I wasn’t prepared for two middle-aged men to spot me in the street,” Noble recalls in his book. “‘Well done, Marky boy,’ one shouted. ‘Oh my God, Mark,’ Carly said as we walked on. ‘He knew who you were.’” David Sullivan and David Gold, West Ham’s owners since January 2010, enjoy their reputation as local wheelers-and-dealers, but how does the prospect of half the Premier League being owned by countries make Noble feel? “Well, it depends,” he says, as he starts to laugh. “It depends if we are [owned by a nation]. The great thing about the Premier League is, because there is a lot of financial power, the games ain’t as easy as they would be in other leagues. But if you want the best players it’s different. Image and Exploration- Some Directions in British Photography 1980 / 85 (Photographers' Gallery, London21 June - 7 September 1985 SOFTCOVER. 1st Edition. 4to in photo illustrated stiff card covers, 108pp, photos in colour and b/w, etc CONDITION: A well preserved FINE very clean and tight unmarked copy (hint of tanning to covers) ] ._ __To see more of our Photo books type DbbPHOTO in the Keywords search box._We Ship in PROTECTIVE CARD PARCELS. Yet West Ham’s fans seem disillusioned with the season so far. “Probably a group of fans, yes. But there’s always going to be that at every club now. You hear people saying the fans are not happy with [Jürgen] Klopp at Liverpool. That’s the industry we work in now and, because of social media, it has become a lot louder.”

Mark joined the team aged just 15, making him the youngest player to appear in their reserve team. He was later awarded his first of many Young Hammer of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year awards, the mark of a footballer with true potential. After scoring his first goal in 2007, Mark went on to score his first penalty, celebrate his 100th appearance in 2009, and regularly play in the Premier League.It is debatable whether West Ham can hold on to Rice much longer – especially when, at the World Cup, the England midfielder said how much he wants to play Champions League football and that “you only get one career”. Noble sounds pragmatic when discussing a player he has mentored for years and as the Premier League resumes on Boxing Day with West Ham, two places above the relegation zone, away to the leaders Arsenal. Noble said: “It was really good to see so many supporters at the store and I’m very grateful for the effort that everyone made to come along and wait in the queue. We need to be in the market of probably 25 teams across Europe. Maybe from fourth to eighth in the Spanish league, the same in the German league. Those are our rivals when we are recruiting players because we can’t afford to buy who we want. It’s not going to happen. So we’ve got to be clever and find ways of recruiting young players and developing them, bringing them from the academy to the first team because that’s a massive plus. We’ve seen that with Declan Rice [who succeeded Noble as club captain], Ben Johnson [the West Ham defender], myself and others. A good young English player is worth 40 million quid. It’s incredible. So if we can produce three or four of them, we’re doing something right.”

Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuth I’m not sure about that,” Noble says amid his laughter. “But I love football. I love all parts of football.” The simple joy of football shines in Noble – as it will when he embraces the breaks from recruitment and monitoring mental health to step out on the academy pitch with teenage hopefuls to whom he can give a few pointers. All the headaches of being the Boleyn boy trying to keep up with clubs owned by countries will be forgotten for a while. And maybe, I suggest, the academy kids will look up to him as their local version of Messi. We all spend so much time on our phones now, and so it’s actually really nice to spend some time meeting people - kids, adults, grandparents, having a chat and hearing their stories about being a fan. I’ve had some lovely comments about the book and I hope all those who have bought it enjoy reading it.”

Newspaper. 48p., tabloid newspaper, articles, news, opinion, resources and services, photos, events, lightly worn newsprint with color photo cover. Previously Pacific Coast Times. Cover stories: "Matlovich Still Fighting" and "Anita Tyrant Opens Season on Gays". As Mark Noble considers the enormous task he will face in his new role as West Ham’s sporting director, he shares his belief that, “in the next 10 to 15 years probably half of the Premier League’s teams will be owned by countries”. Noble played more than 500 games for West Ham, from 2004 to May this year, and the consistency and loyalty of that commitment stand in sharp contrast with the outlandish riches which will transform the Premier League much further. Mark Noble leaps on Declan Rice after West Ham’s Europa League last-16 victory over Sevilla in March. Photograph: Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images

In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications. Lonely Planet; China Williams; Mark Beales; Tim Bewer; Joe Bindloss; Austin Bush; David Eimer; Bruce Evans; Damian Harper; Isabella Noble Mark Noble waves to West Ham’s fans after his last home game as a player, against Manchester City in May. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian How will Noble react when part of his remit as sporting director will be to help West Ham cope with the astronomical wealth accumulated by rivals such as Manchester City? “You’ve got the top six, maybe even seven in the Premier League. You’ve got two or three in the German league and the same in the Spanish league. In the French league, obviously you’ve got PSG [owned by Qatar] and one or two others. So we’re not in that market because the Champions League is a massive draw for players. The Thrice Noble and Illustrious Princess, Margaret, Duchess of Newcastle. Edited With a Preface and Occasional Notes By Mark Anthony LowerMark Noble (right) making his West Ham debut in 2004 against Southend United. Photograph: Reuters/Alamy The former Club captain, who retired after 550 games and 18 years in Claret and Blue last May, took the time to meet supporters at the Stadium Store. Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 8vo, calf-gilt, marbled edges and endpapers, 406pp., errata. First edition. Volume I only. "Famam Extendimus Factis" and "G.D." stamped to the front board, so presumably from the library of George Douglas. VG: lightly rubbed joints, lightly rubbed corners, a hint of foxing to the text.