Time To Get Rid Of The Sentimental Choice Mark Noble .
It is time to get real ,it is time to get rid of the sentimental choice ,Mark Noble .As soon as I saw the midfield pairing of Noble and Snodgrass ,I knew that we had lost .Yes ,Anderson, Yarmelenko, Lanzini and most of the team were poor .But with the likes of Noble and Snodgrass behind them, they were dead men walking, dead men walking .Part of me thinks, Moyes set the team out to fail. Sending a desperate message to The Cons .For F**** sake I need signings !
Much has been said about the need for defensive signings ,which we do need. We also need another striker .But believe you me we MASSIVELY need at the very least another C/M .When we have , Souceck partnered with Rice ,we are able to hold our own. But if either or God forbid both can't play, we are in desperate trouble. One of the biggest problems, is the presence of Mark Noble in the team. At his best he was mediocre ,people point to 2016 and say he 'deserved' a England call up. The harsh reality is this :Noble, like many in the squad during the 2016 season were carried by the genius which was Dimitri Payet .
It make me laugh when people argue the toss with me regards Noble. When I ask them why should Noble play ,the answers are not football related ."He is one of us, he bleeds for the shirt ,he loves the Club "No doubt they are all true. But if that is the criteria used ,then we should all play for West Ham !Another bit of sentimental jargon used is "He is a leader "No he is not. He is a headless chicken who loses control ! Ask Angelo Ogbonna !When the pressure is on ,the Canning Town one loses it .Team wise it's like playing with ten men .He slows the team down with slow ,laboured passes ,sideways ,backwards ,anywhere but forward .When the opposition close him down quickly ,the outcome is always the same.
He either gets dispossessed, and the opposition has a free run at goal. Or he passes straight to the opposition, gives away a free kick in a dangerous position , shuffles the ball back to an under pressure defence . Leaving the defence ,little choice but to hoof the ball clear .As a goal threat Noble offers nothing ,rarely venturing forward .When we do venture forward ,the opposition know he is the weak link .They stand and wait for him ,nip the ball off him and have a free run at our goal. You might as well wave the white flag of surrender and say to the opposition: "Off you go !Have a free run at our goal !Even the best defences look poor if they have no protection in front of them !
Attacking wise ,our strikers have had to drop deeper and deeper to receive the ball. Because they were getting no service from the midfield .How can any striker hurt the opposition, when they are receiving no service? It is NOT ROCKET SCIENCE !You need your strikers on the front foot !With defenders retreating, giving them the space to hurt the opposition. You either have pacey and skillful wingers, who can go round the opposition fullbacks. Or you have skillful, inventive midfielders, who can carry the ball forward . Causing the opposition defenders to retreat ,as a result gaps open up giving the strikers the space to exploit and hurt the opposition.
In game after game, the possession stats are something like 63%-37% to the opposition .Stats that illustrate how poor we are when in possession. Yes ,It is not down to Mark Noble alone ,but he is huge part of the problem. Some see him as a legend which is fair enough .I don't. As his loyalty has never been tested ,as no other Premier League manager has wanted him. But I DO respect, that he has donned the Claret and Blue in over 500 matches .And deserves to leave with dignity. Perhaps working at The Academy or even as a Director of football .West Ham have simply got to address their midfield woes ,do that and we can still have a decent season. To do that ,David Moyes is going to have to take Mark Noble to one side, and gently tell him his days as a first team starter are over. It happens to all players not just to Mark Noble, picking Noble based on sentimentality is going to hurt West Ham .We are more than a football Club,we're a way of life !COYI!!1
