West Ham suffered a shocking 3-nil home defeat at the hands of Brighton last Friday, and the loss triggered the players into finally coming in terms with the crisis rocking the club.
To that effect, Hammers captain Mark Noble called a players’ meeting earlier this week.
The 30-year-old believes the quality of West Ham players makes it unacceptable for them to concede 3 goals without a reply to a side like the Seagulls.
Noble told Evening Standard in an interview: “Even if we didn’t have a manager at all, the talent in this club should mean that we don’t lose 3-0 to Brighton.
“What shape we play, what tactics we employ, that’s almost immaterial.
“You can lose games, of course you can, but whether Slaven [Bilic, the manager] is here or not, whether Sir Alex Ferguson was our boss or Jose Mourinho, we shouldn’t be getting beat 3-0 by Brighton.”
Has the midfielder somehow, knowingly or unknowingly suggested the type of managers West Ham need?
And has he revealed Bilic is no longer good enough for the club?
That Noble referred to Manchester United’s boss, who’s unarguably one of the best in the job, could mean he is suggesting that the Hammers don’t have a world class manager in the Croat.
There are many reasons to believe that Bilic could be shown the exit if West Ham fail to leave Selhurst Park with all 3 points on Saturday, although Wednesday’s 3-2 victory over Tottenham in the League Cup might have handed him a lifeline in advance.
Noble seems to agree it could be the end of the road for the manager sooner than later.
According to him: “Once there is the momentum of suggesting managers could get the sack, it’s not normally long before it happens.
“You’ve just seen that with Ronald Koeman. Five or six years ago, would he have had more time? Definitely — but football is much more of a business now.”
