Stan Collymore slams Mark Noble penalty decision in West Ham loss v Man United
Stan Collymore has slammed the decision for Mark Noble to take West Ham’s stoppage-time penalty against Manchester United on Sunday.
Noble, 34, was thrown into the game by David Moyes after Luke Shaw’s late handball earned the Irons a chance to salvage a draw at the London Stadium.
However, David De Gea easily saved Noble’s spot-kick to help Man United win 2-1 against West Ham.
David Moyes has faced a lot of criticism for the late substitution and Collymore feels that Noble wasn’t physically warmed up enough before the penalty.
“Mark Noble coming on in the 94th minute for West Ham to take a penalty to save the game against Manchester United wasn’t a poor decision from a being-in-tune-with-the-game perspective, as some people said,” said Collymore in the print edition of the Mirror [September 21, page 61].
“It was a poor decision from the perspective of Noble’s athlete’s body not being warm and stretched with full range of movement, something that can make all the difference.”
Ridiculous
If Noble had scored that penalty then we would all be hailing the club captain and Moyes for making that substitition.
But the fact is that he didn’t and it was always a risky decision prior to the penalty anyway.
Noble had played just eight minutes of football this season before he came off the bench against Manchester United.
He’d also been sat on the sidelines for over an hour and half before Moyes substituted off Jarrod Bowen to be replaced by the central midfielder.
It was just wrong. Everyone could see it was wrong and if you were Declan Rice or anyone else already on the pitch capable of taking a penalty, you’d be pretty annoyed with the manager for that.
Noble was cool, calm and collected as he went to take the penalty but the kick was horrible. It wasn’t anywhere near the corner and was at a good height for De Gea to save it.
The Spaniard won’t save an easier penalty in his career.
In other West Ham news, Collymore claims the Irons will want to sign this “unbelievable” player who could be on the move in January.
Be sure to follow West Ham Zone on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on the Hammers and more exclusive interviews with Frank McAvennie.