Wed Sep 25, 2013 5:33 pm
IS CRAIG NOONE GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE PREMIER LEAGUE?
Craig Noone admits the wait is ‘frustrating, but acceptable.’
and is happy to wait for Premier League chance
25 Sep 2013
Bluebirds winger Noone yet to make an appearance in the Premier League - but insists he's happy to wait for his chance
Craig Noone insists patience is the key to his Premier League future.
Cardiff City’s quick and lively winger has yet to taste top-flight action, but he has been closer than ever before against Manchester City, Everton and Hull when he was an unused substitute.
Noone admits the wait is ‘frustrating, but acceptable.’
After all, he is 25 years old and it was only five years ago that Noone made the step up from non-league football.
He worked as a roofer while playing part-time football for Skelmersdale, Burscough and Southport before Plymouth manager Paul Sturrock splashed out £110,000 for the tricky winger with a touch of magic in his boots.
That was the start of a rapid rise for Noone, who moved on to Brighton, helping them win the League One title, before joining Cardiff in a £1m transfer.
Once again Noone struck gold, playing his part as Cardiff won the Championship title and earned promotion to the top flight.
“Yes, it’s a bit frustrating that I haven’t played Premier League football yet, but it’s also acceptable when you consider the rise I have made from non-league to where I am playing today,” he says.
“I waited five years, maybe more, to be a Football League professional and I think I can wait a little more for my chance with Cardiff at the top level.
“I’ve always wanted to be a Premier League footballer.
“It’s close, but there is more work to be done.”
Noone gave Cardiff manager Malky Mackay a reminder of his quality when he smashed home a magnificent goal just before half-time in their Capital One Cup tie at West Ham.
Mackay acknowledged the quality of Noone’s strike, but underlined he wants to see better consistency from the Kirby-born flyer.
“Craig’s second-half performance showed why I think he is a top young player, somebody we are nurturing,” said Mackay.
“Certainly, after half-time against West Ham he did well, but until his goal just before half-time he knows he was a bit unreliable and gave the ball away too much.”
Noone is in Mackay’s 25-man Premier League squad and knows what he has to do.
“I scored a good goal at West Ham, but it’s not about that,” he says.
“The key factor is our result as a team and it was gutting to lose.
“Now I have to keep working in training and make sure I am ready when my chance comes.
“Over the last year with Cardiff I have come on a fair bit. Towards the end of last season my feeling was that I was playing well and now I have to kick on again and do more for the team.
“It’s important that I get in the manager’s head and that means playing consistently well.”
Lifelong Liverpool fan Noone is, without doubt, on the fringe of a Premier League chance – and he will be eyeing up Cardiff’s Premier League match at Anfield on Saturday, December 21.
He has played at Anfield before, but on that occasion the Kop End was empty!
“I was about 17 and playing for Myerscough in the National Colleges Cup final,” says Noone.
“We won and I scored in front of the Kop.
“That was amazing, but the Kop was empty that day. There were only a few hundred in the ground. It’s a dream of mine to play there when it’s full.
“I’ve always been a massive Red.”
Noone was on Liverpool’s books from the age of nine, but was released two years later. Then, at the age of 15, Noone suffered heartache again when Wrexham let him go.
“Imagine being told at 11 that you’re not going to be good enough,” said Noone. “I was devastated, but at the same time I had this thing inside me that said I wanted to try harder.
“I guess not many players get released twice. Both times I didn’t really see it coming. I had been getting good reports. I have kept them all. They said I was progressing, but said I was small and weak. I still look in them for a bit of inspiration. There’s no forgetting where I came from.”
Noone had a tough schooling in non-league football. He earned £60 a week at Skelmersdale, while his move to Southport meant a pay rise to £150 plus a match bonus.
“They are hard leagues, really physical,” he says. “But I loved it. Sometimes we would have a coach to games, but if it was close we’d go in cars.
“You had to wear your own clothes for training.
“I remember my first game for Burscough. We were on the bus after the match and we stopped for fish and chips and had a crate of beer. I was singing like a fool.
“It was so much fun – I stay in contact with those lads. But, believe me, I didn't take football lightly for a second. I was desperate to get on.”
It’s that background, Noone’s experience of progressing from non-league to Premier League which will allow him to savour every moment of this season.
He wants to play, of course, and that Bluebirds’ fixture at Anfield in December is a target.
How he’d love to be playing in front of a packed Kop that day.
Wed Sep 25, 2013 9:18 pm
I would play him ahead of conway
Thu Sep 26, 2013 2:12 am
NIBluebird wrote:I would play him ahead of conway
Well Conway doesn't play for us currently so I think every Cardiff fan would.
Thu Sep 26, 2013 5:03 pm
Great attitude on the lad, I'm sure if he keeps working hard he will get his chance
Fri Sep 27, 2013 11:41 am
he impressed the most in pre-season , so hopefully he will get a chance tommorow as an impact sub in the 2nd half - start odemwingie on the right and replace him with 30mins to go and he will run them ragged for half hour