Danny Murphy tells West Ham duo they need to do less talking
West Ham United have endured a horrible season so far, and it must be weighing on all the players. But there are two who will feel it more than most.
Captain Mark Noble and his central midfield partner Declan Rice are homegrown players who have been at the club for years and years.
They won’t be enjoying the team’s genuine struggle with relegation this campaign. They’ll have wanted this season to have gone entirely differently.
However, their status as ‘West Ham boys’ has led to them frequently being the ones to face the media – and the music – after yet another poor result.
That’s something that former England international Danny Murphy feels they need to stop doing.
“I’m a big fan of Mark Noble, as you know, and what he’s done for West Ham,” he told talkSPORT. “I’ve had many a tussle with Mark, he’s a good player.
“Him and Declan… Declan, also, who I’m a big, big fan of [and] who’s going to go on and do great things…
“Those two need to stop talking for a little while. Get on with your game, you don’t have to keep fronting up for everybody else. You don’t need to keep fronting it for everybody else because you’re the two West Ham boys. Let some of the others take some responsibility.”
Is Murphy right, here?
He’s certainly got a point. For Noble, the fact that he’s both a homegrown player and the club captain means that he likely feels he needs to be the public face for the squad all the time.
That’s right in some respects, but only up to a point. He can’t be the one in the firing line every single time they get beat.
Rice seems to also feel that he needs to come out and speak to broadcasters when something goes wrong.
There are other players who can do that, though. The likes of Pablo Zabaleta, Robert Snodgrass and Aaron Cresswell are experienced players who could dip in every now and then.
In other West Ham news, the club are reportedly looking to sign an injury prone talent from a top four club.