David Noble (footballer, born 1982)

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 (age 42) [1]
Place of birth	Hitchin, England
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Arsenal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–2003	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)
2016–2022	St Albans City	123	(6)
Total		461	(24)
International career
1997–1999	England U16	2	(0)
2000	England U19	2	(0)
2001–2002	England U20	6	(0)
2003	Scotland U21	2	(0)
2003	Scotland B	1	(0)
Managerial career
2022–2024	St Albans City
2024	Wealdstone
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 09:13, 4 June 2021 (UTC)

David James Noble (born 2 February 1982) is a football manager and former player, playing as a midfielder.

Noble made more than 300 appearances in the Football League for Watford, West Ham United, Boston United, Bristol City, Yeovil Town, Exeter City, Rotherham United, Cheltenham Town and Oldham Athletic. Internationally, he represented his native England at levels up to under-20 before playing under-21 and B international football for Scotland.

Club career

Arsenal

Noble was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. His career began as a trainee at Arsenal, ^[1] with whom he won the FA Youth Cup in 2000. ^[2] His first senior appearance was on loan at Watford in the 2001–02 season, under the management of Gianluca Vialli; where he scored once against Grimsby Town. ^[3]

West Ham United

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. ^[4] 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. ^{[5] [6]}

Boston United

In February 2004, Noble was loaned for a month to Boston United, ^{[7] [8]} after which he signed a permanent contract, initially until the end of the season. ^[9]

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 United on 5 May which took City back into the Championship. ^[10]

Noble also scored in the Championship play-off semi-final against Crystal Palace the following year, when his stoppage-time strike from 30 yards (27 m) gave Bristol City the advantage going into the second leg. ^[11]

He joined Yeovil Town on loan on 25 March 2009, ^[12] before being released at the end of the season.

Exeter City

On 4 January 2010, Noble signed for League One side Exeter City. Noble was named as the club's captain for the 2010–11 season. ^[13] He signed a new one-year contract in June 2011. In May 2012, Noble was released by Exeter after the club was relegated. ^[14]

Rotherham United

Noble signed for Rotherham United on 13 July 2012. ^[15] He joined Cheltenham Town on loan in September 2013. ^[16]

Oldham Athletic and return to Exeter City

Noble joined Oldham Athletic on non-contract terms in August 2014. He played twice before being released, was re-signed, and joined Exeter City on loan in September. ^[17] He made 12 appearances while on loan, ^[18] and then re-signed for Exeter in January 2015 until the end of the season. ^[19]

St Albans City

On 28 August 2016, Noble joined St Albans City of the National League South. He signed an 18-month contract with the Saints in December 2016 and in March 2017 became the club captain. ^[20] In November 2017, he also became a coach at the club. ^[21]

International career

Noble represented his native England at under-16, ^[22] under-19, ^[23] and under-20 levels. ^[24] He then switched to play for Scotland. He made two appearances at under-21 level, ^[1] and also played in a Scotland future team match against Turkey B on 25 February 2003. ^[25]

Coaching career

Following the sacking of Ian Allinson as manager of St Albans City in September 2022, Noble took on the Interim Head Coach role. ^[26] On 19 November 2022, Noble was given the role on a permanent basis following a 55% win rate across his interim spell in charge. ^[27]

On 26 January 2024, Noble was appointed manager of National League club Wealdstone on a two-and-a-half year deal. ^[28] His contract was terminated on 7 April 2024, after winning only three of 17 games in charge. ^[29]

