If the chorus of ‘Bubbles’ that greets Mark Noble as he leads West Ham United out of the tunnel at London Stadium is louder than normal this afternoon, there is a good reason why.
For, it was 17 years ago this weekend that a 17-year-old Noble made his first start in a Hammers shirt in an FA Cup third round win over Norwich City at the Boleyn Ground.
Now 34 and in the 18th and final season of his illustrious career in Claret and Blue, the lifelong West Ham fan could lead his boyhood Club out to play in the world’s most-famous cup competition for the final time on home turf.
Whether the Irons overcome opponents Leeds United or not, the draw could take the Irons away from Noble’s native east London, rendering this an historic and emotional day, not just for our respected captain, but in West Ham United’s 127-year history.
Since making his full debut against Norwich all those years ago, Noble has gone on to play in 31 FA Cup ties, starting 27, score three goals, including his first senior strike for the Club, enjoy memorable victories and suffer shocking defeats.
In the 18 seasons since the skipper’s first appearance, West Ham have reached the sixth round twice, in 2010/11 and 2015/16, before having his hopes of reaching Wembley dashed by Stoke City and Manchester United respectively.
Noble has played his part in unforgettable wins over the likes of Everton and Liverpool, but also been in teams beaten by Sheffeld United and AFC Wimbledon.
In many ways, the No16’s FA Cup career has been a microcosm of his West Ham United career, full of ups and downs, high hopes and dreams dashed.
Here, he reflects on his standout memories of those 31 ties and looks ahead to this afternoon’s third round meeting with Leeds United…
As a kid, I can remember watching the FA Cup on TV, especially the final, when it was on all day.
I can remember watching it them showing Wembley and the team coaches approaching the stadium from a helicopter, and the suits that the players wore to go to the game and have a walk around on the pitch beforehand.
The FA Cup final seemed like such a big thing back then. There wasn’t much football on and it was on normal telly, so it was such an important game, not just for the fans of the two clubs involved, but for every football supporter.
We all got together as a family, sat on the sofa and watched the FA Cup final.
The FA Cup has given me so many special memories down the years, particularly early in my career.
I made my first start in January 2005 at home to Norwich City in the FA Cup third round, aged 17. We won 1-0 at the Boleyn Ground.
The next round we played Sheffield United and it went to a replay at Bramall Lane, where we lost 3-1 in a penalty shootout.
I was the only one to score from the spot – my first successful first-team penalty for West Ham – and I can remember sitting on the coach on the way home, being the only one who’d scored when everyone else missed and I felt great about myself!
I also realised that I’d then got an acceptance from the senior boys that night because I had the guts to take one, so it was a good moment.
Two years on from that penalty, I scored my first goal for the Club in the third round at home against Brighton in January 2007.
Carlos Tevez headed the ball down and I hit a volley into the ground from just inside the box and it bounced in. I can remember Teddy Sheringham was warming-up and I jumped on him to celebrate.
After that game, I met my family in a pub outside the station in Upminster and that’s when it really hit home to me that you can’t score for West Ham at Upton Park in front of 35,000 and then go into a pub!
Everyone realised who I was, and things changed from that day.
My best friend from the Academy, Chris Cohen, and I were invited to travel with the squad to the 2006 FA Cup final against Liverpool by the manager Alan Pardew and that was fantastic.
We were around the squad and felt the pain as West Ham fans of losing on penalties, but it was a great experience to be able to be on the coach and experience that with my Club.
Thankfully, we had some better luck on penalties against Everton in January 2015, when I took our first one in the shootout and scored and then it went on and on before Adrián tore his gloves off and scored to take us through to the next round.
The FA Cup gives players great opportunities to go and play at grounds and against teams and players you wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to face.
I can remember we travelled up to Hartlepool for a lunchtime kick-off in the fourth round in January 2009.
The pitch was really hard and the stands were really tight and packed with supporters, and they made it hard for us.
We got the win there and I took another penalty there and I can remember curling it high into the net, just inside the post.
It’s fantastic to go and play somewhere like that, giving their players the chance to play against the top teams and show how good they are themselves – that’s part of the magic of the FA Cup.
We’ve also had some unforgettable FA Cup ties against some of the top teams in the best stadiums in the country.
The ones that stand out strongest for me were the ties against Liverpool and Manchester United in the final season at the Boleyn Ground.
Angelo Ogbonna’s last-minute header in extra-time against Liverpool was an amazing moment at the end of an amazing cup tie at an amazing place.
The Manchester United ties were memorable for so many reasons – Dimitri Payet’s free-kick at Old Trafford looked like it could have taken us to Wembley, then I famously carried Ander Herrera off the pitch when we were losing in the replay at Upton Park.
It seems like we’ve had a few opportunities like that, but just not quite got there. Maybe it’ll be this season.
I haven’t really even thought about it, to be honest, but this afternoon could be one of my final appearances in the FA Cup for West Ham United.
With the games ticking by so quickly and it being such a busy part of the season, all I had to think about was the games, but now it’s gone past that Christmas period and into the New Year, I’ve realised I’ve only got four-and-a-half months left of an 18-year career.
I’ve been here since I was eleven, so I’m just going to try and enjoy every experience I have left.
Today could be one of the last opportunities I have to lead the team out at London Stadium, so if I get that opportunity against Leeds, I’ll relish it.
If I’m honest, though, I haven’t been thinking like that, because the main thing is always winning the game, so I haven’t been thinking ‘Oh, this is my last season’ as I just think ‘I want us to win’.
Until I’m not playing any more, I think that’ll always be the case, but now we’re past Christmas, I am conscious my career is ticking down quickly.
The thing is with the FA Cup now, because the season is so intense and every match, and because the bigger clubs have got much stronger squads than everybody else, it’s so hard to field your strongest side and go deep in the competition.
We play Norwich here on Wednesday in the Premier League on Wednesday, then Leeds again in the League the other side of that, so it’s tough to have a right go at the FA Cup now.
Premier League points are so important in this day and age to everyone – to managers and owners – and obviously the FA Cup has taken a bit of a backward step.
There are so many games at home, in Europe and internationals that some managers see it as a chance to give youngsters a go and give their senior pros a rest.
That’s not to say I think that’s right, because for me it’s such an incredible cup and there is so much history in this competition in this country, but it has.
It seems the cups are now put a little bit to the wayside by the Premier League, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be giving it absolutely everything to get through today and go all the way to the final.