West Ham’s, Danny Potts exploded on to the scene just a day after signing his first professional contract, Barnsley’s strikers were his first challenge in which he showed a maturity beyond his years, good no-nonsense defending and potential.
Fans were won over that day and not in vain as he put in another two performances which had the faithful wondering where next for the academy product?
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Some believe he is ready for the first team, some believe he should be nurtured in the development squad for a while longer and the third party who want to see him slowly and gently blooded into the squad, so who is right?
Next season will be a hard one, a season widely expected to be a hard fought battle to keep Premier League status, it would need a squad of hardened veterans with the experience to keep going when all looks lost and fight for the points. This type of squad is doomed to fail without the balance of youth though which is where Potts could play a role, adding that spark to the squad when its needed most when legs get tired, who wants an 18 year old pacing from left back straight at you when all you want is the whistle to go?
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So my humble opinion would be to implement a two part plan.
The first part would be to blood him in for the first half of the season playing for the last 20 or so minutes, giving him vital Premier League experience, this would also allow Big Sam to see if he has what it takes to make it in the future as a permanent fixture.
The second part would be to throw him into the squad week in week out for the second half of the season and have McCartney mentor him during training to give him technique and finesse to his football and a firm understanding of what is expected from a left back, I believe this could work as it did for Tomkins and we put up with mistake after mistake but it led to him being a very bright defender who is first choice on the team sheet and has west ham running through him.
So for me as McCartney is a solid player we have a backup plan if the talent Potts displayed doesn’t continue to the next level, so is there anything to lose?
It remains to be seen if Potts will feature in Alladyce’s plans but for him to put him in for 3 games over the winter means he must be trusted by the man with the reigns so let’s see what the son of former captain Steve Potts can do this season.
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Most our games next season will be won or lost in the last 20 minutes.
He’s a good prospect but he is still lightweight.
Lets not get carried away, dont forget Sears had a special debut as well!
If i was Sam he wouldnt get much playing time unless he was consitantly one of the best players in training.