OPINION
West Ham United midfielder Mark Noble has received a lot of stick for his performances this season, and to be honest, some of that has been well founded.
The 31-year-old has been blowing hot and cold this season, and many will remember what a disaster his partnership was with Jack Wilshere at the start of the campaign. It was woeful and it rightfully prompted Manuel Pellegrini to make a drastic change.
Nowadays, Noble plays alongside Declan Rice, and there has been a notable difference. That being said though, the mainstay was off the boil in the 2-0 defeat to Chelsea on Monday and was caught ball-watching.
That is obviously not the type of example that the midfielder should be making as club captain.
However, he looked transformed on Saturday despite the 2-1 loss to Manchester United. Noble – who has made 28 appearances this season – showed fantastic leadership throughout the match, and he was one of the main reasons why the Hammers were able to maintain the pace that they were playing at.
He often does not receive enough credit for the hard work and effort that he puts in, but many West Han fans will surely be over the moon for such a confident outing. Noble is proving that he is still capable of performing at a high level for the team, and has rightly justified Pellegrini starting him regularly.
Noble certainly seems to know what he is doing when it comes to dealing with top teams like Manchester United. He nullified their threat in the middle of the park, and that can really take some doing.
He is often the scapegoat for the fans, but that could not be further from the truth after Saturday. Put it this way, playing with Rice has brought the best out of him.
