Ryan Andrew Noble (11 June 1991) is an English footballer who is currently a free agent. Noble has played as a striker for Sunderland, Watford, Derby County, Hartlepool United, Burnley and Gateshead. Club career Sunderland A product of the club's youth academy, Noble made his first professional appearance for Sunderland on 2 January 2010, coming on as a substitute for Darren Bent in a 3–0 FA Cup victory against Barrow at the Stadium of Light. On his return from a six-month lay off, he returned to goalscoring ways by scoring seven goals in his first five games back for Sunderland Reserves. He was rewarded for his fine form with his league debut for the first team, coming from the bench as Sunderland lost against Everton on 26 February 2011. Noble's next appearance also came as a substitute, in Sunderland's 2–0 defeat at Birmingham City on 16 April. An injury crisis meant that Noble was in line to make his first start for Sunderland against Fulham. However, Noble himself picked up an injury during a youth team game, ruling him out of the game and leaving the team with no fit strikers. On 16 November 2011, Noble bagged a reserve team hat-trick during a 3–0 win against local rivals Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light. This prompted a return to first-team action as a substitute in the 0–0 draw with Fulham the following Saturday, however he was subsequently omitted from the squad altogether for the next match versus Wigan Athletic despite Sunderland continuing to struggle for goals. On 29 November, Noble returned to reserve team action, scoring a six-minute hat-trick as Sunderland thrashed Scunthorpe 7–1. Sunderland manager Steve Bruce was sacked two days later, and replaced by Martin O'Neill. He then scored 4 goals against Manchester United in a reserve match on 8 December 2011. Watford (loan) On 25 March 2010, Noble joined Watford on loan until the end of the 2009–10 season. He failed to make a single first-team appearance for the club. Derby County (loan) Noble was expected to crack the first team in the coming season, but wasn't assigned a first team squad number, leading to speculation he may be loaned out during the season. He eventually joined Championship side Derby County on an emergency loan deal. He made one appearance, as substitute, before a back injury ruled him out of contention and he returned to Sunderland