As the new season draws ever closer, Slaven Bilic faces a decision on who his captain should be. I weigh up the options for him.
Kevin Nolan
The current captain and Sam Allardyce’s golden boy. He was Big Sam’s captain at Bolton Wanderers and Newcastle as well as West Ham but is his time as West Ham captain coming to an end now that Allardyce is out of the picture? Nolan’s time at West Ham has been successful overall, especially his first and second season where he was a talisman for us.
The fans’ view of Nolan is very mixed, with some despising him and some appreciating him. I think one thing is for sure is that he is past his best days and only contributed one goal this season. Nolan can’t be a regular first team player with that record as West Ham move on to bigger and better prospects. There is no doubt that Nolan is a fantastic captain and is clearly a big influence on and off the pitch but I can’t see him getting much game time in the coming season and therefore the captaincy should be handed onto someone else.
Mark Noble
Mr West Ham and our midfield general. Noble has to be next in consideration for the captaincy simply for the fact that he is our longest serving player, making his debut eleven years ago in August 2004. He grew up in Beckton, close to Upton Park, and is a West Ham fan himself. In terms of actual ability he is beginning to lag behind our other midfielders in Cheihkou Kouyate and last season the on-loan Alex Song; with talented Spanish U21 player Pedro Obiang signing will Noble keep his place?
Marky Nobes has always put his heart and soul into every match and often has an excellent game. He is also current vice-captain, filling in for Nolan when he doesn’t play. The question is, will he be in the first team as consistently as he has been over recent years or will Bilic opt to play more skilled players should we acquire them? If the latter happens then unfortunately Noble may have to be overlooked for the captaincy.
Adrián
Fan favourite Adrián is next on the list. The 28 year old Spanish goalkeeper has become a West Ham regular and fan favourite since joining on a free transfer from Real Betis in 2013. His passion, excellent ability and even his translated tweets have all added to Adrián’s status amongst Irons’ fans. For this reason he should be considered for captaincy. Any player who is a fan favourite deserves a chance at being captain, however Adrián has never previously been captain and may lack the experience to command his teammates.
He clearly has a successful working relationship with his team mates as he often posts pictures of him with a variety of players from the squad; an important factor in being captain of a team. Adrián is also a very consistent starter for West Ham starting every match of last season with the only minutes that he missed being when he was wrongly dismissed against Southampton in February. Although with new goalkeeper Darren Randolph, who is thought to hate being a back-up ‘keeper, entering the frame will Adrián be forced to miss games? I feel this is very unlikely and therefore he is certainly a strong contender for the captaincy of West Ham.
Aaron Cresswell
Another fan favourite and Hammer Of The Year is a surprise contender in this list. Cresswell performed beyond our wildest expectations last season playing every minute of every game and was probably our best player during the campaign. This is the reason that he should be considered for captaincy. His consistency at left back means he will always be there to be captain and the fans would also love for him to be given the captain’s armband. The added responsibility may also help Cresswell avoid any second season syndrome and can carry on his excellent form; it also could mean he rejects any offers from larger clubs.
One possible drawback to Cresswell is that he is 25 years old which is fairly young compared to other members of the team and has only been at West Ham for a year. This could mean that it’s difficult for him to stamp his authority on the game (although of course we have had young captains in the past such as Reo Coker and the great Bobby Moore). An advantage to his comparative youth is that if the captaincy is given to him now then we will have a long standing captain in place for years to come which makes Cresswell another strong contender for captain and would go down a treat with the fans.
Winston Reid
The New Zealand captain is the final contender on the list. Reid was Allardyce’s third choice captain during Big Sam’s times at West Ham so this and the fact he captains his country makes a very strong case for Winston Reid. He is a brilliant defender at times and one of the best players in the team. Unfortunately it would appear that Reid is driven by money as is the case with the majority of footballers these days and it is rumoured that Allardyce was forced to give Reid the captaincy on occasions to try to get him to sign a new deal.
If Reid is given the new captaincy I expect he will want a hefty bonus. Firstly, can we afford that? And secondly, do we want our captain to be doing it for the money (think back to Matt Upson who seemed to only be captain for the money when Scott Parker was clearly the better choice)? Nonetheless Reid is a formidable player at times and a current captain which gives him a strong case for the captaincy.
Who knows if Slaven Bilic will choose a new captain or not but if he does then he faces a tough choice of who to give it too. Who would you like our captain to be next season?
