West Ham United legend has defended under fire captain Mark Noble and taken a swipe at Arsenal’s fans in the process.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic with Mark Noble
Hammers boss Slaven Bilic revealed last week that captain Mark Noble was being given time off to recharge his batteries.
In Noble’s absence West Ham lost for the third time in a row when they were beaten 3-2 by Leicester City last time out.
The Hammers skipper has been criticised for his poor performances this season with many supporters questioning his place in the team.
Bilic has persisted to play star player Cheikhou Kouyate out of position at centre back and right back for most of the season to accommodate Noble among others.
And last week he publicly hit out at fans, saying ‘most supporters don’t know what they’re talking about’ – as reported by Sky Sports.
Unsurprisingly that did not go down too well with the Hammers faithful who insist they know football well enough to realise he has been below par for most of the season.
Trevor Sinclair defends Mark Noble
But now West Ham legend turned pundit Trevor Sinclair has taken to Twitter to defend Noble, and couldn’t resist a dig at fans of London rivals Arsenal.
“Not feeling the criticism from certain Hammers fans towards Mark Noble!” Sinclair posted on Twitter.
“Short memories, especially when he bleeds claret and blue #loyalty.
“He obviously earns his place in training week in week out. Let’s not turn into Gunners fans now.”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger as fans protest with signs
As a former player Sinclair knows Hammers fans well and makes a salient point about the criticism Noble has faced.
But supporters are entitled to their opinion and it is not just one or two who feel strongly about their captain’s display this season.
Many feel Bilic and fans have given Noble more leeway than other players because of his Hammers roots and are just being honest.
His dig at Gunners supporters is sure to ruffle a few feathers, though, with Arsenal very much in the limelight at the moment for all the wrong reasons.
With Arsene Wenger’s future uncertain, Arsenal fans have been under the microscope and accused of being disloyal, fickle and one even being labelled an ‘idiot’ by pundit Gary Neville for bringing a Wenger protest banner to a match.
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