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It’s been a big week for former West Ham captain Mark Noble as he released his new autobiography ‘Boleyn Boy’.
The former club captain who retired from the club last season played 550 games in 18 years at the club has been meeting supporters and signing copies of his book.
Mark Noble who starts his new role as Sporting Director on the 2nd January 2023 spoke to some media outlets about his book, his studies and his new job and what we West Ham fans can expect from him.
Noble spoke about his new role saying..
“I Know The Club Better Than Anyone”
“I’m ready, Obviously, I’m going to learn on the job, but I know the club probably better than anyone. It’s also something I had been thinking about doing for some time and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity.
“I studied at Harvard on a business, entertainment, media and sports course earlier this year. My tutor there, Anita Elberse, is the Professor of Administration and has had some top people from around the world on the course.
“People from different industries have taken part: actors, sports stars, CEOs of social media companies. It was an absolute eye-opener to the way these people think.
“They sent me 15 case studies about a month before I went on subjects as varied as Paris Saint-Germain, Facebook, basketball star LeBron James, unique digital identifiers called NFT’s and Jay-Z, the rapper. It’s all about what the course calls ‘The Blockbuster’ model of Go Big or Go Home.
“In my group there was Linda Henry, the wife of John, whose Fenway Sports Group owns Liverpool, and we spoke at length about the Premier League. She is the CEO of Boston Globe Media. It was a real learning curve about the way executives of big companies do things. Football is such a global brand and you have to take advantage of that.”
Noble added..
“I’ll Be Honest When Giving An Opinion”
“I’ll speak to players who we are considering bringing in and, most importantly, I’ll be honest when giving an opinion on how we should do things. I will also have an impact on the academy, because I’ve come through that system, and now my son, Lenny, is there.
“I won’t be going in with all guns blazing, because I see this as a long-term project where I can make this position my own and set out an ethos and structure for this club.”
“You Need To Support The Owners And The Manager”
“You’re going to have bad runs, but then it’s a case of trying to stick together and getting through it as one, You need to support the owners and the manager, but always the club has to come first. I’ve had a great relationship with the manager, so that isn’t a problem. He is incredibly proud of the job he’s done at West Ham and determined to continue that.”
Noble on his new role
“I won’t be out on the training field now. I will be looking at the business side of things, the future and how we improve on the pitch and off it, become a bigger global brand. That won’t happen overnight. You go through cycles, but if you have a structure, you have a much better chance of coming out of the downturns when they happen and I always said this was going to be a transitional season.
“I’m hoping we can ride out the tough period, which I think we will, and then look forward to next season. It’s a new job, but the players know how honest I was back then and I’m not changing any time soon.”
