The spotlight is firmly fixed on Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney but there are striking parallels with West Ham United’s own skipper.
England’s Wayne Rooney
Rooney’s future for club and country has been the subject of media frenzy in recent weeks culminating with interim England boss Gareth Southgate dropping the Three Lions skipper for the World Cup qualifier in Slovenia.
While Rooney has also lost his place in Jose Mourinho’s Red Devils’ side, it is a matter that has polarised fans and taken over social media.
Many feel England’s all-time leading goalscorer has been getting in the national team on reputation and sentiment alone.
And despite both Mourinho and Southgate insisting the captain is an important member of their teams, both have elected to bench the former Everton man in search of better results.
Rooney and West Ham’s Mark Noble facing similar scrutiny
It is a situation that draws many parallels – for West Ham fans at least – to Mark Noble’s situation at his boyhood club.
And to address it Slaven Bilic could face his toughest decision yet as West Ham United boss.
Noble, who is affectionately known as Mr West Ham, has – like his team – had a largely forgettable start to the new season.
It is in stark contrast to last term when he was made captain by Bilic in the wake of Kevin Nolan’s departure from the club.
Out of form Noble looks dejected
Noble stepped his game up to lead his beloved Hammers to their best ever Premier League points total and many pundits felt he was hard done by to miss out on England’s Euro 2016 squad, even if it was a blessing in disguise for the player.
When he was made captain last season many Hammers fans argued that it should have been given to a guaranteed starter at the time, like Winston Reid.
Those fans feel that having the likes of Pedro Obiang, who has been very impressive nearly every time he has pulled on a West Ham shirt since joining from Sampdoria, and now Edimilson Fernandes – another who looks a fine prospect – Noble should not be an automatic starter.
West Ham United’s Pedro Obiang has earned his place in the side
Throw young Reece Oxford and Cheikhou Kouyate into the mix and should the club’s longest serving player not get back to his very high performance levels Bilic will face one of the most difficult decisions of his Hammers career so far.
But just how do you drop your captain? Well Mourinho and Southgate have managed it and so too must Bilic.
Time will tell if Noble can bounce back to the kind of performances he delivered last season because he is West Ham’s fan on the pitch and they are all the better for it when he is fit and in top form.
In the meantime he must realise, like Rooney, a place on the bench is for the betterment of the team.
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