How West Ham United’s current dressing room could do with the personality, experience and leadership qualities of Mark Noble, James Collins and Michail Antonio.
Antonio has not shied away from blaming Graham Potter for ripping up a side overflowing with top-level nous in the fateful summer of 2025.
In the space of a few weeks, West Ham United moved on a host of players who, combined, had played well over 1,000 Premier League matches.
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In hindsight, with a return to the Championship now secured, the 3-0 opening day defeat by Sunderland in August was a sign of things to come without the likes of Michail Antonio, Vladimir Coufal, Emerson Palmieri or Aaron Cresswell offering invaluable advice and leadership behind the scenes.
Speaking on the LIFEJACKET podcast, Antonio recalls another opening day defeat. Albeit a much less damaging one.
Michail Antonio hit back at Slaven Bilic after West Ham United lost to Chelsea
Under the stewardship of Slaven Bilic, the Hammers lost 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on what was Antonio Conte’s Chelsea debut in 2016.
While Antonio does not remember all the details correctly – Eden Hazard scored the penalty but it was Cesar Azpilicueta he brought down in the box – he cannot forget how a furious Mark Noble and James Collins reacted after he dared fire back at Bilic.
“I started the very first game [of the 2016/17 season] against Chelsea and had an absolute stinker,” says Antonio, who was playing as a reluctant right-back at the time. “Basically, [Bilic] subbed me instantly after that.
“We ended up having a massive argument in the changing rooms. But it wasn’t me with him. It was me with ‘Ginge’ [Collins] and Mark Noble.”
“[Bilic] kind of told me off, and then I kind of just said to him, ‘I told you I never wanted to play there!’ And then Mark Noble and Ginge both, like, lost their head with me for talking back to him. So it was a big bust-up.
“But then it was all dealt with by the next day.”
Antonio reflects on his right-back role at Upton Park
Flash forward to 2025/26, and captain Jarrod Bowen has come under the microscope on an almost weekly basis from those questioning if he has the personality to lead from the front. The Hammers certainly do not appear to have characters like Noble, Collins or Antonio to hang their hats on these days.
Though he will be remembered best for smashing West Ham’s Premier League scoring record as a rampaging number nine, as mentioned above, Antonio started out as a full-back under Bilic.
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“I go into West Ham, I think the first week I was absolute fire in training and stuff like that,” Antonio says. “But obviously, Slaven Bilic brought in Victor Moses. So with his experience of the Premier League and stuff like that, Victor got picked over me, and that’s how I ended up at right-back!
“[Bilic was] probably one of the best managers I played under. I liked his philosophy. I liked how calming he was. He just believed and trusted the boys to go out there and do the job.
“I felt like he was a person who kind of brought me out of my shell, made me believe in myself after the three months of me being the guy who couldn’t get on the field! I went from ‘The Hologram’ to being the right-back, to being the all-time [highest] goalscorer!”
“I just wanted the opportunity to play in the Premier League,” recalls a man who was forced to bide his time after a £7 million move from Nottingham Forest. “[Bilic] was like, ‘Right now, there’s no right-back, so can you just fill in for now? And then don’t worry, you’ll go back to your position.’
“So I was like, ‘You know what? Let me get on the pitch and show people what I can do’.
“I could still get forward [from right-back]. That’s why I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to do that. I’m going to play right-back and still technically play as a winger because, when I get the opportunity to take someone on, I’m going to take them on and get the balls in the box.'”
Antonio would provide a highly-impressive eight goals and three assists from right-back in his debut Premier League campaign.
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