Super Kevin Nolan

So with the dust having just settled on our last gasp draw against Sunderland; surely now is an appropriate time to laud our skipper, Kevin Nolan and the very decision to sign him last summer.

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I think when we signed Kevin Nolan whilst we were in the clutches of the Championship most fans embraced the signing; as it was obvious that Scott Parker was off to pastures new and as far as replacements go for newly relegated sides Nolan for Parker wasn’t too shabby.

Some fans however and large sections of the media looked at the deal from a very sceptical stand-point. ‘He only went for the money.’ And that it was a ‘huge risk’ for David Gold and Sullivan to pin their hopes of bouncing back to the big league on the signing of a 29 year old Nolan.

To an extent these reservations were correct; Kevin was looking for his last big deal and Gold and Sullivan were putting all their eggs firmly in Nolan’s aging basket; but certainly so far it’s a gamble that’s paid off.

 

13 goals last season (all from open play) as we achieved the soul target of promotion and already 3 this campaign: a winner against Aston Villa on the opening day and a dramatic equaliser at the death against Sunderland earning us 4 points in the process.

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It’s not just about goals with Nolan though; when you consider our previous skipper in Matthew Upson was so anonymous that the media constantly referred to Parker as skipper; it’s, easy to see that in terms of leadership on the pitch we’ve taken a considerable step forward with Nolan and his hands on, inclusive and talkative approach.

Nolan may not be the greatest player the world has ever seen, he is anonymous in certain games, he’s not particularly quick, good at tackling or even a great athlete…but more often than not he ghosts into opposition penalty areas and comes up with vital goals and would you really back against him being our top scorer this season?

The signing of Nolan for 3.5 million especially when you consider all the dosh squandered on the likes of Dyer, McCarthy Ljungberg etc. Now looks a very astute piece of business.

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