The time has come for West Ham United to get rid of Mark Noble after a poor season in the club’s midfield.

On the chalkboard

The 32-year-old remains a key member of the club’s squad, making 26 appearances in the Premier League.

He has struggled, though.

Per WhoScored, he has been dribbled past 1.5 times per game, conceded one foul per game, and has barely got involved going forward either; he averages 0.7 shots per game, 0.8 key passes, and 1.4 unsuccessful touches.

He has a pass completion rate of 81.8%.

While he brings leadership qualities to the team, with West Ham battling against relegation, his influence on play simply hasn’t been good enough.

Did he really play for us?! No West Ham fan has managed to name all of these obscure Irons signings….

Back in 2010, when David Sullivan and David Gold took the reigns of the club, they outlined their vision to qualify for the Champions League, via The Daily Mirror.

“We have a seven-year plan to get them into the Champions League and turn them into a big club and over the seven-year period we do plan to spend a lot of money,” Sullivan said.

Of course, that hasn’t happened but one has to feel that moving Noble on would help them get closer to that end-goal. He’s at best a mid-table player, and his abilities will only wane in the coming years.

A painful farewell

Noble has been an incredible servant to the Hammers’ cause.

The 32-year-old is the club’s captain and has made 495 appearances for the club; he could conceivably reach 500 this year if the Premier League season is able to finish.

In that time, he has scored 60 goals, provided 59 assists and played in both the Premier League and the Championship, going down with his club and helping them come back up.

However, there comes a time when pragmatism has to trump sentiment. If West Ham are ever going to become a European club, they need a central midfielder of a higher calibre.

Meanwhile, West Ham have to swerve a move for this Manchester United flop!