This highly-rated, homegrown talent, simply goes from strength to strength in the heat and heart of the West Ham United midfield.

The former Woodside and Royal Docks schoolboy was initially snapped up by Arsenal as a kid but the Canning Town youngster's first love was always West Ham United and, forsaking his Highbury complimentary tickets, he was a regular spectator at the Boleyn Ground with his claret and blue-blooded family.

After quitting the Gunners in favour of the Hammers, he progressed through the youth ranks and, aged 15, became the youngest-ever player to appear in the club's reserve team after coach Roger Cross phoned his headmaster seeking an early departure from the day's lessons in February 2003.

Having been involved with the first-team squad on several occasions, Alan Pardew handed him his first-team debut aged 17 years and 108 days, when he came on as a substitute in the 2-0 League Cup victory over Southend United in August 2004.

Going on to make 21 appearances during his first season, Noble climaxed the campaign with a late substitute appearance in the Championship play-off final victory over Preston North End at the Millennium Stadium.

And after making it to top-flight, Noble's passionate, all-action style saw him take no prisoners on his first Premiership start as he earned rave reviews for audaciously standing toe-to-toe with Tottenham Hotspur's Dutch superstar Edgar Davids at White Hart Lane, in November 2005.

Early in 2006, Noble embarked upon an experience gaining five-game loan spell at Hull City and he subsequently began the 2006/07 campaign with a similar 13-match sojourn to Ipswich Town.

By the time he returned to the Boleyn Ground, Alan Curbishley had taken control and Noble gave the new man a timely display of his talents with a goal in the FA Cup third round victory over Brighton and Hove Albion.

And although Curbishley hinted the England youth international would not feature in his immediate plans, Noble got his chance, two months later, in the 4-3 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, where his passion for an East End relegation battle was there for all to see when he trudged off the Boleyn Ground turf in tears at the final whistle, having earlier opened the scoring.

That was the catalyst for an ever-present nine-match run through to the end of the season, in which Noble played a leading part as West Ham United miraculously avoided relegation with seven victories.

Certainly, his domestic endeavours did not go unnoticed by an equally passionate ex-Hammer Stuart Pearce, who called him into his England U21 squad for the 2007 European Championship and after going to the Netherlands as a squad player, he became the linchpin of a Young Lions side that lost 13-11 on penalties to the hosts in the semi-finals.

Upon his return from the Netherlands, Noble was duly rewarded with a richly deserved, new four-year contract that is scheduled to keep him at the club until 2011. He continued to make waves for his country too, notably that October when scoring twice in a 3-0 defeat of the Republic of Ireland in qualifying for the 2009 U21 finals.