Mark Noble has again been overlooked in Roy Hodgson’s selection for the England team after producing consistently for many seasons, but his dream of playing on the international stage could still come true if he take advantage of his Irish heritage.
The West Ham fan favourite has represented England throughout every England level from U16s through to the U21sbut has never been selected for a senior cap. Noble was the captain for the U21s during the 2009 European Championships and he led England to an eventual final defeat against the Germans, whose team consisted of World Cup winners Neuer, Ozil, Hummels, Boateng, Howedes, and captained by World Cup absentee Sami Khedira. The final was to be Mark’s last cap for the U21s and to date his final appearance in an England shirt.
As the midfielder’s grandparents were born in Cork, Ireland and he can therefore represent Ireland if he chooses to and is then selected. However, Mark has shown no signs recently of giving up on his England dream as the likes of Fabian Delph and Jack Colback are awarded debut caps: “It is a goal and a dream of mine to play for England and I’ll never give up on that” the midfielder said in August.
Recently, however, Mark Noble stated that he will give serious consideration to the possibility of representing the Republic of Ireland after his latest snub by Roy Hodgson, but he also admitted that he would find it strange pulling on the green jersey of ROI having represented England at U21level. And I for one think Mark should throw in the towel and not wait until he is as late into his career as the likes of Ricky Lambert or Leon Osman to win a first senior cap for England.
He deserves international football and I would feel very proud to witness Noble playing at that level regardless of the team which he is in. If various England managers aren’t willing to give him a shot in a pointless friendly then he should join club teammate Joey O’Brien in the Ireland set-up.
There is no doubt that Mark Noble would be selected if he were to offer his services, and with Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane running the ship, the Republic of Ireland have their best chance of succeeding in a major tournament. They qualified for the Euros in 2012 and so it’s not unlikely that they can do it again. It seems that Mark can either watch England fail to fulfil expectations from the comfort of his own home, or he can blend in amongst the Irish with his thick Cockney accent.
Former Republic of Ireland player and player-manager John Giles has expressed his thoughts on Noble’s Irish possibilities by stating that if he were manager he would select Noble tomorrow as “he is a good Premier League player and ROI don’t have many of those at the moment”. Giles certainly has a point, Ireland’s most recent three call-ups into the midfield are all players who currently ply their trade outside of the Premier League.
I have no doubt that if enough fuss is made to Roy Hodgson that he would pick Mark for a couple of friendlies when he is 32 (if he is still in charge by then!) but it would be because he was pushed, not because he picked. Realistically Noble has done enough to warrant a chance with England but you should always go where you are wanted, and for Mark, that is the Republic of Ireland.
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