Freddie Potts' Loan at Wycombe ANALYSED! Wycombe Correspondent offers Insight into the Youngster!

[Music] [Music] [Applause] Fresh Off lifting the Europa conference League trophy in Prague Freddy pots joins League one outfit Wick and wonders in the summer and it's fair to say he made quite the impact pots receives wi and wers players player of the season and supporters player of the season awards to cap off a phenomenal lone spell uh with the chair boys the young midfielder played 43 times uh over the course of the 2324 campaign also posted four gold contributions as well so he made the most tackles the most interceptions and the second most passes in League one this season he missed the last game of the season through inre however the 20-year-old was still provided with a healthy reception at halim in their final game of the season he was presented to the Adams Park faithful one final time and was met with an appreciative Applause uh which gave quite a good indication um I think and as West Ham fans have believed of the impact that pots had uh this season to get more on this I'm delighted to be joined by the wick wers reporter for the bucks Free Press James richings uh we can't get James's camera to work but he's here trust me James thank you very much D for joining me how are you not a problem at all J not a problem at all thank you for inviting me on and yeah like I think I might be saving the viewers from my ugly face that the camera is not working so it's all good it's all good thank you for joining me um so just to start with I wanted to sort of gauge the overall feeling from you know wi fans about pots this season obviously those accolades that I've just listed off that he received um a couple of weeks ago truly how well did he perform this season at Wickam he was absolutely incredible he was a breath of of fresh air and he made his unofficial debut in front of the wick and faithful in Joe Jacobson's testimonial a week before the season started um it was a n- nil draw against Cardiff and he was he had I think he signed the day before and when I spoke to him after the game I it blew my mind that he was only 19 years old he spoke like a veteran he was he was so mature in the way that he answered his questions very very levelheaded and he's taken that maturity off the pitch onto it and he's been nothing short of outstanding the way he passes the ball his vision his attitude has been nothing short of exceptional and when when he got injured in the FA Cup match against Bradford at the start of November we didn't know how long he would be out for and he ended up missing nearly two months of the season it's no surprise that in the T in the time that he was out Wick went on this Dreadful run of form they went 12 uh they went 12 without a win in the league and pots missed I think the vast majority of those games so he's been a real real Cornerstone to a Wickam success this season and when you return to the team you can just see the energy you can just see the pace you can just see that the game was very much played around him so Freddy pots will be hugely missed at Wick him next season they should they say you should never fall in love with a lone player but when a lone player does so well it's hard to not fall in love with him no that's fair enough I mean from what you were saying there it just seems like the heartbeat of the Midfield and really um got things going for Wickham This season to be fair um you know he was on the bench for the conference League final back in um back in June he didn't have a hell of a lot um you know he he had a couple of expences before he were out on loan we've had a lot of failed loans over the last few years where we've had players go out on loan and they've got no game time whatsoever so it's actually refreshing to hear that um and to you know see what you're saying about how just pivotal he was to Wickham This season oh he was hugely pivotal Wickam when when Wickham weren't winning they dropped down to as low as 19th and there was there were genuine fears that they were going to be scraped into a relegation fight but the Wickam picked up their form he played a big part of that and wiam ended up finishing 10th which people won't realize is the sixth highest finished ever in the club's history and pots played a huge part in that the way he used to pass the ball was just outstanding I know it's a very very silly thing to say but when I saw pots play I saw a young Sask fabrigas in the in the center of wikins field the way that he could pick out a pass the reverse balls the vision the leadership and of course he would have learned that through Declan rice he would have modeled his game on on that so um now Wickam had a really good player on their hands and everyone at Wickam now will be keeping a close eye on potts's Career because yeah he did a lot for the club both on and off oh that's good now I can assure the people watching we didn't plan this because my next question literally reads um fans have labeled him the next Declan rice um look look it's difficult to tell um but you know already C could you see uh from this season whether maybe he needs another loone in the championship or whether he could um come in as a as a squad player in the sort of premier league and gain experience that way cool that's a that's a good question it's hard because it depends on who I guess West Ham bring it depends on who the next manager is going to be whether or not Moyes stays or or someone or if he leaves with rice unless he impresses David Moyes in the summer or the new manager I can't really see him getting into the West Ham team so I think a lone spell would do him the world of good maybe at a championship side