Mark Noble may be West Ham United captain but veteran Pablo Zabaleta is also a leading voice in the changing room.
And when he speaks, people tend to take notice.
So it did not go unnoticed when the 35-year-old Argentine pulled no punches in his assessment of West Ham’s torrid situation this week.
The Hammers are only being kept out of the bottom three by goal difference. And that is before a daunting run of games starting with Leicester City tonight.
Hammers more solid but can’t strike a balance
West Ham have looked more solid under David Moyes. But they have been sorely lacking up front since the win over Bournemouth on the Scot’s return to the club.
The Hammers were profligate against Gillingham, Sheffield United and Everton. And £45million man Sebastien Haller was the biggest culprit, missing some glaring chances in all three games.
Albian Ajeti was brought in as something of a wildcard. But he has failed to impress too.
Now Zabaleta, who was a contender for man of the match last time out against Everton, has laid it on the line to Haller and co, pointing much of the blame at them for West Ham’s current plight.
Zaba pulls no punches as he points blame at attackers
“There’s still room for improvement, but I think the best thing we can do as a team is to take our chances in front of goal,” Zabaleta told Premier League Productions as reported by whufc.com.
“We have to be clinical because all the games we’ve won home or away are because we’ve been like that: relentless in front of goal. It gives us a chance to win football matches.
“Hopefully we can improve on that… when you are so clinical in front of goal at home, it gives you a much bigger chance to win a game.”
Zabaleta also acknowledged the team needs to continue to be solid defensively.
West Ham’s unfathomable lack of foresight to blame
But at the moment that is not the issue.
Haller has been an isolated figure up front for West Ham since his big move from Frankfurt, where he enjoyed great success as part of a front three.
On arriving in East London Haller found himself without a single proven forward to play or compete with. All five of last season’s strikers were shipped out by West Ham in the summer.
The unfathomable lack of planning and foresight has already cost West Ham dear this season.
And as yet neither Pellegrini or Moyes has found a way of getting better service to the forward.
Let’s hope someone can come up with the answer against Leicester on Wednesday night.
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