Mark Noble has said he is shocked and disappointed at the departure of former West Ham academy director Tony Carr.
Carr played a big part in the development of many of the Hammers' most successful youth graduates, including Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Jermain Defoe, Glen Johnson, Michael Carrick and Joe Cole.
However, Carr left the club after being informed his ambassadorial role would only be part time. West Ham offered Carr a redundancy payment of £14,000, which he described as "paltry."
Club co-chairman David Gold took to Twitter to try and calm down his fan base, insisting Carr was not sacked and that he will always be welcome at West Ham.
Not sacked. Tony's two-year, full-time ambassador contract came to an end. He declined an ongoing part-time role dg https://t.co/pnTD32jILY
- David Gold (@davidgold) July 27, 2016
We offered Tony an ongoing part-time ambassadorial role. He declined. But he'll always be welcome at the Club. dg
- David Gold (@davidgold) July 27, 2016
Irons captain Noble says he was surprised by the news.
"I first saw it in the papers," he said. "It was a shock to me.
"I don't know what's gone on in the background, I've been in Austria for two weeks solid [on a training camp], but what I can say is I know Tony very well.
"He's a fantastic man, a great servant to the club. As we all know, the players he brought through in the last 20, 25 years have been phenomenal.
"I'm looking forward to getting back to Tony and seeing how he is. I don't know what's gone on between him and the club.
"My own personal experiences with Tony have been fantastic. He helped me become the player I am today."