maybe um maybe another League one side whatever pots does he needs to continue his development playing men's football and that's the reason why he wanted to join Wickham he had done very well in the development C in the development team did very well in the academy but he wanted himself to make the next big step because there is such a huge golf between Premier League 2 football and then League one League two you're playing with people who are are 10 to 15 years older than you you're not going to be with people around your same age you're going to be dealing with different people from different experiences from different backgrounds and pots wanted that he wanted to be out of um that little pl2 bubble and he was able to get that experience at Wickham so I wouldn't be surprised if you were to see Freddy pots on loan at another team next season whether or not whether it would be at Wickham or another League one team or a championship side but if he were to get into the West Ham team he like as in like he doesn't get a low move he has to play he has to because he's so he's so good yeah see you know the um the differ and Broad sort of um change that the even going from Premier League 2 football to League one it's still massive as you've just mentioned there you know we've had we've had a couple of players this season that I mean I mean we've been a little bit um light on a feet in terms of squad depth this season and we've had a couple of youth players come up and um and have a go we had Divine mub who came up in uh to the first team and and he and he looked out of his depth it's because he hasn't played because he's gone from Premier League 2 football up straight in um up front for West Ham and that quite clearly didn't work but um potz has had that lone spell and I mean it's just it's just interesting to note um how quickly did he adapt from moving from that Premier League two football up into the heart of a Midfield in League one well it took a bit of time because Wickham didn't win their first two League games they lost 3-0 to both at at home to exor and then away at Lincoln and the exitor game was an absolute disaster first day of the Season Wick were two- nil down inside four minutes we I know it was awful I mean there was so much optimism and then within I think it was 15 seconds Wick him one nil down then within about that's that's that that is a proper way to start a season it really is and nobody was expecting it what made it even worse was Wickham go one nil down inside 15 seconds they go two nil down inside three minutes and then Wick ConEd a penalty in minute five so five minutes into the season it was honestly Jo hit the floor and thankfully W exitor missed the penalties and the third goal wasn't scored until right near the very end and pots was very much like oh wow okay this is like a an eye opener this is what men's football it's like it's not like you can have a lot of time on the ball in development football it's not like you can take the time out to see what you can do because the moment you get the ball in League one you could have two people on you someone could smash him from behind you you know someone could leave an elbow it's it's completely different and those experiences have really helped develop potts's potts's game and if he just continues doing what he does then he will certainly have a fantastic career and last week I was at the um end of season dinner so I was with the players and I was with all the um with the fans and everything and when pot's name was read out twice people were just singing his name people were cheering him PE the wicen fans really do not want him to go but we understand he has to and yeah we wish him nothing but the best that's brilliant I want to ask about how H how you know how he was sort of utilizing the Midfield give us a bit of insight about you know a Wickam a progressive outfit or as Potter's role just been to protect the backline was he doing a bit of both what was his what was his role predominantly throughout the season it was very much a boxto boox midfielder that that's just my personal opinion so he would he was very good going forward but he never really got the assists or the goals he would be the assist to the assist if that makes sense but his defensive displays were fantastic he he wasn't shy of getting his shorts dirty he would love to go in for a challenge he was very vocal as well for someone who was 19 when he first joined to end the season as a 20-year-old and be one of the main leaders was um was good to see and what really did help pot's development and he even said this last week at the end of season dinner when he gave his speech he said that the advice he was getting from players such as Gareth McClary was pivotal pivotal to him because Gareth McClary I believe is 36 years old 37 pots Is 1920 they're 17 18 years between the two and mlar is basically telling him the dos and the don'ts and he's obviously listened because as the season went on he got better and better and better and the way he the way he used to lead in the center of the park just screaming orders at people considerably older than him listening to Matt bloomfield's um instructions on the touch line he was so eager to learn he was so eager to impress and he got a couple of goals himself and one of the goals was was um regarded as wickhams one of wickhams goal of the Season his volley against Charlton it was a fantastic strike and um yeah the way he played he just played of his heart on his sleeve he wanted to do his bit for the team and it was more in my opinion if I had to swing to one it'll probably be a tad bit more defensive but only just I would say probably 60% defensive 40% attacking