Mark James Noble (born 8 May 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the sporting director of Championship club West Ham United. A fan of the club since childhood, Noble spent eighteen years with West Ham playing as a central midfielder, serving as club captain for seven years, before retiring at the end of the 2021–22 season. Aside from two brief loan spells at Hull City and Ipswich Town, Noble played all of his first team matches for the club, earning him the nickname "Mr West Ham".
Noble has the most Premier League appearances for West Ham, in addition to being the longest serving player in the squad at the time of his retirement, having been in the first team since 2004. He won the club's Hammer of the Year trophy twice, as well as being voted Hammer of the Decade at the end of the 2010s.
Noble represented England at U16, U17, U18, U19 and U21 levels, captaining the U21 side, scoring three goals in 20 games.
Known for his proficiency in scoring penalty kicks, in 2020, Noble was rated as the player with the second highest conversion rate for penalties in the world over the last 20 years. His 90.5% conversion rate was only beaten by Robert Lewandowski's rate of 91.1%.
After his retirement from professional football, Noble returned to West Ham as sporting director in January 2023.
Contents
Club career
Early career
Born in Canning Town, East London, Noble played for Barking Colts and moved to Arsenal's academy at age 11. His father, however, who would drive him to training, could not always arrange the time to get Noble to training sessions due to the distance between their home in Beckton and Arsenal's academy in Hale End. Noble supported local club West Ham United as a boy, and grew up just one mile away from Upton Park. Eventually, the club showed an interest in him and Noble signed as a youth player in 2000. He became the youngest player ever to appear in their reserve team, aged 15. He became a trainee in July 2003 and made his debut in the senior team at the age of just 17 in the League Cup on 24 August 2004 in a 2–0 win against Southend United, replacing Luke Chadwick for the final 22 minutes of the game.
On 8 January 2005, on his third appearance for West Ham, Noble made his first start for the club, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 FA Cup third round win against Norwich City. He made his league debut in the Championship a week later, 15 January 2005, in a 4–2 defeat away at Wolverhampton Wanderers. On 30 May 2005, Noble played in the 2005 Football League Championship play-off final which saw West Ham beat Preston North End 1–0 to secure a return to the Premier League. He had entered the game as an 83rd-minute substitute for Shaun Newton.We think very highly of Mark. If he keeps on working hard and continues to develop as he has, there is no reason why he can't become a top player for this club.
Noble won the Young Hammer of the Year and the runner-up to the Hammer of the Year awards despite making his debut only four months previously.
Upon West Ham's return to the Premier League, he featured in only five League games in the 2005–06 season, including those against Tottenham Hotspur on 20 November 2005 and against Manchester United on 27 November, but after a game against Blackburn Rovers on 10 December, he found regular playing time harder to come by and was sent out on loan. He did not play for West Ham at all in 2006.
Noble was subsequently loaned to Hull City by manager Alan Pardew in order for him to get some games. He made five appearances, his debut coming on 18 February 2006 in a 1–0 away defeat by Cardiff City. Noble's loan ended early after he suffered an injury to his lower back.
Return to West Ham
Noble scored his first goal for West Ham against Brighton & Hove Albion, the side's first of three in a 3–0 home win in January 2007 in the third round of the FA Cup, from an assist by Carlos Tevez. On 4 March, he scored his first Premiership goal and the opening goal of the game, against Tottenham at Upton Park in a game West Ham eventually lost 4–3 in the final seconds. He played 11 games in all competitions, scoring three goals in the 2006–07 season.
Noble established his place in Alan Curbishley's side during the 2007–08 season, starting nearly all games when fit. He scored his first penalty for the club on 18 August 2007 in a 1–0 away win against Birmingham City after Colin Doyle had fouled Craig Bellamy. He was out for several weeks in November 2007 after he had played through an injury for the last several months without letting the medical staff know. In January 2008, Noble scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Liverpool from the penalty spot, after Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher had brought down Freddie Ljungberg in the last few seconds of second-half added time. His performance in the match was described as "exceptional".
The 2008–09 season did not start well for Noble, as he was sent off for two bookable offences in a 3–0 loss away at Manchester City, the first away game of the season. After serving his suspension he came back to score an equaliser against West Bromwich Albion after West Ham went a goal down with West Brom coming back to win 3–2. This was one of five goals he scored in the season with three coming from the penalty spot. After Alan Curbishley left in September, he remained in the first team under new manager Gianfranco Zola. He celebrated his 100th appearance for the Hammers by scoring against Blackburn at Ewood Park on 21 March 2009 to secure a 1–1 draw. In April, he signed a contract extension tying him to the club until 2013.
