Unfurled across that deceptively long strip of astroturf between the pitch and the dugout at the London Stadium, just as it was at Upton Park, is a touchline mat which proudly reads: “The Academy of Football. Founded in 1895.”
That self-anointed nickname for West Ham’s youth system reflects the club’s history of producing and trusting young players, from Bobby Moore through the Frank Lampards (Sr and Jr) and, more latterly, Declan Rice. It is a tradition that, in his first two months at the helm, Graham Potter has already leaned into.