I mean that's I mean that's a brilliant balance to have as a midfielder and look I mean Wickam have got a lot of social media exposure throughout the season really you know I've mentioned they put the old um hammer emoji on things with uh Freddy pots which just got West Ham fans you know on it and looking and sort of um relevant to the situation and then um all of the sort of you know the video that went round there West Ham shared and you know what you've said here um it seems It's been a real appreciation from Wickham to West Ham and to Freddy pots obviously for uh for what's happened this season and you know you mentioning how vocal he was and um I'm gonna be honest it sounds like Dean rice it really does you know um you know the vocal side of his game and being that leader at that such young age to be fair I Googled and I thought he was about 22 or 23 he's he's only he's only 20 years old and I think that's a testament to uh to what he's done at wiam this season don't you think oh very much so and I think what helps is as well is it's not just about his personal development that he's obviously done on his own because obviously a player's development is down to the player they've got to take the owners to want to improve but he was surrounded by some very very good people who wanted him to succeed because Wickam Wickam are such a unique team I'm not just saying this because I report on them but they're very they it's not one of those clubs where you get clicks everyone is very much a case of we're in this together because we want to achieve together and pots really bought into that and I think what's really important as well is that when he picked up his injury at the start of November um and we didn't know how long he'd be out for Matt Bloomfield would constantly say to me every time I asked him about um whe When he'll return he he always said we have a responsibility to look after a player that's not ours because that's all because that's what it is it's a lone move Wickham do have a responsibility to look after a player that doesn't belong to them so as soon as po pots was injured he returned to West Ham for uh for treatment and then he returned to Wick once he was better and his first game back and I remember this vividly his first game back after his injury layoff was against Leon Orient away at Lon Orient and I kid you not the only his his name was sung more times than anyone else because he went straight into the starting lineup and he was just serenad throughout that's that's how much he meant to the wicin fans and what whatever he does next season WIC fans will be keeping a close eye on him that's for sure oh that's brilliant it seems to be a um a real big you know respect between the two parties here and uh you know it's brilliant as I mentioned earlier we've had all too many uh failed low moves you know we had one with KH Marshall went into West Brom this season and he didn't get a minute of game time and um it's just pointless so when so when this you know appears every now and then and the appreciation that you know you've mentioned and what we've seen on social media I think it's been brilliant and look whatever he does um next season um I'm sure I'm you know I'm sure you know as you mentioned Wick fans keeper will keep an eye out as well just one other thing I wanted to mention Gideon cadua joined Wickam uh probably uh West Ham went oh Freddy pot has done well there wasen kadua there he um he he really impressed in the in the year when we won the FA youth Cup last year um and there was quite a big Spotlight on him when he moved to Wickham um did he have an impact at all James well when Wickham signed Gideon gadura I was very excited if you don't know Jake I'm actually an Arsenal fan and I was actually at the game where West H me that he didn't I I can only apologize I can only apologize but um I was at the game last year where West Ham smashed Arsenal um 51 and I was sitting right behind the goal and I just remember thinking this kid's very good I just remember thinking that and I then back the fast forward to this January could do a scores against Wickam for West Ham in the efl trophy and he was electric so when w signed him we're thinking oh great we're going to get a player on our hands here it just didn't really work out it just didn't really work out for good he didn't really play many many games he was sort of in the team out the team bit of Here There and Everywhere and he never really got like a run or form under him under him he did okay he had flashes but he never really set the lights that Freddy pots did but for kadua No Doubt those minutes would be valuable to his career because men's football is completely different to um Premier League two football but yeah it wasn't the same to Freddy pot he just didn't really set the Wilder light at with him oh that's a shame but you know um overall thank you very much James uh for joining me just that insight into Freddy potf and somebody that um watched him week in and week out this season because we all saw the social media um exposure that he got and I went right I'm going to find somebody Associated to Wickam to talk about him so James thank you very much uh indeed for joining me any final thoughts on Freddy pots um whoever gets him next season you're going to have a hell of a player and everyone at Wick wishes him well he is very much loved Adams park that's brilliant James thank you very much for giving out your time today for joining me no worries thank you so much Jake speak to you soon thank you very much if you enjoyed this video drop a like on it and subscribe to West official if you're new until the next one come your minds and we'll see you soon byebye