.
Some supporters stayed after the final whistle to watch the players give a lap of honour. Wan-Bissaka, captain Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Tomas Soucek and Edson Alvarez signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans in the lower tier of the west stand.
Jarrod Bowen after scoring for West Ham (Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images)
But there were also hordes of fans who left long before the players re-emerged from the tunnel. Before kick-off, The Athletic spoke to supporters to find out their thoughts on the season, Potter, and their hopes for next term.
John Ward, 60, was watching another football match, one taking place at the Bobby Moore Academy on Marshgate Lane. Of his many wishes for the next campaign, the integration of two particular academy prospects is high on that list.
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“It’s been a very poor season when you factor in the money we spent on players last summer,” Ward said. “Having two managers (Julen Lopetegui and Potter) this season is far from ideal and the jury is still out on Potter. The only good thing about looking at the table is that we’re above Manchester United and Tottenham. Performances under Potter have been worse than Lopetegui. It’s harsh, but it’s true.
“We won’t really know what Potter can achieve until he brings in his players. We need to see some form of progress in those first 10 games of next season.
“We have Freddie Potts and George Earthy (both of whom were on season-long loans at Portsmouth and Bristol City) returning. They’ve played at a good level in the Championship. Potter should bed them into the team. Look, so many years we’ve spent big money on players and it hasn’t worked. It’s make or break this summer with our recruitment.”
Mark Tomkins, 36, was on his way to meet friends for a drink next to Hackney Wick station. “I’ll be arriving at the match praying for the best but expecting the worst,” he said. “I wish we showed more ambition with appointing Moyes’ replacement. Due to our owners, we always go for the cheaper option, which in the long run ends up being expensive because we have to pay them off. The club wanted Potter initially and I back him to do well.
“This summer we need a centre-midfielder, a centre-back and a striker, again. Evan Ferguson (on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion) has hardly played and when he has featured, he’s failed to take his chance. But my main worry is whether we’re even an attractive club to join?
“Plus, other London clubs have the edge over us. Crystal Palace can offer European football next season (after winning the FA Cup), so can Arsenal and Chelsea, plus higher wages, Brentford and Fulham are well-run clubs. Tottenham have been poor like us, but they could potentially be playing in the Champions League next season.
“It looks bleak when you really break it down. I just hope that by October we will have seen a big improvement. If not, I fear it will be a similar season to this.”
Potter after West Ham’s last home match of the season (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
As the match drew closer, a swarm of claret and blue jerseys appeared at Pudding Mill Lane station. While waiting for her niece, Sophie Reid, 58, explained why she has lowered her expectations for life under Potter.
“I’m prepared to give the manager the benefit of the doubt for now,” she says. “It’s an ageing squad and we haven’t seen much belief in what they’re doing. We haven’t been good for roughly 18 months.
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“As much as we want the European run under Moyes to return, we’re far from achieving that. I can’t see us challenging for Europe like Forest for another three years. Our focus next season should be avoiding relegation because of the massive turnover of players this summer. We have to be realistic with where we’re at.”
Thirty minutes before kick-off, Richard, 35, and his young sister were enjoying the views from the upper tier of the West Stand. He was reluctant to give his last name and was not opposed to defending Potter.
“We’re all just waiting for summer so Graham can bring in his players,” said Richard. “It’s a bit like Christmas when it reaches December and everyone starts counting down the days. Watching Crystal Palace made me think, ‘That could have been us’. On paper, we have the team to do it, but we haven’t been able to build momentum since the season started.
“Potter has a tough job ahead of him, so fans need to cut him some slack. It’s been largely the same squad for the previous two seasons. (Mohammed) Kudus has been poor. There’s a lot of dead wood. We need to freshen it up, but it will take time. Let’s see what happens this summer.”
(Top photo: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
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