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| Champion! |
As media speculation continues to link Hammers favourite Mark
Noble with a possible move to Newcastle or Everton in the January transfer
window, a recent appearance on Hammers TV provided an ideal opportunity to
ridicule such idle speculation with Noble apparently wearing the Tynesiders
colours! In reality, the loyal Noble is just as likely to join Grimsby or even
St Mirren as Newcastle or indeed any other Premiership side, and is currently
on a long contract having signed an extension last year. Moreover, he doesn’t
even speak French, so a move to Alain De Pardew’s squad would cause endless
communication difficulties!
After over a decade and almost 250 first team appearances,
there is no sign of the Canning Town Kid’s dedication to the Hammer’s cause
wilting. Even in the disappointing defeat to the Mancs, Noble put in a
determined shift and forced the Hammers to keep their heads up pushing forward
and refusing to give up. As our most present player of this season, it would
take at least two players to even replace his match time – something the
statistics-loving Allardyce will certainly know. Moreover, his growing understanding
with Ravel Morrison bodes well for the future and suggests that any
post-Allardyce Hammers midfield should be more than able to hold on to the ball
when the inevitable reversion to the West
ham way happens .
Maybe all this media speculation is a good thing as it might
prompt Big Sam to install Noble as the new team captain, or even Roy Hodgson to
take a look at his consistently excellent performances as one of a handful of quality
English midfielders in the Premiership. On that front, word is that Martin O’Neill
and Roy Keane are keen to enlist Noble’s services for a Republic of Ireland squad
that is rebuilding post-Trappatoni. Either way, it’s time Noble got his chance
on the International stage. No doubt the heavily Irish backroom staff at Arsenal will be taking the opportunity to have a close look at Noble against their troops today.
Let's hope they are well-impressed!
His corners and free kicks are pretty poor though
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