Mark Noble has played with hundreds of West Ham United players across his 17-year professional career and knows what it takes to impress the Hammers fans. The captain is certain there are two men in the current squad who will be fan favorites as soon as they get to regularly play in front of the West Ham faithful, that is if they are not cult heroes already.
Mark Noble said “They’ve surprised us all, they’ve been unbelievable. Coufal is a machine, he loves football. In a game they are doing 12-13k a game, and then they are in running the next day they are mad. They’re great great fellas, they set up a head tennis net and play an hour of head tennis against each other, then an hour later you see Coufal at the bus stop getting the bus to Chigwell or something. I sent a picture to one of my mates of him sitting at a bus stop waiting for the 86. It’s mad.”
Noble is a big fan of the two Czech players despite admitting he did not know anything about the players before they joined the club in 2020. The skipper is convinced the fans will take to them even more than they have already once the London Stadium returns to full capacity next season.
Mark Noble said “West Ham fans like [players] like the Czech boys, they wear their heart on their sleeve and give everything, run and tackle, they are going to be loved here I can’t wait to see the fans with them because they are the sort of players that they want.”
Part of what Noble admires about Soucek and Coufal is their will to win, but also that they are two characters that have added to the fun environment fostered over many years by the captain inside the dressing room.
Mark Noble said “As captain, you sort of mould the dressing room to how you think it should be. I have always felt as captain that if you have good characters in your dressing room, when you have a great bunch of lads coming together there is nothing better. Even now my kids leave for school at half-past seven and I can’t wait to get in the car and get in,” he added.
Noble believes that West Ham’s form this season has helped to make the atmosphere inside the club even greater than it already was.
Mark Noble said “If you are winning it is a different world, you are buzzing. when you win a game you cannot wait to get in on a Monday morning and have a kick around with the lads, that’s the way it is. And if you have lost it is horrendous but it does help if you have a good bunch of lads and have a laugh.”
West Ham is such an intrinsic part of Noble’s life that results on the pitch affect every aspect of his life both personally and professionally.
Mark Noble said “No matter where I go, if I go to the petrol station, or to watch my boy play football or a local restaurant or have a walk in the park, my life revolves around how West Ham are doing. Of course, we have had tough times but I am never afraid to say what I think, and I have always thought ‘be honest’ people respect that.”
Tomas Soucek was signed on loan in January 2020 before making a permanent move to the club six months later. He was joined by fellow Czech Republic international Vladimir Coufal later that year and the two down-to-earth, dedicated football men, have clearly made a huge impression on the skipper.
