David Noble (footballer, born 1982)

David James Noble (born 2 February 1982) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for St Albans City.

David Noble

Noble playing for Exeter City in 2010
Personal information
Full name	David James Noble[1]
Date of birth	(1982-02-02) 2 February 1982
Place of birth	Hitchin, England
Playing position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	St Albans City
Youth career
	Arsenal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1993–2003	Arsenal	0	(0)
2001–2002	→ Watford (loan)	15	(1)
2003–2004	West Ham United	3	(0)
2004–2006	Boston United	57	(5)
2005–2006	→ Bristol City (loan)	8	(0)
2006–2009	Bristol City	77	(7)
2009	→ Yeovil Town (loan)	2	(0)
2010–2012	Exeter City	78	(2)
2012–2014	Rotherham United	22	(3)
2013–2014	→ Cheltenham Town (loan)	29	(0)
2014–2015	Oldham Athletic	2	(0)
2014	→ Exeter City (loan)	11	(0)
2015–2016	Exeter City	34	(0)
2016–	St Albans City	71	(5)
National team^‡
2003	Scotland B	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:04, 8 August 2018 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:30, 12 June 2016 (UTC)

Playing career

Club

Arsenal

Born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, his career began as a trainee at Arsenal, with whom he won the FA Youth Cup in 2000 in a game where Noble won the man of the match.[2][3] His first senior appearance was on loan at Watford in the 2001–02 season, during Gianluca Vialli's reign, where he scored once against Grimsby Town.[4]

West Ham

In February 2003, Noble joined newly relegated West Ham United on a free transfer, signing a deal until the end of the 2003–04 season.[5] He made his debut in a League Cup game against Rushden & Diamonds on 13 August 2003, playing the full 90 minutes of a 3–1 win, but found chances limited and made three League appearances as substitute in August and September.[6][7]

Boston United

In February 2004, Noble was loaned for a month to Boston United.[8][9] At the loan's end he signed with the club.[10]

Bristol City

In January 2006, he moved to Bristol City for £80,000, after enjoying a successful loan spell there. On 13 February 2007, he scored against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup Fourth Round Replay. But his most important strikes were the two goals he scored against Rotherham on 5 May 2007 which took City back into the second-highest tier of English football being the Football League Championship.[11]

Noble also scored in the Championship play-off semi-final against Crystal Palace, when his stoppage time strike from 30 yards gave Bristol City the advantage going into the second leg.[12]

Yeovil Town

He joined Yeovil Town on loan from Bristol City on 25 March 2009, before being released on 31 May 2009.[13]

Exeter City

On 4 January 2010, Noble signed for League One side Exeter City. He signed a new one-year contract with Exeter City in June 2011. Noble went on to be named as the club's captain for the 2010–11 season.[14] In May 2012, Noble was released by Exeter after the club was relegated.[15]

Rotherham United

Noble signed for Rotherham United on 13 July 2012.[16] He was taken on loan in the summer of 2013 to Cheltenham Town.[17]

Oldham Athletic

On 12 September 2014, Noble joined Exeter City on loan from Oldham Athletic. He had re-joined Oldham Athletic after having his contract terminated a few weeks beforehand and went immediately out on loan.[18][19]

Return to Exeter City

Noble returned to his former club Exeter City in January 2015. He had previously made 12 appearances for the Grecians whilst on loan with the club for the first half of the 2014–15 season.[19] Noble's contract at St James Park expired in the summer of 2016 making him a free agent.

St Albans City

On 28 August 2016, Noble joined St Albans City of the National League South. Noble signed an 18-month contract with the Saints in December 2016 and in March 2017 became the club captain.[2] In November 2017, he also became a coach at the club.[20]

International

Noble played in a Scotland future team match against Turkey B on 25 February 2003.[21]

