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Legend

On the night Mark Noble became one of only 10 players in the last 120 years to make 500 first team appearances for West Ham Utd.

"I know it is a cliche but it really is what dreams are made of" ⚒️

Mark Noble celebrated making his 5⃣0⃣0⃣th appearance for West Ham with a vital win over Watford

More: https://t.co/myDpubwNAz pic.twitter.com/rb4fr2YRF2
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) July 17, 2020

Noble, born 8 May 1987, has played almost all of his youth and first team football for the club apart from two short loan spells at Hull City and Ipswich Town in 2006. His loyalty and services to the club have earned him the nickname “Mr. West Ham“.

He now is part of the small and illustrious group of players who played 500 first team games in Claret and Blue

Vic Watson, Jimmy Ruffell, Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Billy Bonds, Frank Lampard Sr, Trevor Brooking, Alvin Martin and Steve Potts

Mark Noble quite rightly takes his place among those legends.

Mark Noble: 500 first team games for West Ham

Born in Canning Town, East London, Noble played for Barking Colts and moved to Arsenal‘s academy at age 11. Local side West Ham United showed an interest and Noble signed as a youth player. He became the youngest player ever to appear in their reserve team, aged 15 and made his debut in the senior team at the age of just 17 in the League Cup in August 2004 in a 2–0 win against Southend United. He made his league debut in the Championship in January 2005, in a 4–2 defeat away at Wolverhampton Wanderers. On 30 May 2005, Noble played in the 2005 Football League Championship play-off Final which saw West Ham beat Preston North End 1–0 to secure a return to the Premier League. He had entered the game as an 82nd-minute substitute for Shaun Newton.

Mark Noble made his first team debut in the season of 2004/05, being part of the team that won promotion back to the Premier League

Noble scored his first goal for West Ham against Brighton & Hove Albion, the side’s first of three in a 3–0 home win in January 2007 in the third round of the FA Cup, from an assist by Carlos Tevez. On 4 March, he scored his first Premiership goal and the opening goal of the game, against Tottenham at Upton Park in a game West Ham eventually lost 4–3 in the final seconds. He was in tears on the pitch afterwards, but in the end he helped West Ham securing Premier League status in their “Great Escape” of the 2006–07 season. He played 11 games in all competitions, scoring three goals in that season.

In 2012 he helped West Ham regain their Premier League status in the play-off final at Wembley, being part of a promotion winning team for the second time in his career.

Mark Noble celebrating West Ham’s 2-1 victory over Blackpool in the play-off final 2012

He has played for England at U16, U17, U18, U19 and U21 levels. He captained the U21 side, scoring three goals in 20 appearances. Despite appearing for England at numerous youth levels, he never was capped for the full international side.

Noble has played more Premier League games for West Ham than any other player, in addition to being the longest serving player in their current squad, having been in the first team since 2004. He is West Ham’s first-choice taker for penalty kicks and has won the club’s Hammer of the Year trophy twice, as well as being voted Hammer of the Decade at the end of the 2010s.

In 2014, Noble was ranked in the top five penalty takers in the top European leagues and was in the top 10 in the world based on the percentage of penalties successfully converted since 2009.

2015 he took over from Kevin Nolan as Club Captain and “has proved himself to be the inspirational leader we all knew he would be,” as West Ham’s joint Chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold put it in their message of honour on his 500th appearance for the Club.

In his first season as a skipper Noble steered the team to an unforgettable final season at the Boleyn Ground, and he has been a constant and comforting source of reliability during the first few seasons at London Stadium.

Noble (33) is one of only 10 players in the last 120 years to make 500 first team appearances for West Ham Utd. And in his 500th game on Friday evening, he once again led his team-mates into a crucial battle and stood up to be counted, marking this appearance with another typically committed and influential performance from the centre of midfield, helping secure Premier League status for the Club that he’s giving blood, sweat and tears for in every single game he walked on to the pitch.

“He wears Claret and Blue, he’s West Ham through and through”

Born in east London, and bleeding Claret and Blue like the supporters of this great Club, Mark Noble always has been acknowledged as “one of us”. He’s a fantastic servant to West Ham United and will forever be remembered as “Mr. West Ham” in times to come

What a legend!

A message from the Joint-Chairmen to Mark Noble:
https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2020/july/18-july/message-joint-chairmen-mark-noble

July 18, 2020 at 7:37 am Leave a comment

Virtually safe!

West Ham “deserve to be in the Premier League” says captain Mark Noble, after his side’s blistering first-half performance ensured a victory that virtually secures their top-flight status but leaves Watford in major trouble. (BBC)

Prior to the match, manager David Moyes had asked his players to “promise less and deliver more” and they did just that in a terrific first-half showing that eased any nerves.

The Hammers started brightly and scored two goals within ten minutes (goals: Michail Antonio who is the most prolific player post-lockdown with seven goals since the restart, and Tomas Soucek, excellent again in midfield). And when Declan Rice made it three before halftime, it was almost clear that the Irons would pick up a crucial win.

With their 3-1 victory over Watford they have moved six points clear of the relegation zone with two games remaining and, with a goal difference that is also significantly better than their rivals’, the Hammers’ place in the top flight seems assured.

David Moyes said: “We are in a good position. Teams still have that chance and we have to do that job. Even scoring the goals has helped – I wanted us to keep our goal difference as good as it could be.

Mark Noble, who came through the club’s academy and made his 500th appearance in the match, said: “It’s an amazing day for me, my family – this club deserves to be in the Premier League and tonight went a long way to achieving that.

Mark Noble celebrating with Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Aaron Cresswell

“Seventeen or 18 years ago I was trying to sneak into Upton Park without a ticket. To play 500 games for the club you grew up supporting, grew up half a mile away from here, your family support – it’s what dreams are made of,” Noble was beaming.

With two games to play and 37 points, the gaffer still wants more: “We still have a couple of games to go. If we get 40 points we’ll have done it off our own back,” David Moyes said.

The lower half of the Premier League table: West Ham is virtually safe – with only 2 games to play, Bournemouth and Villa would have to win both of their remaining games, and West Ham still have a superior goal difference !

Forward Antonio, fresh from scoring four against Norwich in the previous game, took his tally to nine for the season with his goal in the sixth minute: it was a calm, left-footed finish to set the Hammers on their way.

Soucek‘s flying header and Rice‘s delightful long range shot ended the game as a contest, despite there being nearly an hour still to play.

The second half still cost me some nerves because Watford made it 3-1 through Troy Deeny quite early and pressed for a second goal.

But after half an hour West Ham regained their grip on the game, and in the end the Hammers could celebrate to be virtually safe and remain in the Premier League.