The Athletic reporter Roshane Thomas has recently aired some criticism of West Ham United’s veteran midfielder Mark Noble.
This season, the Englishman has made 28 Premier League appearances for the Hammers in which he has scored four goals and bagged one assist (per WhoScored).
A 6.60/10 average rating in those appearances, though, has left the 33-year-old middleman as only the Irons’ 14th-best performer in the league.
So, in the latest episode of The Athletic’s U Irons Podcast, Thomas aired some criticism of Noble and his performances this season.
He said: “He was really poor the first half. [He] kept giving the ball away and I remember watching, he had a free-kick in a good position; [he] crossed it in and it was poor.
“It’s one of those ones where you’re thinking: ‘You can’t drop Mark Noble because he’s been at West Ham for so long’. But on the flip-side of things, you sort of have to drop him because he’s 33 now. He hasn’t got the legs.
“He scores goals, but albeit from the penalty spot. He doesn’t really have an impact on the game as he used to do.
“That’s why you have a player like Jack Wilshere, for example. We all know about his injury record, but just to freshen it up, just to give someone else a chance.
“Because the tried-and-tested Mark Noble, as you saw in the game yesterday, it’s just not working right now.”
TIF Thoughts…
As can be seen in what the journalist had to say, it seems like he believes Noble should be dropped from the starting line up as he is no longer having much of an impact.
Do you think Mark Noble should be dropped by West Ham for the foreseeable future?Yes, he's past it now
No, he offers something
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However, the fact that Noble has made the most passes of any West Ham player per league match on average this season with 44.9 (per WhoScored) may suggest that he is having some form of impact.