Lack of leadership does Slaven no favours

Lack of leadership does Slaven no favours

You will never hear a West Ham fan have a bad word to say about Mark Noble. He is the local boy done good who is living most supporters dreams in captaining the side he supported as a kid. With every given week I find myself questioning whether it is time for a change – given the rudderless performances on the pitch.

In modern football it is the managers that are the ones that appear to get it in the neck when results are poor. The players get away scot-free and are immune from criticism and happy for the pressure to be aimed at the management of the clubs, rather than those entrusted with the responsibility on the pitch. The players have been letting Bilic and the club down for far too long and changes are needed to be made within the dressing room.

Mark Noble has been a fantastic player and professional for many years that can never be in question. Off the pitch he says the right things, talks about players needing to take responsibility but are his words falling on deaf ears among his teammates? If he was a genuine leader in the dressing room and Bilic’s captain on the pitch, I question why time after time that we see these lacklustre displays on what appears to be a weekly basis. A time for change is needed and Zabaleta appears to be the obvious choice.

The Argentine full back has been it, seen it and done it and must surely command the respect of his teammates. Noble for me is a figure that optimises the old regime of West Ham and if the club are showing ambitions to get to the next level, they need someone of Pablo’s ilk to lead them forward. He is used to not settling for 2nd best and that is an attitude that needs to infiltrate its way into Bilic’s dressing room.



Not being privy to what Noble says week in and week out, I am maybe doing a disservice to him; however, I can only go on what I see on the pitch. If he is being authoritative then I stand corrected, but looking at West Ham displays I fear his teammates are not listening.