Mark Noble is a throwback to another era – a local boy who goes onto play his entire career with his hometown club. Who would be more deserving to follow legends Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds and lift the FA Cup for West Ham? And in this season of the underdogs, who says it can't happen?

West Ham face Liverpool in a fourth-round replay at Upton Park on Tuesday night with a winnable tie at Championship club Blackburn Rovers up next.

Many fans will be willing them to reach Wembley, partly for Noble's sake. Unrecognised by England, winning the Cup would be a more than adequate compensation for the Hammers midfielder who was born in nearby Canning Town. Nowhere would FA Cup success be more spectacularly celebrated than at West Ham.

Mark Noble has spent his entire career playing for West Ham and the local lad will be hoping for FA Cup glory

West Ham legend Bobby Moore (centre) on a victory lap following West Ham's 1964 triumph at Wembley

Billy Bonds (right) celebrates the FA Cup win in 1975 with scorer Alan Taylor (left) and Trevor Brooking

The last time they won it, with Trevor Brooking's header against Arsenal in 1980, the size of crowds in east London to watch the victory procession were estimated to be anything between 250,000 and 500,000.

It's hard to believe Noble is still only 28. He made his debut at the start of the 2004-05 season and is the fifth-longest-serving one-club man in the Premier League behind John Terry, Tony Hibbert, Leon Osman and Steven Taylor. He is the only one of those still in his twenties.

Having made 350 appearances already, he is more than halfway to Moore's number of 643 games in a claret-and-blue shirt with possibly another decade to come. At this rate, if he's still at West Ham aged 37, he'll pass Moore's tally.

Having made his debut under Alan Pardew, he has now also served Alan Curbishley, Avram Grant, Gianfranco Zola, Sam Allardyce and Slaven Bilic, who made him captain at the start of the season to succeed Kevin Nolan.

All have appreciated his all-round midfield game and the ability not only to win the ball but use it as well. He has made more Premier League appearances than any other West Ham player.

Former manager Allardyce summed it up when he said: 'There aren't too many players who spend their entire careers at one club and it is looking that way for Mark. It is getting rarer and rarer since the Class of 92.

Noble, born in nearby Canning Town, trained on Monday ahead of the FA Cup showdown with Liverpool

HAMMERS LEGENDS BOBBY MOORE (1958-1974) Appearances: 643 Goals: 27 Honours with West Ham: FA Cup, Cup Winners' Cup BILLY BONDS (1967-1988) Appearances: 695 Goals: 59 Honours with West Ham: FA Cup (x2), Second Division title MARK NOBLE (2004- ) Appearances: 350 Goals: 37 Honours with West Ham: Championship Play-off winner (x2) Advertisement

'After John Terry, Mark Noble will stand out as a one-club man. He loves the place. If he did go anywhere, he'll never have the same affection as for West Ham.'

Sportsmail columnist Jamie Redknapp pointed out six different West Ham managers who have all made Noble their first name on the team sheet can't be wrong.

'He is West Ham’s Mr Consistent,' he said. 'You would do well to find a player in the Premier League who gives more for his team than Noble, but he’s a quality player, too.'

Overlooked by England, he has his supporters to be at Euro 2016, pundit Robbie Savage among them, but has the misfortune to be around at a time when Dele Alli and Ross Barkley are emerging to compete with Jordan Henderson, Fabian Delph and Jack Wilshere, let alone table-topper Danny Drinkwater.

Still, there is always hope of the silverware at West Ham. In the club's final season at Upton Park, Bilic's men will genuinely fancy their chances of going a long way in the Cup; what a way to set up their move to the Olympic Stadium.

Midfielder Noble made his league debut for the Hammers in 2005 and has spent 16 years at Upton Park

Noble has represented England at Under-21 level but some believe he deserves a full international call-up

However, the form of midfielders like Ross Barkley (left) and Dele Alli (below) mean Noble could likely miss out

Alli has emerged as one of the best young midfielders for Spurs this season and will no doubt go to the Euros

West Ham are above Liverpool in the League table, sixth vs ninth, and have the outstanding individual on either side, Dimitri Payet. He may have gone off the boil recently amid reports of a contract wrangle but the Frenchman has shown before he is always up for the big occasion.

Bilic has different ways to beat Liverpool, too. If the pace, skill and athleticism of Enner Valencia, Payet, Manuel Lanzini and Cheikhou Kouyate doesn't work, he always has the best header of the ball in English football, Andy Carroll, at his disposal.

And he can always rely on Noble. He might not have the status of Moore or even Bonds but in 2016, he is West Ham's captain, leader, legend.

*West Ham have won the FA Cup three times in their history. Bobby Moore was skipper for their success against Preston North End in 1964 while Billy Bonds captained them against Fulham (1975) and Arsenal (1980)