After our impressive performance in the 2-2 draw against Manchester City on Saturday, there were a lot of pundits and fans raving about the performance of Mark Noble.
Jamie Redknapp wrote in the Mail that he was surprised Noble hadn’t been called up for England, despite the competition for places in the last few years. He said, “He’s played under six managers at West Ham but they have all picked him. He’s never out of the team.
That’s because he is consistent, he works hard and he is a good, tidy player. He helped neutralise David Silva and Yaya Toure and he lets the likes of Dimitri Payet play.”
A rare compliment from Redknapp, but does he have a point about Noble? Is he deserved of more credit than he has been given this season?
Noble created 3 chances against Manchester City which suggests that he isn’t just a water carrier in this side, he wants to create when possible. Noble to Payet and Payet to Noble were the highest pass combinations in the game, with 13 each, and is evidence of a growing link between the two players. Noble will look for our star man because he knows that’s where the danger is, while Payet will give the ball to Noble because he will recycle possession and keep a hold of the ball.
Noble made 3 tackles and 3 interceptions throughout the game, and had a real presence in midfield. His feisty persona on the pitch is well documented, he shows a real passion that West Ham fans would never take away from him, and while he got booked for a slightly reckless tackle, it shows the desire and heart on sleeve attitude that makes him the ideal captain for a side that can keep pushing up the league.
In terms of England, what Redknapp says is a fair comment. Why hasn’t Noble ever had a call-up? He is probably in the form of his career at the moment, starting every game despite facing tough competition for places at The Boleyn Ground with Song, Obiang and Kouyate. But Noble has had chances to be called up, at times when he has been playing well but players with less experience have been given a chance instead.
The problem seems to be that managers would rather have a different option in midfield because Noble at times seems limited in terms of creativity from that position. He plays with substance rather than style, which means that he can be ignored because he isn’t grabbing headlines with his performances.
However, one thing is for sure. If Noble can keep adding creativity to his game, and keep playing the way he has been, then Hodgson won’t have much choice but to give the midfielder a well earned cap. It only took Redknapp ten years to notice, it can’t take Hodgson much longer.
A lot of us City fans were darn impressed with the way your players broke forward with stunning pace. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a team slice us apart with such scalpel-like precision. That doesn’t happen against us unless a squad has been fully and brilliantly drilled on the training pitch. Very well played…
By the way, Payet was world-class raised to the nth power going forward. He’s playing better in England than he even did in Ligue Un, IMHO.