Buckie Thistle new signing Harry Noble puts his family first in cutting down travel commitments to complete Highland League move from Deveronvale
The birth of his son meant football’s coming home for a Highland League stalwart.
Harry Noble ended his seven-and-a-half year stint at Deveronvale to sign for his home town Buckie Thistle - for family reasons.
When his wee boy Cole arrived in February, travel to Inverurie once a week for Vale training became an issue for the 29-year-old, and it was time for a move.
He rejected a new deal with Vale and the call came from Jags, where Noble’s Highland League career began as a teenager.
“I had a wee loon last February, and obviously football's a massive commitment and once you have a child, your priorities change,” he said.
“Last summer at Vale when Woody (manager Garry Wood) came in, we changed training to Inverurie once a week which again makes it more of a commitment.
“I just felt like I was out the house too much and missing too much of the loon. I had a year left on my contract and decided that I wasn't going to renew it for just the travel commitments.
“This was all decided before Buckie came in.”
Jags boss Lewis Mackinnon made his move and a deal was struck between the Banffshire coast rivals to take Noble back to Victoria Park on a three year deal.
He recalls stints with Buckie Rovers and Thistle, and admits his lack of experience tempered the joy of signing for the club he supported as a boy.
“I made my debut for Buckie up at Wick, coming on for the last 10 or 15 minutes. It was a month before my 18th birthday.
“I was playing at juniors and then went into the Highland League so it was a fair step up. Obviously at the time it was playing for my home town team so it was something I wanted to do but maybe I wasn't quite ready for it.
“I went away and played my football and now I’ve found my way back home.”
Noble built up his senior experience with a couple of seasons at Lossiemouth, before heading out to Vale where he played for seven-and-a-half years, and was made club captain.
“I don't know how many games I’ve played now but it's probably a fair few now,” he said. “The only difference coming into Buckie now is that it's an experienced team and I feel it will be a good team to play in.”
Noble teams up again with former Vale defensive team-mate Innes McKay, and joins Lossiemouth pair Ross Morrison and Ross Paterson and Elgin City attacker Fin Allen as summer captures in a productive summer for boss Mackinnon.
“Innes was always somebody I got on well with. He is a bit younger than me but once he joined Vale we got on really well, we travelled to games and had some nights out, and that will continue.
“That’s a couple of years I played with him so I'm used to covering his back and do all the attacking for him - I'm expecting the same!
“Every time we played Buckie I’ve always heard the shouts from the sidelines and my pals giving me a bit of a stick. Vale haven’t done too well against Buckie recently so it's not been too great but now I'm on the other side of it, we will see what happens.
“Lewis came in (as Buckie manager) and he's got to get his own team in. If the team's playing well it doesn't really matter where you come from but personally it feels like it gives a better feeling if you're playing for your home town team anyway.
“Obviously there's a lot of change for Buckie last year and maybe they didn't do as well as the standards they had set before, but you saw at the end of the season they went on a really good run.
“It was Lewis' first season in management so there's going to be bits he's got to learn from there but they showed with the run that went on at the end that they’re more than capable of giving it a good go this season.”
Noble may have been playing Highland League football for more than a decade but he’s yet to claim a winners’ medal - and that’s his chief target with Jags.
“We got to a final with Lossie when I was there in the North Scotland Cup and lost to Brora. It's something to look back on every day of your career, you play football to win so hopefully we've got a big chance of winning something in the next couple of years.”
The start of pre-season training this week is something that footballers normally dread, but Noble said he had looked after himself over the summer and felt his fitness was good.
It was a first chance for him to meet his new team-mates, including his fellow fresh faces in the squad.
“Fin Allen is somebody that people have spoken about, obviously he was on loan at Huntly for a while and he’s been at Elgin, so you need to be a decent player if you're there.
“I think it's a major coup for Buckie to get him, I'm sure there was plenty of teams for him, especially with his form at the end of last season he was fairly banging him in.
“So I'm looking forward to playing alongside him and the two Rosses that have joined as well.
“I've kept myself busy over the break, I’ve not really stopped. Last year I had a few weeks off which definitely never helped me when I got back. I’ve made sure I've worked hard in the close-season.
“I'm maybe getting on a bit now but niggling injuries isn’t something I've had a problem with. I've always just kind of played through it there was the major knee one (cruciate ligament surgery) but hopefully that won't happen again.
“I'm not quite 30, I’m touching it but as much as I've played for many a year I still feel like the best years are still hopefully to come.
“I felt a bit older in the Vale dressing room, as they had a really young squad. But I'm still young at heart and can’t wait to get going with Buckie.”
