Mark Noble calls for calm from West Ham fans as club look for things to improve on and off the pitch
Hammers kick off at home to Southampton today in the drop zone and Olympic Stadium games have been marred by violence
MARK NOBLE has pleaded for an end to the feud that threatens to wreck West Ham’s season.
Hammers kick off at home to Southampton on Sunday in the drop zone following a series of shambolic performances.
And off the field the club has been paralysed by a civil war in the stands of their new London Stadium home.
Supporters have clashed amid claims that the stewarding, run by the stadium owners, has been inadequate.
Skipper Noble, 29, admits the players need to raise their game and start getting results.
But he has also called for fans to get behind them — and for the club to sort out the problems.
Noble said: “This is not just a football club, it’s a family. We need to stick together. I saw something on social media saying, ‘If you can’t support us when it’s going wrong, don’t support us when it’s going right’.
“That’s the message for the fans. It’s not always going to be rosy. They are a massive factor. We know how important they are. With 60,000 all behind us, it could be pretty special.”
This is Noble’s 13th season as a West Ham first-teamer.
The midfielder grew up a Hammers fan and as a result knows why supporters who were used to standing at Upton Park want to carry on doing that — and why younger fans have been reduced to tears after being caught up in angry exchanges.
He said: “Young kids seeing what’s been going on isn’t right. But if a person pays good money and wants
to stand up and cheer, and then has an 18-year-old steward telling him to sit down . . . you have to understand where the fans are coming from.
“If a family of five go, we need them, but we also need the geezer standing up in front of them.
“We need to come together and the board are doing their best to sort this out.
“It will get better. Winning, of course, helps. It makes the mood better and it’s what we have to do.”
Timeline of trouble
WEST HAM v BOURNEMOUTH (August 21)
At the first league game at the London Stadium, some fans arrived with tickets for seats that did not exist.
Fighting broke out between rival supporters after the Hammers’ 1-0 win.
WEST HAM v ASTRA GIURGIU (August 25)
West Ham lost 1-0 to the Romanians and the game was marred by worrying incidents.
One fan unleashed a flurry of punches, while security staff tried to keep the peace.
WEST HAM v WATFORD (September 10)
Hammers pledged a review of security after West Ham fans fought each other. Ten were ejected during the 4-2 defeat.
The club said offenders would be banned for life.
Noble insists there is no reason why that cannot start against the Saints.
He added: “We probably have the best squad here since I have been playing.
“The way we are together is fantastic. It’s just the way football is — sometimes stuff just doesn’t go for you.
“We have to dig ourselves out of this by working hard and sticking together. And I’m sure we will do that.”
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Noble also brushed aside claims by Watford’s Troy Deeney that Hammers had been disrespectful in the Hornets’ win on September 10.
Deeney said Dimitri Payet’s Rabona cross for Michail Antonio to score had inspired Watford’s stunning comeback.
Noble said: “It’s easy to say that when you’ve won the game. If we’d won, I don’t think that comment would have been made.”
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