THE IRON MAN GETS READY FOR HIS FINAL TEARIO
Mr West Ham’s biggest challenge, after eight managers and 526 appearances, will be saying goodbye to the club and fans he loves
WEST HAM v EVERTON
London Stadium: Tomorrow, 4.30pm EXCLUSIVE SEVENTEEN years on, Mark Noble is still feeling the love.
After eight managers and 526 appearances, the biggest challenge for Mr West Ham – who turns 34 today – has been saying goodbye.
His open letter in March, confirming next season would be his last, sparked an outpouring of appreciation for the local boy turned legendary captain.
Explaining how the letter came about, he said: “I was around a table at the training ground with the press guys and we spent a lot of time writing it, changing it.
“I took it home, sat down at the kitchen table with my wife Carly, and told her: ‘Babe, I want to show you this before I release it in a couple of days.’ I read it to her and she cried her eyes out. Carly’s always said to me: ‘You are going to miss it when you haven’t got it.’
“When you’ve been involved for so long you do think: ‘I’m looking forward to going on holiday and spending time with the kids.’
“But writing that statement was an eyeopener for me.
“I had my best friends ringing me from work after they’d read it.
One of them said: ‘Mark,
I’ve had to go to the back of the yard where I work and wipe me eyes!’”
Born in nearby Canning Town, Noble made his Hammers debut in 2004 against Southend in the League
Cup. He has now made 402 Premier League appearances and could yet spend his final season playing for West Ham in the Champions League.
He said: “We made some really good signings - signings West Ham should be making. Players who want to work for the badge. And we’ve progressed. So no matter how this season ends it’s been a very successful season for West Ham. We’ve got to aim for Europe, for sure.”
The widespread respect Noble enjoys stems from his impressive leadership. During last year’s pandemic, he and the players joined the board and manager David Moyes in taking wage deferrals. Noble also donated £35,000 to help the vulnerable in nearby Basildon.
He is a key member of the Premier League captains group, Players Together, which quietly raised money for the NHS. And he plays an active role in nurturing the Hammers’ next generation. “I spend a lot of time in the Academy because my son’s there,” he said. “I do one-on-ones with them, looking through their clips to see how they can get better. After
so many years you also get to know all the staff members, from the man who cuts the grass for us to train, to the woman who cleans and washes our plates up, to the commercial team.
“During the pandemic I was never, ever going to walk back into the dressing room or training ground knowing they’d taken some sort of pay-cut or furlough with the players earning the money we are.
“So I was so proud all the staff didn’t have to worry about paying their rent or their mortgage.”
Noble, who has represented England at all levels apart from the one that really matters, is up alongside the likes of John Terry, Steven Gerrard and Ryan Giggs as a oneclub legend. But there is something which he is even more proud of – winning the trust of so many West Ham managers
“One of my greatest achievements in football is having eight or nine different managers at one football club appreciate me,” he said.
“You have to lace up your boots and prove yourself on the pitch every week - and I’ve done that.”
THE SUPER LEAGUE: “The general realisation of it was that if we, say, finished top – we still wouldn’t go into it. I mean, how does that work? For a club like West Ham, the dream and the pursuit of a Champions League spot – for any club, apart from the top six – is massive. Not only for the club. For the players, for the fans, for the staff.”
HIS 400TH GAME AGAINST LEICESTER: “There was emotion after the game actually because we won, because there was a lot of pressure and we were playing a very good team. But to be honest, I think I cried too much with the statement about my last year. I’m one of those people, I’m fine until I see someone else get emotional and I get emotional!”
HELPING TO SHAPE WEST HAM’S NEXT GENERATION:
“My aim is to maintain the morals and the ethics that the young kids should have. Also to look at the way the club should be portrayed in the media. Silly things like the way the young kids talk to people.” SUGGESTIONS THE FINE FORM IS DOWN TO A LACK OF FRUSTRATED FANS: “For me it’s not the same without them. It can be tough. And you’ve got to stand up, you’ve got to be a man and you’ve got to be counted. You’ve got to lace up your boots on a Saturday afternoon, knowing that you need to win to stay in the Premier League and you’ve got to go and do it. I’ve done that.”
“West Ham United has announced its latest Official Partner, Grintafy. We sat down with one-club man Mark Noble to discuss his affiliation with the Hammers and their positive season.”