Grand Slam-winning wheelchair tennis player and Season Ticket Holder Andy Lapthorne lauds the coming of age of Freddie Potts...
Hello everyone and welcome back to London Stadium for the second weekend on the bounce.
I have to say last weekend’s victory over Newcastle United was the most enjoyable West Ham United home game I have attended in some time.
It felt like from the first minute to the last minute the fans and players were fighting for every ball together.
Off of the back of that, we achieved an amazing 3-1 win and a huge three points.
We saw the coming of age of Freddie Potts, and it’s always amazing to witness one of our own producing the goods in the first team. The Academy of Football keeps producing these types of players. Hopefully this is the start of something special for Freddie.
Today we welcome Burnley, who have made a positive start to life back in the Premier League. The Burnley manager is someone who we all know well - former West Ham captain Scott Parker.
Scott was someone who, when he played for West Ham, gave everything for the shirt and stepped in as captain when Matt Upson was unavailable. So, I’m expecting Scott’s Burnley team to give it everything today, captained by another of our Academy products in Josh Cullen in midfield.
I’m hoping today that we can keep the positive momentum that we gained last weekend and head into the international break outside the bottom three and right back in touch with the teams above us.
I will be watching the game at 11pm as I’m in China competing at the end of year World Tour Finals. This is the last event of the year for me before a short break and then the start of pre-season.
There are eight of us battling for the title in the Quad section and I go into the Singles tournament ranked fifth. I know all the other guys really well and they’re all top players, so whoever wins the trophy will definitely earn it!
I’m also playing in the Doubles alongside my Australian partner Heath Davidson. We won the French Riviera Open title in our first tournament together in October, so hopefully we can do the same again in China.
We’re playing indoors on clay at the newly opened Huzhou International Clay Tennis Center in Zhejiang Province, so it’s a new venue for all of us and I can’t wait to get started when the matches begin on Monday!
For people who wish to follow my progress and watch my matches I will be posting updates and links on my social media. You can follow me on Instagram @andylapthorne_ and X @andylapthorne.
Back to the football and let’s start where we left off last weekend.
Get behind the boys as it makes a huge difference.
COYI!
Lappo
*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of West Ham United.
