Fans Vote For Top Five West Ham Captains of All-Time
By Justin Wasik
3. Mark Noble
- Joined West Ham: Academy product
- Debut: August 2004
- Hammer of the Year: Winner (2012, 2014); Runner-Up (2005)
- Years as Captain: 2015-present
- 506 (may have to change) appearances
- 60 goals; 61 assists
Mr West Ham. It’s enough said really. Mark Noble has always been a Hammer. The Canning Town-born player joined the Academy at a young age and was the youngest player to make an appearance for the reserve team at just age 15-years-old.
His first-team debut came just two years later at the age of 17, one of the youngest debutants in the club’s history. Noble played exceptionally well in his first year at the club, achieving a runner-up position in the Hammer of the Year award in 2005.
After two loan spells at Hull and Ipswich Town, he began to play more and more for the first-team, with his first goal for the club coming against Brighton in January of 2007.
He continued to play more and more, eventually earning a starting spot in the midfield that he has more or less consistently kept for several years. He has had his share of criticism, however, as there have been times where large swaths of the fanbase have called for him to be removed from the starting lineup.
But for all of those criticisms, Noble has produced some excellent moments in a West Ham shirt. He won two Hammer of the Year awards in 2012 and 2014 and arguably had his greatest season during the final campaign at the Boleyn in 2015-16. Some even said he should have been called up to the England squad that season, something that will most likely never happen in his career now.
While Noble has certainly lost his pace and his spot in the starting lineup, no West Ham fan can ever argue the passion and commitment Noble has given to our great club. He truly is Mr West Ham and is one of the great captains in our history. He should have a statue built for him one day.