Mark Noble: It would take something ‘Crazy’ to reverse West Ham exit decision
Mark Noble claims it would take something monumental for him to reconsider his decision to leave West Ham at the end of next season.
The talismanic Irons skipper wrote an open letter to supporters on the official West Ham website in March detailing his decision to make the 2021/22 campaign his last one at the club.
The 34-year-old was struggling to start games until that point but after the announcement he was in the starting XI for five of the next six games, until injury ruled him out of Monday’s win at Burnley.
In an interview on the Daily Mail website, Jamie Redknapp pressed Noble on his plans after the conclusion of next season.
“I’ve said it will be my last year playing at West Ham and it will be, unless something crazy happens which I can’t see,” he said.
“It’s very rare in football – very, very rare – that you get to write your own destiny.
“Normally when a player gets to my age, you’re scratching around for a year or two, trying to get a contract, asking your agent to find a club. To be able to say I’m going to call it a day on my own terms at the top level in the Premier League is very, very rare.”
Right time to go
Noble has been among our most consistent performers for a long period of time, and he’s pretty much seen it all during his lengthy career at the club.
He’s suffered relegation heartache and promotion euphoria, with countless managers and players coming through the door.
But he’s taken more of a backseat during this season as Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek have formed a formidable midfield partnership, one he has found difficult to break up.
Soucek hailed Noble’s “incredible” 400th West Ham game after the 3-2 win against Leicester City in April. [Evening Standard]
Noble still has value in the squad but he just can’t offer the same energy that he used to be able to.
Keeping him around next season makes a lot of sense – he deserves to feature in the Champions League if we do what was previously unthinkable and qualify for the competition.
What a way to bow out that would be, battling the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
All good things come to an end, and next season should be Noble’s final swansong in claret and blue.
In other West Ham news, Sky Sports shares major HMRC update on Irons after 2017 London Stadium raid.
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