‘Rubbish’ Aston Villa win but Graham Potter and West Ham are clearly right for each other.

There was no claret and blue in sight but at least Danny Ings was run out as Graham Potter’s tenure at West Ham opened with a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup.

Potter named a surprisingly strong starting XI. The only notable change was 19-year-old Oliver Scarles on the left, with Vladimir Koffel dropping to the bench and Aaron van Busaka moving to his natural position on the right.

Villa – wearing the 150th anniversary kit against the white of the Hammers – matched Potter’s line-up by naming a number of regular starters. Robin Olson in goal and Tyrone Mings at center back were the outside players.

Potter made sure he was in charge and made his intentions very clear with his team selection. A front four of Crescencio Summerville, Lucas Piqueta, Mohamed Kadus and Niklas Phil Krug is the best possible attack in the absence of Jarrod Bowen and the Hammers got off to a flying start.

Pakita was in form in the opening exchanges and neatly put his side in front in the ninth minute.

Two injuries occurred in the first half. Nicklaus Krug was the first to appear to pull his hamstring before Ross Barkley was replaced by £50m signing Amadou Onana.

Onana actually injured himself in a freak fall, Summerville received treatment from West Ham’s physios and Leon Bailly suffered a split. Despite the number of injuries, it wasn’t close to being a stellar first half. Still, Summerville was subbed off at halftime for Coffle.

Villa didn’t test Lukasz Fabianski once in the opening 45 minutes but dominated possession and made the visitors sweat, only taking too long to mess up or decide the last ball. Their first shot on target came through Ian Matson in the 69th minute and it opened the floodgates.

In the first 45 minutes of the Potter era, West Ham looked dangerous in transition, their wide players pressed well and contributed defensively, particularly Summerwell, and their defensive formation was fine. Villa underperformance made them good, mind.

Roy Keane didn’t back down at halftime. What a shock. “Villa is shocked. Whip!” he said.

The change Potter made resulted in an interesting tactical switch. Van Busaka, who has really proved to be an attacking presence at West Ham, moved ahead of Coffel to right midfield, with Scarcles and Paquetá on the left, although the latter was given the freedom to get into attacking situations.

He left the Saints up, if not only, with Flickragh’s replacement, Danny Ings.

It was the second half at Villa Park when Potter took the shackles off his attacking players and the frenetic pace of the contest suited West Ham until Aston Villa began to kick the ball into the bloody goal hole.

Of course, for all West Ham’s positivity, they bottled it up. Onana equalized before Rodgers put Emery’s men in front. Ona’s goal came from a corner that shouldn’t have been, which is probably worth saying.

For the second, Ollie Watkins did brilliantly down the left, sliding the ball into the six-yard box for the former Middlesbrough youngster to turn past Fabianski.

Falling at the first hurdle of the FA Cup is a kick in the teeth for West Ham, but there were at least positives in the defeat, something that has rarely happened under Lopetegui.

There was clearly more effort and cohesion in West Ham’s squad, which is impressive considering how little time Potter has had to work with these players. It was an improvement and while advancing to the fourth round would have been great, how they played after Potter’s one training session is cause for optimism.

New manager Bounce played a big role in making this an entertaining match. A different face and training personality is enough to kick this lot back but not enough to maintain an edge in a tough field.

The arrival of Potter has boosted confidence throughout the squad and with Paqueta, Summerville, Kudus and *checks notes* Wan-Bissaka strutting their stuff, this team can hurt anyone.

This task actually has the potential to be incredibly easy for Potter. That doesn’t mean it will be easy or without high expectations, but Potter has taken over a team that is at its lowest point and that the fans are rooting for.

Potter should have been appointed to West Ham last summer but for one reason or another it didn’t happen. Instead, they appointed Spaniard David Moyes, who was fine not to offer a contract extension and Lopetegui’s performance as a ‘be careful what you wish for’ manager, before starting.

West Ham and Potter have a good match. Apart from tough defensive midfielders and Flickragh, this is a squad full of creativity and lads who spend a lot of money. The former Chelsea boss is the right man to get the best out of them. He is an attack-minded manager and this is a team with some exciting attacking players.

It’s easy for Potter because of the talent and reality in this West Ham squad. They are 14th in the Premier League table.. There’s only one way for the Irons and if the new manager’s bounce wears off after a few weeks, Bowen’s return to the team would be perfect timing.

The trip to Aston Villa was a tough first game for Potter, yet he was eager to get in the dugout. Having done well in the conditions, he has been vindicated and the defeat should not knock the resurgent confidence in his squad.

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