Mark Noble is remaining entirely philosophical about his exclusion from the team at Burnley and is set to play his part if called upon for the home clash with Brighton and Hove Albion.
Talking to the official site he said: “Whether I am involved from the start or not I will prepare the same way and give the same input in the dressing room and on the pitch, either way.
“I have played regularly for this Club for over a decade now, but we now have a bigger and stronger squad than ever and that means the manager will take decisions to pick certain players for certain matches.
“Some people might think a player being left out of the starting XI is a big talking point, but it isn’t, for me. It’s just the result of the club having a big squad full of quality players and only eleven of them can start the game.
“We saw against Swansea that substitutes can make a massive difference when they come on and, at the end of the day, football is a results game and our substitutes helped us get a positive result in our last home game.”
And on the crucial clash against the Seagulls he said: “All that matters at this stage is putting points on the board and sometimes you have to sacrifice your playing style to win games, and we probably did that a bit against Swansea City here last time out. At the end of the day, a win is a win, and that is all that matters.
“That victory was built on the fact we defended well and had kept a clean sheet going into the final stages of the game, then we brought Manu, Arthur and Diaf on and they combined to make the difference in the end.
“Hopefully, now we have moved up the table a bit and got a few more points, we can play with a bit more freedom and enjoy ourselves.”
Sacrificed our playing style 😂😂 and yes the substitutes did make a difference lol but you won’t noble !! That’s the truth not a pop !😉
Can’t wait for the next Noble pearls of wisdom . His speeches are almost as bad as his play … Sacrifice our playing style …. what 5mph sideways and backwards and then hump it forward ? We were so much more competitive and quicker with him on the bench . Why is he on the bench ? He has nothing to offer to change the game and is definitely not the person to close up the game as he cannot get up and down or tackle and is always likely to give the ball away or concede stupid free kicks around the area . Much better to have a Rice or an Ogbona or a Collins .This is the truth and a pop !! COYI
Fair play to Noble, if someone had made me captain of West Ham they would have had to pry the armband and shirt from my dead fingers. Apart from his comments about fans last year, he has been a loyal servant to the club and I hope he gets the chance to stay on in some capacity when he does finally hang his boots up. He’s earned that.
It can’t be the easiest thing in the world to know that your time at the top is coming to an end so all credit to him for saying he’ll continue to lead in the dressing room, even if he can’t do it for 90mins on the pitch anymore. In this day and age, one club men are rarer than hen’s teeth so perhaps we should celebrate the things he brought to the club rather than dwell on the things he didn’t.
#Ironbornandbred
Think the criticism of Nobes as a person is a little harsh. It can’t be easy realising you are no longer first choice and that, in all likelihood, you will need to move on to secure first team football. Even more so when you are a a one club man. Whilst I agree we are a better side with younger legs, (lord knows we need them as we’ve the highest average age of any PL side currently), I wish Nobes as a person the very best in his future career. It’s just that it ain’t with West Ham.
Echo the thoughts of most Nobes is a true hammer and deserves respect for that, I am sure he will continue to fight for his place time will tell how that works out, to me he is 6th choice in central midfield behind Obiang, Lanzini, Kouyate, Rice and Fernandes.