You are here

Mr West Ham Isn't For Leaving The Hot Seat But Is It Up To Him?

nevillenixon's picture
Submitted by nevillenixon on Tue, 14/03/2017 - 15:41

Mark Noble, honest as ever, has taken to the press to give his side of the story amid the growing clamor for him to be dropped from West Ham United's starting line up. Choosing Sky Sports as one's given media platform might raise a few eyebrows, the wisdom of which may be called in to question, but obviously Slaven Billic's captain has felt the need to put his side of the situation. The fact that Mark Noble needs to 'go public' is a matter of some conjecture, however the no smoke without fire aspect is clearly apparent. As captain, Noble will be the focus of fan based negativity if things aren't going well, it's part of the job, so his statement "If I am really honest, a lot of people who now go to football don't really understand the game" seemed a little unnecessary. He continued by saying "Football is a game of moments now and if someone does four step-overs, they've had an incredible game, that's not something I do. It's just football, you've got to live with it. The things Arsene Wenger has done for Arsenal and some people want him out, players like Wayne Rooney some people want him out of the Manchester United team. That's why we are captains of our clubs, because we can handle that pressure," Noble added with alacrity."It's probably been the hardest period of my West Ham career because we've had so much to deal with off the pitch, you've got to stick at it," he insisted.
Will either Noble or Rooney still be their respective club captains by the beginning of next season? In Rooney's case he has 'clocked up a lot of miles', he has also achieved a tremendous amount as is befitting such a high profile player, this is in no way meant to decry Noble's own considerable achievements but out of the two players it is Noble who still hankers for a bit more success before even considering hanging up his boots, and who is to blame him? The problem lies in how Mark Noble can effectively continue to influence the upward progress of the team without holding them back as he approaches the twilight of his top flight career, it is a topic we have raised before, as have just about every other West Ham website. Last season Mark Noble played out of his skin, whether it was because of being in the presence of Payet who knows? but 'Marky' definitely raised his game to a level few thought possible, there was a particular ground swell of opinion that he should have been included in the England squad for the Euro's, in hindsight he could hardly have done much worse than those who were selected ahead of him, and maybe his reputation was not 'sullied' by being associated with the bunch of losers that returned home empty handed having let down their expectant nation yet again! The season before last was a different kettle of fish, fans were already openly criticising Noble's 'old school' approach to the game, citing his propensity for conceding fouls in dangerous areas and his woeful distribution of the ball, so maybe last season was just a 'blip', but a very inspired blip, however it seems that 'normal service' has been resumed this season, perhaps accentuated by the dismal overall performance of a squad that arrived with a fanfare but that was assembled for two bob! Either way the cracks are definitely showing but will invariably be papered over until a permanent fix can be made, when and how that occurs is down to a combination factors not least who will be overseeing player recruitment.
Perhaps it would be politically expedient if Captain Noble seemed to pick up an injury that needed rest and plenty of it, it's not as if it hasn't been done by teams before facing the same situation of parting company with an incredibly loyal albeit well paid servant, Slaven Billic has already proved incredibly adept at dealing with player issues, although we suspect the Mark Noble issue is one head ache he would have preferred to have dealt with in the closed season away from prying eyes and too much scrutiny. - Ed

Share

Comments

Mark Noble hasnt had his best season but lets be perfectly he honest, he isnt the problem and is being scapegoated hugely. Also hes bang on the mark, alot of the modern football fans don't understand football. Its called having a footballing brain and from what ive seen on social media and online etc... A huge portion of our fans don't have one. The same people calling for Noble to be dropped and Kouyate restored to midfield in his place and just several of these people as they seem to forget how bad we were defensively with Kouyate in midfield.

up
116 users have voted.
Jenningsthehero's picture

Love the bloke ,claret and blue right through he has struggled this year for form but apart from Antonio and winston who hasn't ? would like to see a midfield of obiang,koyate and noble just try to see if we can tighten things up, still think hes a very important player for us, but the interview with sky was not the best move,we can all see when players are struggling,you don't have to be a professional for that, this summer is going to be a massive one for the club to see who they bring in and who goes,just hope Mark is part of bilic plans

up
145 users have voted.

Theres plenty of other players in our side who are making a lot more mistakes than nobes recently,but are getting away scott free from the critics....imo its a sad state of affairs at westham when our most loyal player for decades gets dug out so much!!

up
128 users have voted.
nevillenixon's picture

Good point, someone rang in to talkshite this afternoon saying how many tourists there are at the LS, and he was right, we had a bunch of ze germans who never stopped talking 'parachuted' in to the row behind us, how is this possible, also a few rows down the seats are always occupied by japanese tourists, they arrive with neat envelopes and tickets, again how is that possible?
It is easy to see why Noble 'had his day' in public but it was a bit of an own goal and will be seen as him trying to divert attention from his form AND that of the rest of the team this season.

up
135 users have voted.

Its a good stadium, been up there a few times and I like it, but the whole way the tickets were done and how they were sold was just a complete shambles. Tourists everywhere other teams shirts in the home end. Found out that oneo f the reasons we have so many empty seats is groups of 3 are buying 5 seaosn tickets between them. One person is using his +2 to get 2 child seats in excellent places, while his two mates buy adult season tickets really cheap then just walk around in to there mates 2 empty seats from his + 2. Thus leaving 2 empty seats, and hundreds have done this supposedly. The whole system needs a re think.

up
117 users have voted.
cast iron's picture

I must be one of the fans he is talking about I dont understand why he keeps passing the ball backwards and to the side. Ron Greenwood always said if there is not a space in front of u its behind you but u have got to have a good look first, so many times this season he has spun round and passed the ball back, its almost as if he is on automatic pilot. Love Mr West Ham would love to see him stay at the club in a coaching capacity in a few years time, he is not ready to leave the team but i think he could be rested for a couple of weeks there is no way he is knocking on the door of Englands team and he is not as good as he was last season. But is still a great player and a West Ham legend. Nolan was in a similar sort of position its a difficult situation

up
160 users have voted.

Theres this myth about how he only passes backwards and sideways, even thought every season he has more forward passes then anyone else in our team. Yes sometimes he isnt the quickest to release it and hes been out of form but this is due to 3 reasons. 1st is movement, last season he was excellent knocking on englands doors, why because there was constant movement around him he was able to run the attack with one twos, good passing, and good vision. This season its static, theres no movement no runners, he can't get forward as much because our defence is worse then it was last season and theres nobody to play off. 2nd thing is Noble has always tried to play football, hes not afraid to hit it long if the options there but hes never been one to hit and hope and this is seen against chesea where while everyone thought he should hit a hopeful ball in to the box he wanted to retain possesion. Got slaughtered even though it was snodgrass who actually lost the ball. Noble would rather retain possesion then give it away. 3rd reason is a mix of the teams style of play has changed from last season which hasnt helped him and the fact that the entire teams fitness levels seem to be shocking

up
138 users have voted.
cast iron's picture

I thought they looked slow and unfit perhaps their week in Dubai has put them in holiday mode
because the fight and the passion was not there

up
145 users have voted.

Next Fixture(s)