Hammers “captain” Kurt Zouma has maintained his radio silence as he lets yet another West Ham teammate face the music.
They say when the going gets tough, the tough get going.
But at West Ham the so-called captain goes off the radar.
Last weekend West Ham United suffered their biggest home league defeat for 61 years.
To add to the embarrassment of the Hammers’ heaviest home loss in more than six decades, it came against a London rival.
And to top it all off West Ham fans had to sit and suffer the ignominy of watching former captain Declan Rice humiliate them by rounding off the 6-0 drubbing with a 30-yard stunner.
Still radio silence from “captain” Kurt
After such a shameful performance West Ham fans had every right to expect an explanation, apology, rallying cry, call to arms – or any form of communication – from their skipper Kurt Zouma.
But no. Nothing. Silence.
Instead it was left to someone who is a true leader – Vladimir Coufal – to speak up instead. The Czech may not be playing great either but he at least had the cojones to front up to supporters and offer his apologies.
With David Moyes’ job on the line, Zouma and his Hammers teammates put in another shocking performance in the latest defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Zouma lets yet another teammate face the music
That stretched West Ham’s winless run in 2024 to eight games.
But it’s still radio silence from “captain” Kurt Zouma as he lets yet another West Ham teammate face the music again.
This time Alphonse Areola has stepped up. The French goalkeeper kept the result from being another 4 or 5-0 defeat.
And after the game he fronted up like a captain should, saying the team and fans must stick together and admitting they are going through a tough moment.
Meanwhile, “captain” Zouma was seen chatting to and high-fiving Forest goalscorer Taiwo Awoniyi at half-time – the man he and Nayef Aguerd had just been bullied by for the opening goal.
After cat-gate backing, this is how he repays fans?
Zouma was always a questionable choice as captain following Rice’s departure.
The reasons for that are obvious after cat-gate which dragged West Ham’s good name through the mud.
Hammers fans – like the club – have rallied around Zouma since then, backing their man in the face of abuse from rival fans.
And this is how he repays them? With radio silence.
Is that really how a captain of this proud club should conduct himself?
Zouma may well be trying to rally the troops behind the scenes. And so he should be.
But he should be fronting up in public too.
Many supporters are calling for the defender, who seems increasingly immobile with every passing game, to be stripped of the captaincy.
Because, after all, he is fortunate to even be in the team right now.
Can you imagine Rice or Mark Noble before him going underground during a spell like this? Exactly.
That speaks volumes in Zoma’s silence.
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