Mark Noble barely put a foot wrong in great display v Newcastle
Mark Noble has been brilliant since coming back into the West Ham side and he was almost faultless in the defeat to Newcastle.
The injury to Declan Rice could have severely impacted our performances but our captain has been his typical reliable self since replacing his teammate.
The result at St. James’ Park did not go our way because of a red card and individual mistakes, but it was a performance to be proud of.
We should tremendous character to fight our way back into the match and Noble was pivotal to the spirit we displayed.
The skipper has had to be patient for game time this term but he has always willed on his teammates and encouraged the squad when things have gone against us.
And on Saturday he led by example, completing 55 out of 58 passes – a 95% success rate per SofaScore.
His fine showing on the ball meant he gave away possession just three times, despite having one less option to pass to for almost an hour after Craig Dawson was dismissed.
Added to that, Noble made two key passes and completed seven of the nine long balls he attempted.
He helped to put us on the front foot, therefore, finding our key attacking threats like Jarrod Bowen and Jesse Lingard.
With Rice likely out for next week’s match against Chelsea we need Noble to step up once again.
If he can keep the ball as efficiently as he did against Newcastle then we should be able to cause them problems and grab a goal.
Noble has fairly lost his place in the side due to the form of Rice and Thomas Soucek, but he has always performed well when called upon and is a bit of an unsung hero.
We have lost just five of the 19 league games Noble has featured in, and with key games coming up Noble’s presence could be vital to picking up points.
In other West Ham news, WHZ View: Post-game footage of West Ham star v Newcastle will leave fans fuming.