Career statistics

As of match played 7 August 2018

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Arsenal	2001–02[22]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2002–03[23]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Watford (loan)	2001–02[22]	First Division	15	1	0	0	3	0	—		18	1
West Ham United	2003–04[24]	First Division	3	0	0	0	1	0	—		4	0
Boston United	2003–04[24]	Third Division	14	2	—		—		—		14	2
	2004–05[25]	League Two	32	3	3	1	1	0	0	0	36	4
	2005–06[26]	League Two	11	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	13	0
	Total		57	5	4	1	2	0	0	0	63	6
Bristol City	2005–06[26]	League One	24	1	—		—		—		24	1
	2006–07[27]	League One	26	3	2	1	1	0	3[lower-alpha 1]	0	32	4
	2007–08[28]	Championship	26	2	1	0	0	0	3[lower-alpha 2]	1	30	3
	2008–09[29]	Championship	9	1	0	0	0	0	—		9	1
	Total		85	7	3	1	1	0	6	1	95	9
Yeovil Town (loan)	2008–09[29]	League One	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Exeter City	2010–11[30]	League One	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	2010–11[31]	League One	36	0	1	0	1	0	4[lower-alpha 1]	0	42	0
	2011–12[32]	League One	42	2	1	1	2	0	1	0	46	3
	Total		78	2	2	1	3	0	5	0	88	3
Rotherham United	2012–13[33]	League Two	22	3	0	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	24	3
	2013–14[34]	League One	0	0	—		1	0	—		1	0
	Total		22	3	0	0	2	0	1	0	25	3
Cheltenham Town (loan)	2013–14[34]	League Two	29	0	0	0	—		1[lower-alpha 1]	0	30	0
Oldham Athletic	2014–15[35]	League One	2	0	—		—		—		2	0
Exeter City	2014–15[35]	League Two	15	0	1	0	—		0	0	16	0
	2015–16[36]	League Two	30	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	33	0
	Total		45	0	3	0	1	0	0	0	49	0
St Albans City	2014–15[2]	National League South	31	2	3	0	—		2[lower-alpha 3]	0	36	2
	2017–18[2]	National League South	38	3	2	0	—		4[lower-alpha 4]	1	44	4
	2018–19[2]	National League South	2	0	0	0	—		0	0	2	0
	Total		71	5	5	0	—		6	1	82	6
Career total			409	23	17	3	13	0	19	2	458	28

1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
2. Appearances in Championship play-offs
3. One appearance in FA Trophy, one in Herts Charity Cup
4. Appearances in FA Trophy

Honours

Arsenal[3]

• FA Youth Cup: 2000

Bristol City

• League One Runners-up: 2006–07
• Championship Playoff Runners-up: 2007–08

Rotherham United

• League Two Runners-up: 2012–13

References

1. "David Noble". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
2. "David Noble". St Albans City F.C.
3. "CLASS OF 2000". Arsenal F.C.
4. "Grimsby 0–3 Watford". BBC Sport. 19 October 2001. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
5. "Noble signs for Hammers". BBC Sport. 11 February 2003. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
6. Hogg, Tony (2005). Who's Who of West Ham United. Profile Sports Media. p. 155. ISBN 1-903135-50-8.
7. Northcutt, John; Marsh, Steve (2015). West Ham United: The Complete Record. deCoubertin Books. pp. 438–441. ISBN 978-1-909245-27-3.
8. Fox, Ken. "Boston United 2004–05 squad". BUFC.drfox.org.
9. "Ins & Outs – 2004". West Ham United Official Programme (v RSC Anderlecht ed.). West Ham United F.C. p. 5.
10. "Noble seals pilgrims switch". BBC Sport. 23 March 2004. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
11. "Noble deeds lift up City". The Guardian.
12. "David Noble has Crystal Palace on ropes". The Telegraph.
13. "Glovers switch for Noble". Sky Sports.
14. "Exeter City select David Noble as captain". BBC Sport.
15. "Grecians offload quartet". Sky Sports. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
16. "Rotherham United sign David Noble". BBC Sport.
17. "Noble given key role by Boss Yates". Somerset Live.
18. "Noble Departs". Oldham Athletic A.F.C. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
19. "David Noble: Midfielder re-joins Grecians on loan from Oldham". BBC Sport. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
20. Metcalfe, Neil (24 November 2017). "Noble proud of new role at St Albans City as he gets set for life after playing days". Herts Advertiser. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
21. "Future Cup 2003". Scottish Football Association. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008.
22. "Games played by David Noble in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
23. "Games played by David Noble in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
24. "Games played by David Noble in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
25. "Games played by David Noble in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
26. "Games played by David Noble in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
27. "Games played by David Noble in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
28. "Games played by David Noble in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
29. "Games played by David Noble in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
30. "Games played by David Noble in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
31. "Games played by David Noble in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
32. "Games played by David Noble in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
33. "Games played by David Noble in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
34. "Games played by David Noble in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
35. "Games played by David Noble in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
36. "Games played by David Noble in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.

External links

• David Noble at Soccerbase