Frank Nouble
From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki
| Frank Nouble | |
| |
| Full Name | Frank Herman Nouble |
| Date of Birth | 24 September 1991 |
| Place of Birth | Lewisham, London, England |
| Position | Forward |
| Chelsea career | 2006 - 2009 |
| Debut | n/a |
| Games (goals) | n/a |
| Other clubs | None |
Frank Nouble (born 24 September 1991 in Lewisham, London, England) is a forward who formerly played for Chelsea's Academy team.
Contents |
Pre-Chelsea career
Frank joined the Chelsea academy in his early teens.
Chelsea career
Frank first really came to prominence in 2006-07 for the Under-16 team, where he struck up a sensational partnership with Adam Phillip in attack. Despite being younger (14 at the start of that season), he produced just as much as his older partner, and even at that age was physically dominant. Towards the end of the season attentions turned towards the Under-18 team, where he was to earn brief appearances as well as scoring in the game at Ipswich.
In advance of the 2007-08 season, Frank lined up in Under-18 pre-season friendlies, on the left wing of a 4-3-3 that he hadn’t seen much in the Under-16s team, as the team didn’t adopt that formation as regularly. His impact was reduced and he started the season in the Under-16s again. However, within a month he’d proven that level was way below him as he continued to dominate, and made the step up to Under-18 level permanently, a year before he can become a regular scholar.
His impressive form, as well as a weakened Reserve team, saw Brendan Rodgers give him his first appearance at that level shortly after his 16th birthday. Whilst he didn’t score in reverting to the central striker’s role, he didn’t look out of place at all and impressed with his work rate and hold-up play.
The turn into 2008 saw a regular starting berth for Frank, and with it came goals, most impressively a beautiful curling effort in a defeat to Watford. He even played his way into Chelsea’s FA Youth Cup lineup ahead of Jacob Mellis and Phillip, a sign that his style and developing ability was deemed a threat to more experienced players.
In 2008-09 he really hit his straps, averaging a goal every game at one point during the season, and showed much improved form in the Reserve team upon graduating to that level full-time towards the end of the campaign. However, in the summer of 2009, he rejected the club's offer of professional terms, apparently unhappy at seeing the signing of Daniel Sturridge, a player of similar style and only 19 himself.
Frank signed a five-year deal with West Ham on 21 July 2009.
International
Frank has represented England at both Under-16 and Under-17 levels whilst at Chelsea, and Under-19 level with West Ham. He is eligible to play for the Ivory Coast through his family heritage.
Career statistics
Youth Team Football
| Season | Club | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | ||
| 2006-07 | Chelsea | 2 | 1 |
| 2007-08 | Chelsea | 21 | 4 |
| 2008-09 | Chelsea | 20 | 12 |
Career honours
None
Post Chelsea Career
Frank had played ten times for West Ham by late April 2010, mostly as the result of an injury crisis in the striking department. Loan spells followed at West Brom and Swindon towards the end of the campaign. Further temporary moves followed in 2010-11 to Swansea, Barnsley and Charlton Athletic, and the same happened in the 2011-12 season at Gillingham and Barnsley amongst others.
He then moved onto Wolves before joining Ipswich Town on loan; a move which proved successful enough to become a permanent one in January 2013. A spell at Coventry in 2014-15 then gave way to a move to Chinese side Tianjin Songjiang in the summer of 2015.