Career statistics

As of end of 2020–21 season

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 [30]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2002–03 [31]	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 [30]	First Division	15	1	0	0	3	0	—		18	1
West Ham United	2003–04 [32]	First Division	3	0	0	0	1	0	—		4	0
Boston United	2003–04 [32]	Third Division	14	2	—		—		—		14	2
	2004–05 [33]	League Two	32	3	3	1	1	0	0	0	36	4
	2005–06 [34]	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 [34]	League One	24	1	—		—		—		24	1
	2006–07 [35]	League One	26	3	2	1	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	32	4
	2007–08 [36]	Championship	26	2	1	0	0	0	3 [lower-alpha 2]	1	30	3
	2008–09 [37]	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 [37]	League One	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Exeter City	2010–11 [38]	League One	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	2010–11 [39]	League One	36	0	1	0	1	0	4 [lower-alpha 1]	0	42	0
	2011–12 [40]	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 [41]	League Two	22	3	0	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	24	3
	2013–14 [42]	League One	0	0	—		1	0	—		1	0
	Total		22	3	0	0	2	0	1	0	25	3
Cheltenham Town (loan)	2013–14 [42]	League Two	29	0	0	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	30	0
Oldham Athletic	2014–15 [18]	League One	2	0	—		—		—		2	0
Exeter City	2014–15 [18]	League Two	15	0	1	0	—		0	0	16	0
	2015–16 [43]	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	2016–17 [44]	National League South	31	2	3	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	36	2
	2017–18 [44]	National League South	38	3	2	0	—		4 [lower-alpha 4]	1	44	4
	2018–19 [44]	National League South	16	1	3	0	—		3 [lower-alpha 5]	1	22	2
	2019–20 [44]	National League South	30	0	1	1	—		2 [lower-alpha 6]	0	33	1
	2020–21 [44]	National League South	8	0	2	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 4]	0	11	0
	Total		123	6	11	1	—		12	2	146	9
Career total			461	24	23	4	13	0	25	3	522	31

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. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
5. Two appearances in FA Trophy, one appearance and one goal in Herts Senior Cup
6. One appearance in FA Trophy, one in Herts Senior Cup

Honours

Arsenal ^[2]

• FA Youth Cup: 2000

Bristol City

• Football League One second-place promotion: 2006–07

Rotherham United

• Football League Two second-place promotion: 2012–13

References

1. "David Noble". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
2. Jones, Max (14 January 2016). "Class of 2000". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
3. "Grimsby 0–3 Watford". BBC Sport. 19 October 2001. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
4. "Noble signs for Hammers". BBC Sport. 11 February 2003. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
5. Hogg, Tony (2005). Who's Who of West Ham United. Profile Sports Media. p. 155. ISBN   1-903135-50-8.
6. Northcutt, John; Marsh, Steve (2015). West Ham United: The Complete Record. deCoubertin Books. pp. 438–441. ISBN   978-1-909245-27-3.
7. "Boston United squad 2004/2005". BUFC.drfox.org. Ken Fox. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
8. "Ins & Outs – 2004". West Ham United Official Programme (v RSC Anderlecht ed.). West Ham United F.C. p. 5.
9. "Noble seals Pilgrims switch". BBC Sport. 23 March 2004. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
10. Pickup, Oliver (6 May 2007). "Noble deeds lift up City". The Observer. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
11. Haylett, Trevor (11 May 2008). "David Noble has Crystal Palace on ropes". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
12. "Glovers switch for Noble". Sky Sports. 25 March 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
13. "Exeter City select David Noble as captain". BBC Sport. 3 August 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
14. "Grecians offload quartet". Sky Sports. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
15. "Rotherham United sign David Noble". BBC Sport. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
16. "Cheltenham: Rotherham midfielder David Noble joins on loan". BBC Sport. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
17. "David Noble: Midfielder re-joins Grecians on loan from Oldham". BBC Sport. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
18. "Games played by David Noble in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
19. "David Noble and Alex Nicholls: On-loan pair sign for Exeter City". BBC Sport. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
20. "David Noble". St Albans City F.C. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
21. 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 3 June 2021.
22. "Match results under 16 1990–2000". England Football Online. Chris Goodwin & Glen Isherwood. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
23. "Match results under 19 1991–2010". England Football Online. Chris Goodwin & Glen Isherwood. 30 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
24. "Match results under 20 1981–2019". England Football Online. Chris Goodwin & Glen Isherwood. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
25. "Future Cup 2003". Scottish Football Association. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008.
26. Tyrer, Will (29 September 2022). "Club Statement: Ian Allinson". St Albans City FC. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
27. "David Noble appointed Head Coach". www.stalbanscityfc.com. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
28. "New Manager: David Noble". www.wealdstone-fc.com. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
29. "Statement: David Noble". www.wealdstone-fc.com. 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
30. "Games played by David Noble in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
31. "Games played by David Noble in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
32. "Games played by David Noble in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
33. "Games played by David Noble in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
34. "Games played by David Noble in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
35. "Games played by David Noble in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
36. "Games played by David Noble in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
37. "Games played by David Noble in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
38. "Games played by David Noble in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
39. "Games played by David Noble in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
40. "Games played by David Noble in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
41. "Games played by David Noble in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
42. "Games played by David Noble in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
43. "Games played by David Noble in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
44. "David Noble: Statistics". St Albans City F.C. Retrieved 4 June 2021.

External links

• David Noble at Soccerbase