Revealed! The inside story of Liam Noble's infamous Hartlepool United 'Chinese-gate' rant

It’s an incident which has gone down in Hartlepool United folklore, shelved alongside Dave Jones’ sausage sarnies, that missing Richard Money teamsheet and the fish and chip shop altercation - there definitely seems to be a theme here.

The bars of Hartlepool and social media were awash with rumours in the weeks and months that followed - but we've exclusively spoken to the man at the centre of it all.

So what actually happened that weekend in Dover, how did the problem flare and who carries the blame for that utterly forgettable trip to the south coast?

Liam Noble tells all - and it underlines that the rumour mill DOES sometimes get it right.

"Hartlepool fans know me - they know that even if I played badly, I would always give my all when I crossed the white line. That's no different off the park," said the goalscoring midfielder, who left Pools earlier this season for Northern Premier League side Morpeth Town.

"At the time we were going through a really bad spell on the park and the manager got stricter with us."

Pools had not won a game for more than six weeks, but were to run League One Gillingham very close in an FA Cup replay at Victoria Park that week.

He continued: "Me and some of the lads, every Friday, used to sit at the training ground and have fish and chips. The Monday before the trip to Dover Athletic, Batesy said this needed to stop.

"None of us had any complaints about that - you have to make changes when things aren't going well. And we tightened up on our training, our diets, everything."

But things took a turn on the bus journey down on that Friday, November 23, 2018.

"That weekend the lads binned the chippy idea and we were heading down to Dover on the bus as usual. We stopped off for a bit to stretch our legs," Noble explained.

"Next thing is, when we all get back on, some lads - who will remain nameless - had bought a Chinese takeaway.

"So, me being me, I piped up. It was all banter really, the type of thing that goes on. I called them out for breaking the rules - 'the gaffer said no takeaways and here you are with a Chinese'. Words were exchanged and being honest I was a bit of a idiot.

"But that was that for me. When I have an argument, you say what you have to, then move on."

That was NOT the case for manager Matthew Bates, though, as Geordie schemer Noble explains.

"Looking back, I could have handled it better myself, but all Batesy had to do was have a word with me," he said.

"We went to the hotel, got up in the morning and nothing more was said. Then I found out I was not in the team and that's when I kicked off at the ground."

And that is truly when the fireworks started - I'll take it from here.

I'd arrived at the ground with little to no inclination of what awaited me when the team bus arrived.

Noble - in decent form at the time and with goals in his boots - had been expected to spearhead an attacking-looking Pools midfield that day, alongside long-time best pal, former school mate at St Cuthbert's Catholic High, Benwell, and current Hartlepool skipper Ryan Donaldson.

But the cracks started to show as soon as the coach pulled up at the ramshackle Crabble Stadium.

A face like thunder, Noble paced across the empty pitch towards the press box, in full tracksuit, screaming for a meeting with the Pools hierarchy.

He asked a steward directly next to the press box to allow him to enter the private directors area above the benches. After some persuading the reluctant steward, clearly a little out of his comfort zone faced with a red-faced screaming lad from Newcastle's west end - Dumpling Hall to be precise - eventually stepped aside.

Ten minutes passed before Noble re-emerged and proceeded to take a seat alongside the Pools media team and myself, the Mail writer on duty at the National League clash.

When I asked what was going on, I was quickly closed down by the assembled Pools media team. When I quizzed a little more, Noble unloaded the whole story, warts and all, while those around him in Pools garb stood helpless, mouths wide, aghast.

"I'll speak to you, Liam, as I know you will tell the fans the truth," Noble started, determined not to be gagged.

He then proceeded to reveal the on-bus altercation over a Chinese takeaway, that he'd been dropped by Bates as a result, despite no explanation, and that he was fit, not suspended and available to play, "don't let them tell the fans otherwise" he said defiantly.

Noble was sharply ushered from the scene, arm around shoulder before then director of football Craig Hignett came down from up high to calm things down and smooth the narrative.

"I don't know the whole story," he said, ever the diplomat. "And there are always two sides to it."

The game was a shocker, scant reward for the loyal Poolies who made the 11-hour, near 700-mile journey.

Noble watched on from the stands as his side were beaten 2-1 by Athletic - bottom of the National League prior to kick-off.

After the game, Bates was keen not to answer questions on or off the record about the incident.

BBC Tees braved Bates' wrath first.

“I pick a squad - starting XI and subs - based on what I see in training. It is based on what I see around the group from individuals. It was my decision in the end to not include him," retorted Bates.

When asked whether he was injured, Bates replied: "No."

The Mail, armed with Noble's own words prior to the game, then quizzed the Pools boss on his fiery midfielder.

"We will have a look at it over the next couple of days. We will look at it," he said.

Pools boss Bates, in deflective mood, was then asked by the Mail if he could say any more on the issue? And if it should have stayed in-house?

"In or not in-house, these kind of decisions are made every day," said Bates.

"Looking at the last few days of training I thought it was best to leave him out."

Tweets sent and stories written, Noble had sparked a fire, got people talking and dominated the Pools landscape in the weeks that followed.

Back to Noble, now a part-time footballer but also nurturing the next generation as a coach at Newcastle City Juniors. Does he regret instigating 'Chinese-gate'?

"I don't regret it at all," he said, with a clear, self-assured confidence.

"That's just me."

And it's for that very reason, the passion, the feeling, the sense of him 'getting it', why Noble - who scored 16 goals in 56 appearances for Pools - holds a unique place in the club's recent history.

"The fans know me - I give my heart and soul and leave it all out there, right or wrong," said Noble, who admits to going back to his fish and chip Friday routine.

"When I look back on my time at Pools, I do so with a smile on my face."

In part two of our Liam Noble exclusive on Monday, the ex-Pools man tears into the 'babies' in the squad who couldn't take some home truths, what life was really like under Richard Money & why Ryan Donaldson is a player Hartlepool need to cherish.