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The Hammers kicked off the game without Ward-Prowse in the starting squad, who had been the first to suffer Nuno's ruthlessness, being dropped from the squad entirely and being replaced by the debut of Soungatou Magassa.

Nuno's side struggled throughout the first 45' and apart from the daunting runs from Summerville that would unfortunately lead to nothing, it was the only sign of optimism the Hammers could fathom amongst the struggling football that was being played. Woes would continue as Everton took the lead through an O'Brien looped header over Areola, catching out Mavropanos' ball watching and scoring a well-aimed header on goal.

Everton relentlessly pressed the wing and fizzed in crosses from all angles, creating trouble for the defence, yet we'd head into the break just 1-0 down.

Espirito demonstrated spirit in this West Ham side as the second half ended up being much more successful than the first. The Hammers struggled to find a groove for the first 10 minutes, but from minute 58-82, Everton wouldn't have a chance on goal due to the relentless pressing West Ham showed.

Magassa was caught ball watching in the midfield and after a nasty challenge which saw him receive a yellow card, he soon would make way for Freddie, who came on at minute 58, at which point the 35-odd minutes he found himself on the pitch for allowed Nuno to play him and Fernandes in a deeper role, leaving Paqueta to drift out wide on the right in an attempt to provide us better chances.

Summerville and Diouf became the standouts in the second half. Diouf would eventually have his breakthrough moment after a rough first half, leaving both the Everton defenders in the dust, whipping the ball into the box, which Fulkrug would miss, ultimately landing to Bowen, who'd thump it into the goal after a deflection. The Captain responds in his celebration about the Captaincy murmurs that occurred over the sacking, suggesting it's all talk.

Surprisingly, the attacking threats didn't stop after the equalising goal. The Hammers kept pushing, but our biggest issue would be the Kraut, who seemingly appeared not hungry for the ball, wasn't good at his hold-up role, which he took up in the first half, and seemed lethargic for the 90 minutes he was on, his best chance coming towards the end of the stint in minute 84, where he failed to reach the pass from Bowen, which would've given him a clear goal scoring opportunity.

Last-minute substitutions of Andy Irving and Igglepiggle would have no effect and were simply brought on in the 93rd minute to tighten up the defence and bolster the chance of getting a point.

But despite all the relentless pressing the Irons faced in the first half, and all the pressing that the Toffees faced in the second, the scoreline would end 1-1 with the Hammers having double the XG that Everton would create and come away being the first team to score at Everton's new ground.

Graham Otter exited the building at Rush Green for the last time on Saturday, and a new manager walked through the same door Potter exited just a few hours later.

In classic West Ham fashion, GP became the headline for numerous different reasons, but these weren’t for dodgy appointment times; it turns out that Graham ‘we need to improve’ Potter started to become a rather unpopular figure within the club and the dressing room.

Graham started to have major doubts about Jarrod Bowem being captain. He believed that he might not be captain material, and despite being a player of such quality, he had concerns about whether he was the right fit, despite being reassured by people higher up that he was the right man for the armband.

As well as the captain questioning, Graham also became a man who was gaining a track record for falling out with the players, the likes of Emerson, Coufal, Wan-Bissaka, Alvarez and Todibo all became players he didn’t like and subsequently got rid of them or dropped them.

Emerson and Coufal, both of whom played serious parts in us winning the Conference League and still had a lot to offer, both faced very harsh exits. Emerson had lost his place for Scarles come the end of the season, in which the Italian was then sent to the U21S, forcing him to move to Marseille.

Vlad had asked the club to stay and extend his contract, in which he was willing to accept a 50% pay-cut and happy to be a reserve/fringe player due to his son signing for the Hammers. The club accepted this proposal, but Potter overruled this, and Coufal moved to Hoffenheim.

You’d have to consider who was more unpopular, Labour or Potter!

In a similar fashion to his playing style, a void had been created… but this time in the dressing room rather than on the pitch, as with the decision not to extend Antonio’s contract left more than a loss of a player, Antonio ran the fines systems for the club and organised the team bonding sessions, and seeing as he wasn’t replaced, it left a hole that the Hammers coudln’t successed without.

In his six victories at the club, it would be the only time the dressing room had smiles around, seeing as after defeats, which were a regular result, the dressing room would often be quiet amongst the team, leaving Potter to tremble out his encouraging words, which ultimately would have minimal effect.

Upon his sacking, it came as a surprise to some of the players, but to others it was an anticipated decision with some certain that a change had to be made, which mirrored the feelings of the hierarchy, seeing as the ‘rash’ decision came due to the overwhelming feeling that the Hammers would suffer relegation if things continued as such.