West Ham United captain Mark Noble has admitted that the January transfer window has had a negative effect on the team’s form.
The Hammers have slumped to three straight defeats in all competitions going into Monday’s clash against Liverpool, and Noble believes that January speculation has had an impact.
“Of course the Marko Arnautovic speculation became the centre of attention but, in fact, every one of our strikers has been linked with possible moves in the past couple of weeks,” he wrote in his Evening Standard column. “That has to have an effect on everyone, not just the players concerned but all the squad.
“Everyone knows how it works. Agents are very active during the window and there is no way players concerned can prepare properly for a game when that is happening. I’m not making any excuses for our past two performances but it must have had an adverse effect.”
OPINION
Noble says he’s not making any excuses but it sure sounds like he’s pointing the finger of blame away from the players. Yes, speculation must be distracting, but the players are professionals at the end of the day. There will be plenty of people who go into work every day with things going on in their personal lives, but they don’t let that stop them from putting in a good shift once they’re on the job. These footballers are paid extremely well for the job they’re doing and so there shouldn’t be any excuse for the sort of sorry performances the West Ham players have put in in recent weeks. Perhaps the speculation has had an impact on the Hammers’ form, but it shouldn’t have, and that’s the real point. You need to put that aside and concentrate on the task at hand once you step onto the pitch. There’s no excuse for the shocker at AFC Wimbledon, none whatsoever. So while January might have been a tough month for West Ham, it doesn’t excuse their recent dismal form.