Barnsley oddly signed Frank Nouble twice from West Ham, despite the forward’s poor performance in his first spell.
Barnsley fans will not remember Frank Nouble fondly after a terrible loan spell that resulted in no goals for the West Ham forward, followed by another unsuccessful loan spell at Oakwell Stadium.
Nouble was a member of Chelsea’s legendary academy, but he turned down a first-team contract and moved from West London to East London in July 2009, when he signed a five-year contract with West Ham United at the age of 17.
Only one month later, the striker made his Premier League debut with the Hammers. He came off the bench for West Ham icon Carlton Cole in a 2-0 victory.
Wolverhampton Wanderers were defeated away from home.
Following a succession of Football League loan moves to West Bromwich Albion, Swindon Town, and Swansea City, where he showed promise, Nouble joined Barnsley on loan in January 2011 for the remainder of the 2010/11 season.
Frank Nouble’s Barnsley difficulties Barnsley were experiencing a mediocre season before Nouble made his debut. They were 12th in the EFL Championship after 29 matches, having won as many as they had lost (11).
The Tykes were struggling for goals, having only scored 35 thus far and being outscored by Portsmouth, who were eight places below and fighting for relegation.
Crucially, Barnsley’s playoff aspirations remained intact. They were six points behind Leeds United in sixth place, with 17 games left to close the deficit.
The club realized that in order to improve their chances of moving up the table, they needed to score more. Nouble joined the squad, which included future England international defenders John Stones and Kieran Trippier, to provide that.
Barnsley had over 10 acknowledged strikers in their side, but none of them were scoring regularly. Nouble surpassed the likes of Marlon Harewood, Andy Gray, Garry O’Connor, and future Premier League player Chris Wood in the club’s hierarchy.
Mark Robins, Barnsley’s manager at the time, spoke out after signing the striker.
He went on to say: “He is a big talent and technically brilliant.”He hasn’t been seen on this stage yet, but I’m confident in his offensive talents.”
It turns out that Robins should have been concerned about the South Londoner’s capacity to score goals. Nouble started four games for the Tykes, scoring zero goals and providing one assist in a 4-1 hammering against Leicester.
In March 2011, just three months after signing, the striker was returned to West London and loaned out to Charlton Athletic for one month.
Surprisingly, Nouble returned to Oakwell Stadium a year later under Keith Hill, when the club was 16th in the division. They had yet to address their goal-scoring issues and looked to Nouble for a second chance.
The forward performed little better in his second stint, going scoreless in six games and assisting one again. He left when they were in 20th position, having helped them to one draw in six appearances.
Nouble’s Journeyman Career
After Nouble’s second and last loan spell at Barnsley ended, he was released by West Ham at the end of the 2011/12 season when his contract expired.
The striker joined Wolves but left for Ipswich Town after only one season, where he made five appearances. He then joined League One team Coventry City in September 2014.
Nouble played for Tiānjīn Tiānhǎi, a now-defunct Chinese second-tier club, before joining Gillingham in his motherland. He later went on to play for Southend United, Newport County, Colchester United, Plymouth Argyle, Leyton Orient, and Torquay United.
The 32-year-old presently plays for former Football League team Yeovil Town, where he has won the first title in his career, the 2023/24 National League South Nouble had a long career that has taken him to three different countries and several different clubs, but his stint at Barnsley will not be warmly remembered by Oakwell Stadium fans.
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