McAvennie Exclusive: It’s a shame West Ham fans are criticising ‘work-horse’ Mark Noble
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
Frank McAvennie was surprised by David Moyes’ decision to play Mark Noble in an attacking midfield role as West Ham lost 3-0 to Chelsea on Monday.
Noble, 33, started for the first time in the Premier League since the opening day defeat to Newcastle when the Hammers were defeated at Stamford Bridge.
However, the Irons captain didn’t start in his usual central role and was used as a number 10 by Moyes, in behind centre-forward Sebastien Haller.
According to stats by Wyscout, Noble completed 91 per cent of his passes against Chelsea, which is quite impressive. However, he only completed nine forward passes and only one pass into the penalty area.
McAvennie suggests it was wrong to play Noble in that role as it doesn’t suit him while he also claims having Haller as the striker in front of him didn’t help.
“Have his legs have gone? I don’t know,” McAvennie told West Ham Zone.
“To play him as a number 10 is alright if he’s used to it but Mark’s a work-horse, he likes to get involved. Playing as a number 10 is not for him. It’s not his position.
“It’s a shame that fans are giving him stick but I think the fans just wanted to win against Chelsea. They always want to win against Chelsea so I can understand that. Frank Lampard is their manager and they want to get one over on him and it’s a London derby.
“But I wouldn’t like to play as a number 10 with Haller up front. It’d be like playing off a wall.”
We can see why Moyes opted to play Noble in that role against Chelsea because he must have thought having the 33-year-old in the side would make West Ham tougher to beat.
Clearly, he was wrong. But the Hammers didn’t deserve to lose that game 3-0. They were not as bad as the scoreline suggested.
But playing Noble in that role was questionable when Said Benhrama has done so well in behind the striker since emerging into the Irons’ starting line-up unless Moyes wanted the Algerian international to be fully rested for the upcoming festive period.
West Ham face Brighton on Sunday before playing Southampton on Tuesday and Everton on Friday. It’s very congested and maybe Moyes wants Benrahma fresh for those three winnable matches.
In other West Ham news, Moyes has been raving about this Hammers duo.