Noble is a figure who, along with Carlton Cole, divides West Ham fans more than any other. 98% of the Claret and Blue Klan were Parker acolytes, 70% still claim Green is an international keeper and 100% will now accept that Ilunga should be put out of our misery. But Noble is another matter.
How good or useless is the guy. Some are convinced that Noble is hopeless. He is too slow. He loses possession too often. He gives away too many free kicks. He has stamina problems and can't see out a game.
Others claim Parker and Noble were a bad fit, clashing rather than complimenting when paired together. Noble's fans will point to the fact that he came through the Academy, that he captained the England U21s and will highlight his passing range. Parker got the credit for our comeback at West Brom last season but it was Noble who had a hand in all three goals.
Noble is undoubtedly slow, that's why Pardew remodeled him from a tricky wide player to a center midfielder. And Noble carries too much upper body muscle. He found the gym in his early twenties and bulked up like a rugby player - and that, in my opinion, was a mistake. And his goals have dried up.
Allardyce has been using him as the holding midfielder but Diop has now arrived and we suddenly have an abundance of midfielders. Will Noble find a place in the starting line up? He must be sweating on the possibility of being dropped.
I have defended Noble against his harshest critics and hope that he may now prosper following the departure of Parker but this is a huge season for him. If he loses his place early doors, the future for Noble looks bleak. It is time for him to impose himself, to stamp his imprint on the team. There has been talk of potential for too long, Noble must now deliver or go elsewhere.
Quite agree with you 100%! Noble along with Sears have to show what they can or can`t do, not just in this division.
ReplyDeleteAbout Sears, where is he, injured, moved on or just forgotten.
I wish I could honestly say that he can raise his game. As you say he is too slow and prone to errors. We can't be losing more points by keeping Mark in the first team when we now seem to have better and more sure solutions available.
ReplyDeleteI am not convinced by Mark Noble. I like his loyalty, but his performance on the pitch leaves a lot to be desired.
ReplyDeleteHe just frustrates me a lot of the time. I thought he was the worst player on the pitch for us v notss Forest.
It's basics that he seems to have "forgotten". Simple stuff like staying goal side of a player, when he sometimes flies in at tackles where he should just stand them up.
I hope he improves, but I think Allardyce has seen the same, hence why he gets subbed often, and why he has brought a few midefielders in.
Of course he will impose himself! He'll do the interviews, come in early and stay late at training, travel to away games even when he's injured, go on the golf days, volunteer for interviews and do various other promotions to stay in the thoughts of the manager and fans. He's been doing it for a while now and he's great at it. None of that is football, of course.
ReplyDeleteI think Noble offers you good and bad in every game, with the bad being highlighted. I think he gets more assists than he gets credit for, however, you wont see him making that latch ditch tackle that denies a goal, or that player busting a gut to get into the box, ruling him out as a box to box midfielder. Holding midfielders hold, yet Noble doesn't break up play much, therefore I think the split opinion on Noble originates on the confusion surrounding his role. I urge people to watch him if he plays against Portsmouth and watch how effective his passing from a central position is.
ReplyDeleteMy money is on Noble being asked to close the door behind him when he leaves. Doubt he will handle the pressure he is under now. He will try too hard, leading to mistakes, and Sam will politely tell him to have a seat.
ReplyDeleteToo bad. I once thought he would wear our armband and lead the team for many years.
needs to be played in a role where he ca nuse his passing to create goals but then again he links up the defense to midfield well with his passing and both time he was subbed off this season we lost our leads and we looked unbalanced
ReplyDeleteSadly he appears to have deteriorated with age and seems to no longer have the same hunger and verve that was there when he first broke into the side
ReplyDeleteHe is just plain useless. I can't be bothered getting technical in my criticism. As I have posted on other threads I think he is a cancer that needs cutting out of the midfield urgently.
ReplyDeleteJohntan my man!
ReplyDeleteIm in the minority here lol
ReplyDeleteI like him and believe he will prove his ability this season.
He finally has a manager that will tell him what he wants, instead of useless pricks (zola/grant) telling him "just play in midfield lad, do what feels right".
The common error put under the spotlight is the late challenges just outside our box offering free kicks in dangerous positions to the opposition...do you see Sam saying, dont worry about it...
