Mr West Ham Takes His Bow, But Arrive Early!

Mr West Ham, Mark Noble the ex England U-21 skipper shamefully ignored by Roy Hodgson, will be filed with pride as he steps out in front of a full Boleyn Ground for his well earned testimonial. Once upon a time the ten year testimonial was a vital financial preparation ahead of a player's retirement, but times have changed and Mark, like others who now enjoy a very comfortable wage has elected to donate all the income received to three charities, the DT38 Foundation, Help for Heroes and Richard House Children's Hospice. Although Dimitri Payet, Darren Randolph, Enner Valencia and Cheikhou Kouyate will al be missing due to International commitments there will still be plenty of talent on offer, with so many Hammers legends rather than leg ends there to grace the occasion. The match is a sell out, but for those who cannot make it (more of that in a moment) the match will be broadcast live on BT Sport, which means it will also be viewable on any number of media streams, sports devil etc.
Of course being there in person is far preferable, especially as it is one of the last matches to be played at the 'old lady' that is the Boleyn Ground, but it's a sell out! Unfortunately this is something that many fans will have to get used to, the thousands (does anyone know exactly how many?) who are on the waiting list for season tickets that are going to miss out are paying the price for the club's incredibly rapid, if not unexpected in the long term, progress under the guidance of Super Slave Billic, who is rumoured to be making a cameo appearance at this afternoon's match - Ed.
TRAVEL WARNING!
There will be no London Underground service to/from Upton Park station because of planned engineering work on the District and Hammersmith & City Lines on Easter Monday.
Supporters travelling from central London are advised to use the Jubilee line or the DLR to Canning Town station and continue their journey on foot.
Supporters travelling from the east are advised to use c2c services to Barking station and walk from there to the Boleyn Ground. Barking station is also served by London Overground services.
The walking time from each station is about 40 minutes. Bus services will be operating from each station but are expected to be busy.
Due to the suspension of Abellio Greater Anglia and TfL Rail services to/from London Liverpool Street for Network Rail engineering work, and also the aforementioned suspension of the District and Hammersmith & City Lines, c2c will be running an enhanced Sunday service on Easter Monday.
Additional trains will run from Southend Central, Westcliff, Chalkwell, Leigh-on-Sea, Benfleet, Basildon and Laindon to Upminster, Barking, West Ham and London Fenchurch Street.
There will also be additional shuttle trains from London Fenchurch Street to West Ham and Barking.
Additional trains will also run from London Fenchurch Street, Barking and Upminster to Laindon, Basildon, Benfleet, Leigh-on-Sea, Chalkwell, Westcliff, Southend Central and Shoeburyness.
Additional relief trains will start in service at Barking, calling at Upminster and Laindon only. There will also be additional shuttle trains from West Ham to Limehouse and London Fenchurch Street.
Please Note:
A queuing system may be in place for passengers joining services after the match.
It may not be possible to join your first choice of train service.
Please ensure you follow any directional signage.
Follow the instructions of c2c station staff - who will do their utmost to get you to your destination just as quickly and as safely as they can do so.
Please have your tickets (including Oyster, Contactless or Smartcards) ready for the automatic ticket barriers.
You can plan your journey to the Mark Noble Testimonial match using the National Rail Journey Planner or the TfL Journey Planner.