Noble at West Ham in April 2010 |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mark James Noble | ||
| Date of birth | 8 May 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Canning Town, England | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) [1] | ||
| Playing position | Central midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | West Ham United | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2004 | West Ham United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2004– | West Ham United | 167 | (17) |
| 2006 | → Hull City (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2006 | → Ipswich Town (loan) | 13 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007–2009 | England U21 | 20 | (3) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 05:45, 3 January 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Mark James Noble (born 8 May 1987 in Canning Town, London) is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United. He has played all his youth and first team football for West Ham and made 20 appearances, scoring 3 goals, for the England under-21 team which he captained.
Despite his relatively young age, Noble is the longest serving player in the Hammers' current squad, having been in the first team since 2004.
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Noble joined the West Ham United youth academy as a schoolboy after a short spell at Arsenal and became the youngest player ever to appear in the reserve team, aged 15.[2] He became a trainee in July 2003[3] 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.[3] He made his league debut in the Championship in January 2005, in a 4–2 defeat away at Wolves.[3]
Former Manager Alan Pardew had described Noble as possibly the best prospect at the club. He won the Young Hammer of the Year[4] and the runner-up to the Hammer of the Year awards despite making his debut only four months previously.[2] Upon West Ham's return to the Premiership, he featured in games against Tottenham and Manchester United among others but found regular playing time harder to come by.[3]
Noble was subsequently loaned to Hull City[5] where he made five appearances[3] but was sent back after suffering an injury to his lower back.[6]
Noble signed a three month loan with Ipswich Town in August 2006[7] in the hope of gaining necessary first team experience. Whilst there he played 13 games in the Championship, and scored his first professional goal on 12 September in a 2–1 home win over Coventry City.[8]
Noble scored his first goal for West Ham, a 3–0 win at home against Brighton & Hove Albion in January 2007 in the 3rd round of the FA Cup[9] in which he was also awarded the Man of the Match award.
On 4 March, he scored his first Premiership goal against Tottenham Hotspur at Upton Park in a game West Ham eventually lost 4–3 in the final seconds, prompting tears from the young player. On 17 March 2007, he started the premier league game with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park and was substituted at half-time for Hayden Mullins in the 2-1 victory for the Hammers.
In May 2007, Noble won two Knees Up Mother Brown awards for the 2006–07 season voted by the fanzine website users. Noble was their overwhelming choice for Young Player of the Year. He also won this award in the 2004–05 season. Noble won this with 99% of the votes. He also took the Goal of the Season award for his thunderous volley in the 3–1 win against Bolton in April 2007.[10]
Noble established his place in Alan Curbishley's side during the 2007/08 season, starting nearly all games when fit. He was out for several weeks in November when it was discovered that he had played through an injury for the last several months without letting the medical staff know.[11] In January, Noble scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Liverpool from the penalty spot, after Reds defender Jamie Carragher had brought down Fredrik Ljungberg in the last few seconds of 2nd half stoppage time.
The 2008–09 season did not start well for Noble as he was sent off for two bookable offences in a 3–0 loss away at Manchester City, the first away game of the season.[12] After serving his suspension he came back to score an equaliser against West Bromwich after West Ham went a goal down but unfortunately West Brom still managed a 3–2 win. After Curbishley left in September, he remained first choice under new coach Gianfranco Zola. He celebrated his 100th appearance for the Hammers by scoring against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, on 21 March 2009 to secure a 1–1 draw.[13] In April, he signed a contract extension tying him to the club until 2013.[14]
Noble began the 2009–10 season well, scoring West Ham's first goal of the new season. In the first game of the season on 15 August, he scored the opening goal, a 16-yard strike, in a 2–0 win over Premier League newcomers Wolverhampton Wanderers.[15] He is currently the first-choice free kick taker for penalties and corners.[16] Under Zola, Noble made the central midfield slot his own in a midfield diamond that included Scott Parker as his partner and Jack Collison and Valon Behrami on the wings.[17] On 12 December away at Birmingham City, he made his 100th league appearance for the Hammers after missing several matches through injury and illness but his return was marred by his late sending-off for two bookable offences.
Noble captained the England U-18 team.[2] He was a member of the England U-19 team that beat Serbia and Montenegro 3–1 in the 2005 European Championship semi-finals, although they subsequently lost the final to France.[18]
Noble made his debut for the England U-21 team on 11 June 2007, coming on as substitute in the 82nd minute for Tom Huddlestone in England's 0–0 draw with the Czech Republic during the European under-21 Championships in Holland.[19] He established himself in the starting eleven for the remaining matches[20] and scored twice in a dramatic semifinal penalty shootout against the Netherlands where they lost 13–12.[21]
On 11 September 2007, Noble scored his first international goal, for the Under-21 team, against Bulgaria, in a 2–0 victory,[22] followed by two more against the Republic of Ireland on 16 October.[23]
Noble captained the U-21s at the 2009 European Championships as regular captain Steven Taylor had to withdraw due to injury.[24] The Young Lions ended the tournament as runners-up, losing 4–0 to Germany, with Noble playing his last match for the U21's.
Noble is also eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland national side.[25]
| Club | League | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | |||
| West Ham United | Championship | 2004–05 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| Premier League | 2005–06 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hull City (Loan) | Championship | 2005–06 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Ipswich Town (Loan) | 2006–07 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 13 | 1 | 1 | |
| West Ham United | Premier League | 2006–07 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 2007–08 | 31 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 36 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 | 29 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 34 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | 27 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 28 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2010-11 | 26 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 35 | 5 | 9 | ||
| Championship | 2011-12 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 21 | 3 | 1 | |
| West Ham Total | 165 | 17 | 18 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 192 | 21 | 22 | ||
| Career Total | 183 | 18 | 20 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 207 | 22 | 24 | ||
As of 19:00, 25 October 2011 (UTC)
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