Daniel Gabbidon heaped praise on West Ham midfielder Mark Noble after the 3-1 win over Watford on Saturday.
The former Hammers player shared that Manuel Pellegrini’s side racked up a good win by beating the Hornets at Vicarage Road, despite acknowledging the poor start Watford have made to the season.
Gabbidon singled out Noble for praise in his verdict on the Hammers’ win as he pointed out the 32-year-old held the team together.
“It was a great win for West Ham, it was good time to play Watford and it was no coincidence that Mark Noble came into the team as he is the glue that holds that team together,” said Gabbidon on talkSPORT 2 (11:27am, Sunday, August 25th).
“Away from home you always want to get off to a good start and you want to get an early goal to silence the crowd and that’s exactly what they did.
“And that’s a really good win for West Ham despite Watford not having the best of starts.”
OPINION
Noble missed the loss to Manchester City and the draw with Brighton due to injury, and it’s fair to say he was missed. The 32-year-old was a noticeable absentee from the Hammers’ teams in the first two games of the season, as his teammates missed his leadership qualities. In fact it’s worth noting that once Watford equalised on Saturday, Noble was visibly barking at his teammates in order for them to get their act together and achieve their first win of the season. Also rather impressively, the Hammers midfielder actually scored from his first touch of the season against Watford on Saturday, as his first touch saw him step up and slot a penalty home to put his side ahead. Noble touched the ball a total of 60 times against the Hornets and impressively maintained a pass completion rate of 93.39% despite making 43 passes during the match. (Source: WhoScored) Given Noble proved how vital he is into Pellegrini’s side on Saturday, hopefully he is able to stay fit throughout the season now he has returned to the team.
