West Ham fans on social media destroyed Garth Crooks after he claimed that Mark Noble should have been named the club’s Player of the Year.
The BBC pundit heaped praise on the Hammers mainstay for his performance during the 2-0 win over Leicester City on Saturday and suggested that supporters had wrongly overlooked Noble for the Hammer of the Year award.
“How can West Ham fans name Marko Arnautovic their player of the season?” questioned Crooks when naming his Team of the Week for BBC Sports.
“Surely it has to be Mark Noble, in one of the most difficult seasons West Ham have had in the Premier League, it was Noble who assured the fans when they lost their heads that with their help all would be well.
“He has never shirked a game, a tackle or an interview, and against Leicester – when you needed a big man to match the occasion – it was ‘Mr West Ham’ who came to the rescue and won the points.
“There is only one player of the season for me at West Ham and that is Mark Noble.”
According to the club’s official website, Marko Arnautovic won the honour, Declan Rice was runner-up and Pablo Zabaleta finished third in the race for the personal accolade, with no mention of Noble.
Hammers supporters were bewildered by Crook’s suggestion that they had messed up when picking their Player of the Year and let the pundit know their feelings on Twitter in no uncertain terms.
One fan tweeted that Arnautovic had gotten the award as voters had actually watched David Moyes’ side play this season, while another suggested that the BBC pundit was having a mare as usual.
While Noble is loved by supporters after being at the club since 2006, fans believe that Crooks was only focusing on the fact that the 31-year-old midfielder scored a spectacular goal on Saturday against the Foxes, and wasn’t considering the 30 other appearances he had made this season.
Forever West Ham have rounded up some of the best tweets about Crook’s praise of Noble:
https://twitter.com/johnfra76927790/status/993573072811778048
Because fans watch games
— mikejoyce ⚒️🏴⚒️ (@hammersmikey) May 7, 2018
One hot day doesn’t make a summer …… Noble has been sub standard for large parts of the season , Arnie is the reason we’re staying up
— ⚒️Bobby Dazzler ⚒️ (@Dazzathehammer) May 7, 2018
Crooks having a mare as usual
— John Andrews (@JohnAnd76720400) May 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/CaW1895/status/993584506295681026
— H🏴 (@IssaDiopSZN) May 8, 2018
https://twitter.com/dawson4555/status/993609964253011968
Garth just watched the last game.
— Gary Mac 🌐 (@GaryMac_) May 7, 2018
Noble didn’t turn up until the 3rd week in Jan!
— G ⚒ (@finchyger) May 8, 2018
