There is huge responsibility that comes with being the captain of a big club like West Ham in the globally watched Premier League – but it seems lost on Kurt Zouma.
Kurt Zouma was always a questionable choice as West Ham captain following Declan Rice’s departure.
Because there have been question marks as to whether he is fit to skipper the club of Bobby Moore.
Both literally – given the knee issues which restrict how often he can play for the Hammers – and from a moral standpoint given cat-gate which dragged West Ham’s name through the mud.
The latter is in the past. The player has apologised for his actions and David Moyes’ decision to make him captain was seen as the bestowing of some much-needed responsibility on the £30m defender.
Hammers fans – like the club – have rallied around Zouma since then, backing their man in the face of abuse from rival fans.
When fit and in form, Zouma is comfortably West Ham’s best defender. But his woeful on the pitch performances aside of late, Zouma has offered next to nothing off it in terms of dialogue with fans.
He rarely addresses supporters, does interviews or – most importantly – fronts up when the going gets tough.
That was left to Vladimir Coufal after the club’s record home league defeat to Arsenal and Alphonse Areola after the defeat to Forest.
So fans, Hammers News and other West Ham media such as The Athletic have – justifiably – questioned Zouma’s captaincy.
Zouma has bitten back at the criticism this week in an interview on the club’s official website.
It was great to finally hear from the Hammers skipper after two months and eight games without a win. And with the manager who brought him to the club under intense pressure as he shoulders most of the blame for the current malaise.
But Zouma has completely missed the point in the response to criticism of his West Ham captaincy.
Now let’s not have a situation where Zouma is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. This is certainly no witch hunt. I have been one of Zouma’s biggest defenders, advocates and champions in the past.
This is what we want – to hear from our captain. But instead of accepting he is in the wrong for having failed to front up to fans over the last two months, he has instead gone on the defensive.
“I captain my way and I don’t talk a lot outside,” Zouma said.
“We have an experienced group and everyone talks to each other and we know what we’ve done wrong and what we can improve. The reality is we’re all tight and moving in the same way and we want to provide for everyone.
“You don’t need to shout to be a leader. We are not kids any more, we are grown-ups and we all understand what we’ve done wrong and we know we need to pull together and do better.”
But shouting at teammates is not what we’re asking for Kurt. And the fact that’s what he believes the criticism to be about shows he’s not getting it at all.
We simply want regular communication from the club’s captain – as is the case with all other Premier League skippers.
And we want him to lead by example on the pitch.
The simple fact is Zouma has been doing neither of late.
Can you think of any other club where the captain would not come out and apologise, explain or at least speak to fans after suffering the ignominy of a biggest ever home league defeat – and to a London rival no less? It borders on unforgivable as a captain.
We’re not asking Zouma to be like Mark Noble, Declan Rice, Billy Bonds, Julian Dicks or Mooro as characters. But you’d better believe when you wear the armband we hold you to the same standards in terms of leading that West Ham team on the pitch and fronting up to media and fans off it.
It’s great Zouma is leading the team “his way” in the dressing room. Fantastic. So he should be.
But that doesn’t mean you shirk your responsibilities of speaking to the club’s supporters and media off it. It doesn’t work like that I’m afraid. Not at a huge club like West Ham, in the most watched league in world football.
If you don’t like or want that responsibility then hand the armband to someone who does.
Now we will see if Zouma can back up his words where it matters most – on the pitch against Brentford on Monday night.
And if he does we’ll be the first in the line to shower him with praise.
READ ALSO
Beginning of the end as Moyes hints he may leave West Ham for first time
Real reason Moyes is stalling on contract is clear after Sullivan talks
Great news for West Ham as Man City move for Paqueta takes significant twist
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
