Hammers fail to take advantage of Noble gesture

SOMETIMES it seems that the only way to wrestle the man of the match champagne off Scott Parker at Upton Park is to play immediately after having an organ removed.

It isn’t an approach that many would take, but Mark Noble is more than willing to go beyond the norm to help his boyhood club out of what is looking an increasingly forlorn situation.

The midfielder had his appendix removed after undergoing emergency surgery on November 1, but defying the original prognosis, which said he should rest for a month, he played the full 90 minutes in the ultimately disappointing draw against Blackpool on Saturday.