Leon Osman said that West Ham lacked leaders on the pitch and claimed that it was clearly a problem for Manuel Pellegrini’s side currently.
The BBC pundit revealed that he heard experienced defender James Collins talking on BBC 5 Live last night about there being a lack of characters in the dressing room at the Hammers.
Osman appeared to agree with that statement and pinpointed the lack of leaders Manuel Pellegrini’s side had to call upon, stating that it did seem to be having a negative effect.
“Someone on the radio last night, James Collins it was, that was saying they’re lacking characters in the dressing room,” said Osman, on BBC One’s Football Focus (Saturday September 15, 12:56).
“And that does seem to be a problem for West Ham at the moment, there’s no leaders on the pitch.”
OPINION
Collins, who left the Hammers in the summer, was a clear leader on the pitch and it seems no one has stepped up in his absence. Osman clearly agrees with the former defender and goes a little bit further with his verdict by claiming there are no leaders on the pitch. Given that one of Mark Noble’s only redeeming qualities this season has been his leadership qualities, he may be offended by that statement. However then again the veteran midfielder hasn’t feature in his side’s last two league games so perhaps he struggled to influence the side. While the Hammers’ lack of leaders may be a reason why they have slumped to four straight defeats, the likes of Noble can’t be played in order for their to be someone on the pitch to look to. This is the case as Noble has been a liability this season and Pellegrini must hope that other players step up and show some character as the players who arguably are capable leaders, aren’t seen as starters at the London Stadium currently for good reason.
