Mark Noble- a West Ham member of the Hall of Fame.

Mark Noble - a West Ham member of the Hall of Fame.

At West Ham they tend to treat all of their players with all the reverence of saints. Once again the claret and blue Hall of Fame has rewarded one of its favourite sons with the ultimate accolade. At a time when most of the Premier League has never been so populated with lavish talents from all corners of the globe, Mark Noble is singularly boy next door, a man with no airs and graces, totally besotted with football.

 Mark Noble has West Ham blood running through his arteries and veins, kidney, liver and heart. He is one of that rare breed, a one club man, with brief stopovers at Ipswich and Hull but, essentially a West Ham player from head to foot, a man dedicated to his childhood club. He breathes, eats, sleeps, walks and talks West Ham, a player of exceptional loyalty, devotion to the cause and unswerving commitment. But then most West Ham fans always knew that and besides those players who have formed a lifelong association with their hometown club will always be there to save the day.

Canning Town born Noble signed an extension to his contract for another year and the chances are he may well decide to continue at the club in a coaching capacity when the sinews and muscles show signs of stiffening and no more can be delivered on the London Stadium pitch. Throughout the seasons Noble has given the traditional blood, sweat and tears without a single moment of complaint. Few have shunned the limelight or high profile publicity and few have recognised the importance of keeping a level head when others may have lost theirs.

By his own admission Noble was never a swaggering artist on the pitch but he knew he how to dictate the tempo of a match, always lunging into tackles with ferocious intent but never trespassing into illegal territories. Noble has run himself into the ground with the kind of full blooded conscientiousness and fervent enthusiasm that West Ham supporters have come to expect of him. Through thick and thin, several relegations and promotions back to the Premier League Noble has shouldered arms, braved the elements and then come back for a second bite of the cherry.

Of course, Noble follows in the blue blooded footsteps of the Upton Park aristocracy, the club who gave us Sir Trevor Brooking, another one club man of faith and fidelity whose majestic passing skills and innate ability to spot a team mate with a pass became his trademark. Brooking was rather like one of those Victorian landowners who survey their domain with a proprietorial air.

 Brooking would sway and glide over the Upton Park green acres with the sweetest elegance, a player of taste and discrimination rather than muscular aggression, a midfield player who always favoured sensitivity over savagery. Brooking painted pictures rather than spoilt them with gaudy smudges. Noble too has drawn more than his fair share of striking illustrations without resorting to anything that could be considered taboo and forbidden.

Mark Noble made his debut at the tender age of 17 and has since fetched, collected and hunted for possession for the ball rather like one of those eager to learn draughtsmen or engineers who love to get their hands dirty. From the moment he first appeared in the very noble claret and blue, Noble chased, scurried and scampered for the ball when it looked as if the pursuit was a pointless one. He was hard working, always receptive and perceptive in possession and never afraid to try something entirely different.

In a way Noble reminded you of some of West Ham's equally as renowned toilers and industrious grafters, nipping into challenges with fearless virility and wholesome vitality. It would have been easy for Noble to declare that  no more could he give to the club who he quite clearly adores. For those of us who still affectionately remember the likes of Pat Holland and Geoff Pike, Noble's 1970s predecessors, comparisons are easily made.

Holland, a tireless hustler and battler par excellence would plough across the Upton Park pitch with socks rolled down and shirt flapping gloriously over mud caked shorts. Holland was West Ham's trade union shop steward, always fighting on behalf of his colleagues but never going on strike. Noble of course was similarly inclined and will continue to be for another year or so, a man cut from the same cloth.

Nowadays though there can be few players who can rightly claim to have spent most of their footballing career just dreaming of brighter horizons without quite planting their flag on the game's summit. Mark Noble though has given everything to the club he knew he'd always played for and surely that has to be highly commendable. Noble of thought, Noble of deed.