It's hard for me to remember a West Ham team without our current longest serving player, Mark Noble.

Love him or loathe him, he's a local boy done good and is obviously very loyal to the club – a Hammers fan through and through. But does this mean he should have been handed the captaincy when Kevin Nolan left?

I'm not so sure.

Personally, I believed Winston Reid was the best candidate for the club captain role.

He will be ever-present this season (touch wood) and has great authority over the back four. Reid was absolutely immense in leading the back line against Manchester City, earning plaudits for his solid performance.

He felt like our captain in that game. He’s not unfamiliar to the role, currently wearing the armband when he plays for New Zealand.

I'm not saying Noble is a bad candidate for the position by any means, but with the depth of squad we have now, I wouldn't be so sure that he will be playing every game.

When Alex Song is back to full fitness, Slaven Bilic is going to have a job on his hands to choose his optimum midfield.

Song was sensational at times last season and has the flicks, tricks and pinpoint passes that made him a firm fan favourite early on. I can't see him staying out of the team, and the competition for midfield places is fierce.

And so we come to my dilemma - how can you be made club captain if you could be watching the games from the bench? How do you exude authority and keep the rest of the team in check? You can't.

Another potential issue for me is that sometimes, Nobes seems to care too much, which could get him in trouble if the passion bubbles over.

That said, watching him pull Carl Jenkinson to his feet on Saturday to keep the amount of injury time down was ace!

Sure, Mark Noble will be a great ambassador for the club at charity events and in other off the field duties like giving updates for the new stadium.

But if he won't be ever-present on the pitch, I don't think he should be captain. It seems to me that Bilic has made a decision with his heart rather than his head.