Garth Crooks insists Mark Noble’s West Ham’s Player of the Season

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Garth Crooks admitted to being baffled by West Ham United’s fans’ Player of the Season choice.

Garth Crooks has suggested to BBC Sport that he is almost baffled by the West Ham fans deciding that Marko Arnautovic is their Player of the Season when he feels that Mark Noble is clearly much more deserving.

It has been an incredibly turbulent season for the Irons. With two games remaining in the Premier League this season, David Moyes’ men are safe, five points clear of the bottom three, and it was their victory over Leicester City at the weekend which took them over the line.

It was Noble who helped inspire that win with a stunning volley that clinched the three points. And after the game, Crooks was adamant that he cannot see how the Hammers faithful came to the decision to award Arnautovic.

“How can West Ham fans name Marko Arnautovic their player of the season? Surely it has to be Mark Noble,” he told BBC Sport. “In one of the most difficult seasons West Ham have had in the Premier League, it was Noble who assured the fans when they lost their heads that with their help all would be well. He has never shirked a game, a tackle or an interview, and against Leicester – when you needed a big man to match the occasion – it was ‘Mr West Ham’ who came to the rescue and won the points.

“There is only one player of the season for me at West Ham and that is Mark Noble.”

While Noble certainly stepped up against the Foxes, it is perhaps fair to say that he has been just as likely to put in a disappointing display this term as he has been to put in a marvellous performance in the middle of the park where he seemed to control the game.

Arnautovic meanwhile, has rarely let the side down since Moyes’ arrival towards the end of 2017, scoring 10 goals and providing five assists in the process – all of which came after the managerial change.

If the Austrian had not found his feet in the way that he has, it may not be out of the question to suggest that West Ham would go into the final two games still in danger of being relegated, if not in an even worse position, so it seems unlikely that there will be many who feel that Arnautovic has not been the key component behind their survival mission.