West Ham’s main man over the past decade + is turning 31 today. To celebrate his birthday you have to look no further than his past two matches. Noble is proving that at 31-years-old, he’s still a massive piece of West Ham’s success.
Two matches, two stellar performances, two clean sheets, and six points accumulated for West Ham. Antonio, Arnautovic, Fredericks, and Rice were all imperative in those wins, but Mark Noble truly bossed the midfield and made those wins happen for his team.
It’s usually not tradition for Noble or any West Ham players to get love from the media even after shutting out Spurs and Southampton, but leave it to Alan Shearer to pick up on Noble’s massive play. In back-to-back weeks Shearer has selected Noble in his team of the week picks, each time with a different Hammer flanking him.
🥁 Drumroll, please... 🥁
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 7, 2019
Introducing @alanshearer's Team of the Week - agree with his choices? pic.twitter.com/BoCXLqy8y3
Justice for our midfielder, Mr. West Ham, indeed!
West Ham over the past 15-plus years has featured Mark Noble throughout his playing career. The two go hand-in-hand as well. He’s as defining a player the club could have and is immediately associated with the club when looking back from 2004 on.
Ironically, the first player dropped from the starting XI is Noble when hypothesizing about the upcoming transfer window. It isn’t fair but when Lanzini, Wilshere, and Rice are all on the team its an understandable situation; Noble isn’t the sexy option in the midfield, but damn is he effective.
It’s a weird situation, though. Mark Noble wouldn’t be half the player he is if he was playing for another club. He’s possibly the last of a dying breed, the loyal, homegrown, local talent that taps into another level of ability because of the emotional connection they have to the team.
Regardless of how you feel about the player, he’s been stellar over the past two games and has been the box-to-box midfielder Pellegrini is currently targetting in the transfer market. Every week he puts his body on the line for the club and he’s due his celebration and recent success on this his birthday. Happy Birthday, Mark Noble! West Ham loves you!