Mark Noble

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

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. 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.

In Their Own Story

Noble's first goal for West Ham came 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. During the 2007–08 season, Noble established his place in Alan Curbishley's side, 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 D

Reader's Guide

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%. Noble scored his first penalty for the club on 18 August 2007 in a 1–0 away win against Birmingham City. He scored four league goals in the 2010–11 season; 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. During the 2011–12 season with West Ham now back in the Championship, Noble scored eight goals, seven of which were penalties, his only goal from open play coming in a 4–0 away win against Barnsley. Having twice previously been runner-up, Noble was named Hammer of the Year for the 2011–12 season. In May 2012 Noble played in the 2012 Football League Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium against Blackpool which West Ham won 2–1 to return to the Premier League after a one-year absence. By the end of the season, he had played 49 games in all competitions, missing just one of their Championship games. After his retirement from professional football, Noble returned to West Ham as sporting director in January 2023.

Did You Know?

• Noble is the youngest player ever to appear in West Ham's reserve team, aged just 15 — a boy among men.
• He holds the record for most Premier League appearances for West Ham, overtaking Steve Potts on 29 November 2014.
• In 2020, Noble was rated as the player with the second highest conversion rate for penalties in the world over the last 20 years, at 90.5% — only just behind a certain Lionel Messi.
• Noble represented England at U16, U17, U18, U19 and U21 levels, captaining the U21 side, scoring three goals in 20 games.