From the Boardroom - David Gold

Joint-Chairman David Gold has special praise for Dimitri Payet and pays tribute to our overseas fans

I am sure everyone had a fantastic day attending the Mark Noble Testimonial on Monday and it turned out to be a festival of entertainment from start to finish.


The game had everything you could wish for including Adrian running the length of the pitch to score, Dean Ashton producing one of the goals of the season, Taylor Tombides netting an emotional goal and a penalty shoot-out. What more could you ask for!


It was fantastic entertainment and the fans loved it. It was an extraordinary goal from Dean Ashton and showed the talents of the man. It was pure genius.


It is so sad that we lost a player of his ability so early in his career through injury but he is a legend with the supporters and deserved all the praise he got on the day.


There were legends performing all over the pitch and I want to say well done to everyone who took part. It was a fitting tribute to Mark who is Mr West Ham and an accolade he so richly deserves.


The support was magnificent and to get a sell-out crowd shows what the fans feel about him. This wasn't for personal gain and all the proceeds are going to three charities which Mark feels so strongly about.


The international break is difficult for any manager as there are a number of players away with their countries and do not return until the eve of the game this weekend.


But on the positive front, we have been able to get some of our injured players back to full fitness which is always a good sign.


We should be confident heading into the Crystal Palace game. The victory away at Selhurst Park earlier in the season was very impressive.


We had just beaten Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City on our travels but Palace were flying high at the time and their home form was outstanding.


We came away with a 3-1 win and then started to think that we could be a top six team this season.


I am sure that Palace will be desperate to win on Saturday, considering their position in the table.


They are a wounded animal at the moment and it is a local derby, but on current form we will be very confident and hopeful that we can maintain our superb record at the Boleyn Ground this season.


It has been another memorable week for Dimitri Payet following his spectacular goal for France and we know he is a special player.


He has scored some memorable free-kicks for West Ham this season and then he does the same for his country.


At the moment he is probably the best free-kick specialist in the world and right now teams will be be terrified about giving away a foul on the edge of the penalty box when they are playing against him. We certainly know what he is capable of doing from set-pieces.


We have got eight games remaining in the Premier League and these are exciting times.


I just hope that we can avoid any more injuries. If we do then we have a real chance of doing something special.


We are paying tribute to our overseas fans for the Crystal Palace game on Saturday.


I didn't realise how many international followers the Club has got and since I have been on social media I have been stunned by the numbers around the world.


They have a real affection for our football Club and the time they take to communicate with us.


I take my hat off to them because it must be hard to support us from thousands of miles across the world but we are so grateful and I cannot thank them enough. I hope the numbers will only grow when we move into the new Stadium.


We are also raising awareness for the DT38 Foundation this weekend.


We have such fond memories of a young man in Dylan Tombides whose life was cut short but he will always be remembered.


It is so important that we raise awareness and I urge all young men to be aware of the dangers and see a doctor if they are unsure about anything and deal with it instantly.