Mark Noble may be approaching the most critical six weeks of his Hammers career… or less if Senegal are kicked out of AFCON earlier than expected.
Big question marks have appeared over the captain’s contribution during the course of this miserable season and the recent high challenge at Leicester City which saw him hobble off may herald a period in his career where he will be spending more and more time on the sidelines.
He was omitted from the games against Manchester United and Manchester City with Cheik Kouyate and Pedro Obiang filling the central midfield positions
Kouyate’s departure for the AFCON adventure gives Noble an opportunity to show some real form as the feeling generally around grows that Kouyate and Obiang is the preferred central midfield partnership.
Nobody can doubt the captain’s loyalty and passion and it may seem unfair to single him out for special attention but there can be no question that circumstances are starting to conspire against him.
Obiang and Kouyate look to be the future and thus the net few weeks will be a test of form and character for Noble – and his admirers!
Bless him the kid would spill blood for the club.West Ham through & through but he really is no more than a mediocre PL.Midfielder I do love the kid i honestly do but he has always been very limited.I read much about his pass completion being fantastic but i have passed wind further than most of his passes.
We’re no more than a mediocre PL side at best.
While it’s true that the recorded stats show that his range of passes and pass completion rate are better than both Obiang and Kouyate, if his effectiveness in games is not as good as theirs, then they should take his place. Plain and simple.
On the other hand it is a squad game and he is vital as all our better players are.
Hugh makes a good point, that he has to raise his game to keep Kouyate ( when he returns ) or Obiang out of the team ; again a normal part of the competitive squad game.
Thing with Mark Noble is, he’s just not the level we need.last season he should have been dropped but got lucky with injuries to other players in his position. And arguably he went on to have his best season for some time. It’s not about whether he bleeds claret and blue, he struggles in every department.
Passing, keeping possession, goals,
I’m sure he’s a great bloke and a great skipper, but he’s coasting.
Yeah but how many of them were FORWARD passes?
?
He can pick & deliver a good long ball & he isnt totally about short passes but for me his whole all-round game has been pretty suspect.Im the same as most i have total admiration for him as a man & west ham boy but lets be honest when he was being spoken of as an England player that reflected more on what a dearth of midfield talent we had at the time for England not on his international credentials.Sorry Mark im just saying it as i see it.
Fingers crossed we get a decent forward and say the same thing to the China Doll 🙂 Both him and Nobes lack the one thing you need in this day and age and that is pace but according to some 1 is unplayable on his day and the other bleeds claret and blue so should be picked whatever even though neither have done nigh on nothing this season 🙂
Noble has been a great servant for West Ham and still gives his all . Whether that is enough these days is a question of opinion . Personally I think he is invaluable . He plays how the manager directs him to play . Forward passes or diagonal passes are pretty accurate and it’s not his fault if players are not up to speed . He has earned his place in the History of West Ham . If he should be dropped to make way for others who may or may not be better then I would love to see him stay at West Ham in a coaching role . But hey , let’s give him a chance to have a final bash before we condemn him ,, he doesn’t deserve the ridicule he gets from some unappreciative fans . I remember him playing his first game for the Hammers , bet there aren’t too many of today’s fans that can say that .
Don’t know what’s going on with this forum but , it’s getting on my nerves having to log in every two minutes . Plus the the highlighted articles I have read are being shown in green .
Sorry should have read ;; articles read Not Being Highlighted .
He has been a great servant Kevin i agree.My real bugbear however is when fans deciede to call him a scapegoat based simply on others questioning him.Now these defenders of him freely give their opinion on the uselessness of other players in our squad but if anyone else dares to moan about Noble he is a scapegoat.That is pure unadulterated stupity for me.
A lot is said these days about players not being loyal. I am sure there were times in last ten years-especially after two relegations-when Noble could have cleared off. Loyalty works two ways and the club & fans can now show some to him. I realise he has been well paid etc & everybody’ s time comes. But fans & club should make sure this doesn’t end with any bad feeling. He may pick up, but if he doesn’t please no boos and plenty of thanks when he is subbed, warming up. That is the least we can do if this club is the family we claim it is..
Good points about loyalty being a two street.
He wouldn’t be one of those around me in the BML last Friday who slunk off after 50mins or so.
Anyway , it’s not Noble we should be talking about . How about a good look at Bilic .
Still doesn’t know the formation we should play when ( 4 3 3 ) seems obvious . And team selection is rather a bit disjointed to play the fancied 4 3 2 1 which seems to be the modern day format employed by foreign managers , as if we are all equipped to play like Real Madrid , Barcelona, Bayern Munich ect ect ect . What happened to good old fashioned English Football . Bilic should stop fussing about with our shape and stick to a formation that suits our squad whether players are injured or not . Namely ; 4 3 3 .
You ask “What happened to good old fashioned English Football” Kevin.Well we left the sixties & seventies years ago mate.Did no one tell you most coaches are foreign now.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Noble were suffering from a long term injury, he doesn’t look fit to me and I find it very suspicious that he is Substituted so often, and so early in matches – it occurs to me that he is being protected, the zip definitelly seems to have gone from his game and if possible he is even slower!