He is a better person than he is a player, if that is possible.”
Mark Noble has seen the highs and lows of life at West Ham United, having been a fan since birth and a player from the age of 11 until his retirement last year. After some time off, Noble returned to the Hammers in January as their Sporting Director. This season has been a struggle, with the club spending £160m in the summer to build on consecutive top-seven finishes, but they have secured their Premier League status and are now looking forward to a Europa Conference League semi-final first-leg with AZ Alkmaar, a potential final in Prague on 7 June, and a first trophy since 1980.
Noble believes that the club’s decision to stick with manager David Moyes was the right one, despite fans turning against him during a 4-0 hammering at Brighton. He said: “No-one has hidden from it. The manager has been clear. The Premier League is a demanding league and for a long time we have been in a relegation battle. He knows the game as well as anyone. He knows the pressure he was under. Fourteen managers have been changed this year in the Premier League. It is madness. We stuck with David and it looks like he has got us out of trouble and we are in a European semi-final, which is fantastic. We can start looking forward now.”
Noble himself has no interest in taking up the role of manager, as he wants to spend time with his family and not risk having to uproot them for a job that might only last a couple of weeks. He feels he can offer more to the club in his current role, and is also keen to help the young players at the club by giving them pointers on how they can improve.
Noble also spoke highly of Declan Rice, who is the current captain of West Ham and has been linked with Arsenal. Noble said: “It gave me a bit of comfort he was going to replace me as captain. He carries on the morals that I have and the love for the club and the fans. It was just a small little thing but when the Under-8s first sign we get all the families in and give them a shirt with their name on the back and videos. They have a great day. I was there and spoke to the parents but he showed up and all the kids jumped on him. He is a better person than he is a player, if that is possible.”