In recent years, Mark “Mr West Ham” Noble has become synonymous with the club. But with recent squad additions and players in form, should he be in the starting lineup?
No-one can ever doubt his commitment to the club. His passion is there for all to see and we all know Mark Noble would be there to cheer West Ham on as a supporter if he wasn’t playing for the club. Passion though can only get you so far. The team shouldn’t suffer to keep a player in it who isn’t performing.
That being said, Noble hasn’t being playing badly in recent weeks. However, with a change of style and system needed to suit the new stadium, will he be one to make way? Does he really offer anything that another player doesn’t? We take a look at the systems West Ham have been playing recently
4-2-3-1/4-3-3
Depending on who you ask, when the Hammers play four at the back it is one of these systems. Either way it revolves around having one striker, two wide men and three central midfielders. One of them more attacking and the other two covering the defence. Mark Noble will obviously fill one of the three central roles.
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When everyone is fit, Lanzini is a shoe-in for the central attacking role. He is better on the ball than any of his teammates, and his speed makes him exceptionally good when attempting to move in behind the defence.
For the holding roles you have a choice of Obiang, Kouyate, Noble and possibly Fernandes. Fernandes is one for the future, and as such I will leave this to just the first three. In my opinion Obiang has been our most consistent player this season. His steady head and consistent tackling has enabled the side to stop more attacks than before. As such he should be a no brainer to start.
So out of Kouyate and Noble who brings the most to the side? For my money it’s Kouayte. The powerful Senegalese player can move easily from defence into attack, and his physical abilities mean that it is very tough to get the ball off of him when he powers through. He also adds more in the air for the side both attacking and defending.
5-3-2
So he doesn’t get in with 4 at the back, what about 5?
In this formation Kouyate become part of a central defensive three. He acts as a ball winner and covers the role of a defensive midfielder when not under pressure. So with him in the defence, does Noble come into the middle?
Well as before, one of the midfielders also acts more defensive. It’s their role to get the ball off of the opposition and start the attack. Obiang does that a lot better than Noble, so in he goes. One of the other midfield roles also stays with Lanzini. The central attacking role requires more pace than Noble has and Lanzini’s dribbling ability also allows the team greater freedom when attacking through this channel.
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And Noble doesn’t get the other role either. The other role needs someone who can switch wings and has the stamina to be constantly on the move when attacking. It’s their job to help the wing backs attack and get the balls into the striker and the man playing off of him.
Now in the current squad Antonio is most adept to play at right wing back, which for me leaves the two attacking roles (up with the striker and the mobile midfielder) to be split between Snodgrass, Ayew and Noble. If I was picking the best side, Ayew would support Carroll and Snodgrass would play with Lanzini in the attacking midfield role. Again Noble doesn’t get in.
Can you replace his loyalty?
However to drop Noble from the side is a bold move. He is a proven leader for West Ham and there aren’t many one club men left in the game. He’s a wonderful link between the fans and the players and many would be sad to lose him.
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That being said there are many strong personalities in the squad. Reid is many fans’ favourite to replace Noble as captain if he is dropped, and comments in recent weeks have shown Andy Carroll is maturing nicely into a leader. Snodgrass and Kouyate also seem to have the respect of their teammates in the middle.
If Slaven Bilic and West Ham are serious about progressing, Mark Noble might need to be dropped. It might seem harsh, and he should certainly stay a part of the squad, but he should be featuring less in the starting XI as time goes on.