By Simon Leyland
Cast your mind back to this time last year when Mark Noble was in the process of finishing his last ever season with the Hammers.
It was all sunshine, positivity and smiling faces – as we looked forward to the possibly the perfect send off with a Europa League trophy in our hands.
Sadly, it was not to be, but at least Nobes would have been content in leaving his beloved club in good shape.
Now compare and contrast, as one year on, Noble`s successor has none of the above. Instead of smiles we have grimaces.
Sadly his heir, Declan Rice has only a dozen Premier League games left before he moves to a new club, starting on Saturday against Southampton, that will well and truly decide whether or not the ship from which he leaps has floundered and sunk.
Let`s be fair to the lad, he is perhaps not a natural leader, although he does wear his heart on his sleeve and his displays have not always matched those of past campaigns, but which squad member can honestly say they have?
Nevertheless, this is football, and as a result is sometimes seen as black hats versus white hats, villains and heroes. So, it would be sad to see Rice’s legacy tarnished if West Ham’s first game without him will come in the Championship in August.
But that is not going to happen , as the great Harry Redknapp has predicted on this site ….. come Sunday evening we will have three points in the bag !
COYI