A message from the Joint-Chairmen to Mark Noble
On behalf of everyone at West Ham United, we would like to congratulate and salute Mark Noble on the magnificent achievement of his 500th senior appearance for the Club.
Mark becomes only the tenth player in our 125-year history to reach the milestone and a look at the nine figures alongside him proves just how momentous a feat it is.
Vic Watson, Jimmy Ruffell, Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Billy Bonds, Frank Lampard Sr, Trevor Brooking, Alvin Martin and Steve Potts. All fantastic servants to West Ham United and names that will forever be remembered as legends in the Claret and Blue.
Mark Noble quite rightly takes his place among those legends.
In the ten years since, he has been a rock of consistency and professionalism, someone who has never let the football club down, on or off the pitch. In 2015 he took over from Kevin Nolan as Club Captain and has proved himself to be the inspirational leader we all knew he would be.
He steered the team to an unforgettable final season at the Boleyn Ground in his first season as skipper, and has been a constant and comforting source of reliability during our first few seasons at London Stadium. More than that, he has represented our club as the perfect ambassador on and off the pitch throughout. A captain we all look up to. A player we all respect. And a man we all love.
On Friday evening, he once again led his team-mates into a crucial battle and stood up to be counted, marking his 500th appearance with another typically committed and influential performance from the centre of midfield.
Our only disappointment is that our loyal and wonderful supporters - along with Mark’s wife Carly, children Honey and Lenny, and the rest of his family and friends - couldn’t be at London Stadium to share the moment and give him the standing ovation that he so richly deserves.
Rest assured, though, as soon as we are able to welcome our fans back to London Stadium, you will have the opportunity to give Mark a fantastic reception and remind him just how much he means to all of us.
Throughout the last 16 years and 500 appearances in a Claret and Blue shirt, there have been so many memorable moments. Ups and downs, unforgettable goals, crunching tackles, sublime passes, perfect penalty kicks, tears, laughter and celebrations. Times we will never forget.
Most of all, we say to Mark Noble: Thank You.
Thank You for your loyal and devoted service since arriving at this Club as an eleven-year-old schoolboy in the summer of 1998. Thank you for giving blood, sweat and tears every single time you have walked on to the pitch. Thank you for showing every player – from the Academy Under-7s right up to the first team squad – what it means to play for West Ham United. And thank you for continuing to give us your heart and soul every day.
Here’s to making it 600 games, maybe even more! And to a future that will always be Claret and Blue…
David Sullivan & David Gold
Joint-Chairmen