Noble began the 2009–10 season well, scoring West Ham's first goal of the new season, in a 2–0 win over Premier League newcomers Wolves. Under Gianfranco Zola, Noble established himself in central midfield in a diamond that included Scott Parker as his partner and Jack Collison and Valon Behrami on the wings. He would only score one other goal during the season – a penalty after Habib Beye had fouled Zavon Hines – in a 2–1 home win against Aston Villa on 4 November 2009.
With West Ham now managed by Avram Grant, Noble continued to be a regular member of the first team. He played 26 of a possible 38 games in the Premier League missing a month of the season after an appendectomy as West Ham were relegated after finishing in 20th and bottom place. He scored four league goals; all were penalties including two in one game. On 2 April 2011 against Manchester United his two penalties had put West Ham 2–0 up only for Wayne Rooney to score a hat-trick which, with another goal by Javier Hernández, won the game 4–2 for Manchester United.
International career
Noble captained the England U18 team. He was a member of the England U19 team that beat Serbia and Montenegro U19s 3–1 in the 2005 European Championship semi-finals, although they subsequently lost the final to France.
Noble made his debut for the England U21 team on 11 June 2007, coming on as substitute in the 82nd minute for Tom Huddlestone in England's 0–0 draw with the Czech Republic during the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, held in the Netherlands. He established himself in the starting XI for the remaining matches and scored twice in a dramatic semi-final penalty shootout against the Netherlands where England lost 13–12.
On 11 September 2007, Noble scored his first international goal for the under-21 team against Bulgaria in a 2–0 victory, followed by two more against the Republic of Ireland on 16 October.
Noble captained the U21s at the 2009 European Championships as regular captain Steven Taylor had to withdraw due to injury. The Young Lions ended the tournament as runners-up, losing 4–0 to Germany, with Noble playing his last match for the U21s.
Noble was also eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland national side through his County Cork-born grandparents. In August 2014, despite stating on numerous occasions about his ambition of playing for England at senior level, it was reported by the Irish Independent that he might have been willing to make himself available for the Irish national team.
Despite previous reports claiming Noble would accept a call up from Ireland, in February 2017 Noble rejected a call up to the Irish national side, stating: "There are young Irish kids playing well that deserve and would appreciate an Irish cap more than I would. I played through all the age groups as a youth international (with England), went to tournaments and sang the national anthem. But obviously I've never got a senior cap. So for me to turn up to play for Ireland without it having been a dream of mine, and there's an Irish kid out there who might miss out when it's their dream to play for Ireland, I couldn't do that."
After football
In September 2022, it was announced that Noble would return to West Ham United as a sporting director from January 2023. He attended his first match as sporting director, a Premier League match fixture Leeds United which ended in a 2–2 draw, on 4 January 2023. He also plays a key role in overseeing the development of the club's young players/academy.
Following West Hams 2–1 victory over Fiorentina in 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final, Declan Rice walked over to Noble and handed him the trophy, Noble then lifted it in front of cheering West Ham fans in-front of him. Noble then told a reporter 'I'm lost for words, since 11 I've been at the club. It is just amazing to see the smile on their faces we have been through such pain. I am just lost for words.
Personal life
Noble has been married to childhood sweetheart Carly since 2012. The couple have a son and a daughter. Their son, Lenny, plays at the West Ham United academy based in Chadwell Heath.
In May 2016, Noble was granted freedom of the London Borough of Newham for his services to the borough. That same year Noble alongside Rio Ferdinand and Bobby Zamora established the Legacy Foundation, a charity that aims to deliver social and affordable housing for Local Authorities.
Noble is also an avid supporter of youth/local grassroots football and during his playing days he hosted his own football camps in Essex, emphasizing fun, mental health, and community over elite development.
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noble donated £35,000 to help vulnerable people in Essex.
In November 2022, his autobiography, Boleyn Boy was published by HarperCollins. That same month Noble was honored by the city of London, being awarded the Freedom of the City of London.
In March 2023, Noble received the Outstanding Contribution to London Football award at the forthcoming 2023 London Football Awards.
Honours
West Ham United
Football League Championship play-offs: 2005, 2012
England U19
UEFA European Under-19 Championship runner-up: 2005
England U21
UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 2009
Individual
PFA Team of the Year: 2011–12 Championship
West Ham United Hammer of the Year: 2011–12, 2013–14
West Ham United Young Hammer of the Year: 2004–05
West Ham United Hammer of the Decade (2010s): 2010–19