The guy needs direction, he needs to be MANAGED and i personally believe this will be one of his best years in a claret and blue strip.
Don't worry Beelzebub, I used to be the minority on this once. In fact, I called Noble long time ago but I go on about it not near enough as HF does about Parker.
ReplyDeleteIs all that daylight food going to your head Stani? That was a terrible piece of English!
ReplyDeleteIt's a blog HF, what do you want from me?
ReplyDeleteHow was your trip? Meet any characters?
As warned, it was whistle stop Stani. The trip was fantastic but sadly the Egyptians were not pleasant. There is truly desperate poverty of course but I have been to other poor countries in the world and not experienced begging and scam artists to the same extent. It was everywhere and, most disappointingly, when I visited a mosque (independently) in the hope of meeting somebody who I could talk to rather than be pestered by, the Iman promptly asked for money and when I made a donation, told me "That is not enough"! I'm sorry to say that it all left a bad taste in the mouth. It was wonderful to hear the call to prayer as we cruised down the Nile and the temples were fantastic but the people were...well horrible sadly.
ReplyDeletehahahaha so happy your holiday was crap - you deserve crap - I went to Egypt the year before last and we had a wonderful time - I wonder what was so different?
ReplyDeleteDid I say it was crap? Far from it, the holiday was brilliant, one of the best I have ever had! What is different from last year? They have had a revolution and tourism is down 70% so people are desperate. But you would have to read newspapers and watch the news to know that!
ReplyDeletefunny that Noble gets slated for giving away too many free kicks near the box but Scotty Parker is a West Ham legend
ReplyDeleteNoble came through the youth team is loyal and a West Ham fan Parker a mercenary that plays for the money
I know which one is more of a legend for me as a West Ham fan rather than a Parker fan
20:13 hahaha holidaying (cheaply) in a desperate place, surrounded by scam artistes, beggars and horrible people - didn't tip the Iman enough.... you're a class act no doubt about it.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you had such an experience HF, but don't let it stop you from searching (for yourself). I would like to mention that there are no clergy in Islam and pretty much anyone can be an Imam. If the guy was a dick, take is as that. I am still utterly surprised that a real Imam would ask for money, though. Never judge a faith from the people that follow it.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the beggars...yep, I saw it when I was in Kashmir/Pakistan too. Obviously there are genuinely poor people within them, but it's the crooks that take advantage of the situation that really sicken me. It's difficult to tell who really needs help and who doesn't.
Why was the trip so rushed? You should go Pakistan/Kashmir some time HF. The hospitality of the people is on another level....and you have to taste Pakistani mangoes! You gotta do the Karakoram Highway and travel up to K2 once before you go HF, and visit the pearly lakes up north like Lake Saiful Muluk.
Looks like he's doing ok at the moment from what I can see (currently playing against Portsmouth). I agree though - sometimes he puts in some absolute peach passes. Other times he looks sloppy and makes silly mistakes. Maybe the fresh competition in midfield, especially Bentley and Taylor (for their passing game) will liven him up a bit.
ReplyDeleteMark Noble had a hand (or a foot rather) in at least two out of the three goals we conceded today. Obviously the penalty was so sloppy and in the second goal he jumped over the ball while we were in their half rather than tackling it.
ReplyDeleteI can't complain too much because he scored the penalty and made one or two good passes. The good and the bad of Mark Noble!
Can we afford to pay for his mistakes? I think not, if we really aim to top the League and come straight back.
Sadly Stani, I am going nowhere near Pakistan until the troubles are sorted. That's the problem with the fundamentalists, they are destroying Islamic nations by killing the tourist trade. I was planning a visit to Cairo in October but in the light of the troubles yesterday, that may have to be shelved.
ReplyDeleteIt's good the tourist trade is being killed - nothing wrong with choking the life blood out of the these place - less money has to a good thing.
ReplyDeleteNot just the fundamentalists eh? But all the secret services too, with their black ops
ReplyDeleteall ops are black when they're secret services, it's nothing new, being going on for decades - not sure what your point is
ReplyDeleteI didn't say they weren't, so I'm not sure what your point is.
ReplyDelete