It hasn’t been a good season to be Kevin Nolan. He’s played in just 20 of our 28 Premier League games this year—and of those 20 played, there were six games in which he featured for less than twenty minutes. It’s rare to have a football team in which the team captain isn’t starting every game – and even rarer to have a team in which there is so much animosity directed towards said captain of the team.
A series of frustrating and tedious performances from Kevin Nolan have led to him being a sore point of the season for many fans. On occasion, the man is booed coming on and off the pitch – and it has looked as if he is struggling to get involved in a West Ham team which is working to adapt towards being stronger competitively.
However, the game seems to have changed slightly after the performance he put in against Chelsea in midweek. I confess; I wasn’t crazy about seeing his name on the teamsheet – but I welcomed a change from Alex Song, who seems to be underperforming in recent games. However, I was not expecting Kevin to be such a driving force in maintaining pressure, driving attacking chances forward, and for him to put on an active show of why he was still capable of leading West Ham to fine performances.
So after this tremendous show against league leaders Chelsea, I’m wondering – can an old dog indeed learn new tricks? Can Kevin Nolan adapt to our new style of play (at last) and deliver more quality games to West Ham United – or is time up for the marmite midfielder?
Since our game has changed so drastically, Kevin Nolan has had to try to find new ways to get involved. Change isn’t easy for anyone; and it certainly hasn’t been easy on Nolan. Gone is the role where he was in a position to score goals regularly. To date, Kevin Nolan has scored 30 goals for West Ham United over four seasons at the club – but only one of those goals was scored in this season. It’s a far cry from previous seasons, when he’s regularly finished as our top scorer.
He’s cut a frustrating figure out on the pitch, and has seemed to lack the control of the game that Noble and Song can both bring to the side – not a great thing for a captain. As a result, fan opinion of Kevin hasn’t been very positive. When I last drunkenly (and loudly) shouted “GO ON KEVIN” at a home game, the entirety of my section in the Betway/Alpari/Dr. Martins/Whatever it is this week Stand all turned round to look at me with pure horror in their eyes.
It’s safe to say he hasn’t been a popular figure this season.
The Chelsea game (and to some extent the Manchester United game) was a different story. Nolan brought a control to that game that had been so lacking against Palace. West Ham were a different side; and a side that absolutely deserved something out of that game other than to be on the wrong side of some appalling refereeing. Kevin Nolan tackled well, drove the ball forward, completed key passes – and absolutely should have been named man of the match. Should he continue like this, he will earn back his rightful place in the team – provided it’s not too late for the man himself.
After all, Nolan has had to be honest recently about his future, and has admitted that he may not wish to stay at Upton Park past this season. Nolan has said that he has “been considering {his} future without a shadow of a doubt. If you are not good enough for one club you move on and you prove to someone else you are.” It’s not an overly surprising statement particularly given that if Allardyce should depart, it would be highly unlikely for Kevin to stay.
Fortunately for Kevin, West Ham still have ten games left of their season – and 30 points left to fight for – which gives him a chance to repeat his strong performance against Chelsea for a strong finish to the season for both the player and the club. He’s gone from hero to villain, but provided he can repeat the skill and strength he showed against the club at the top of the table, there may be life in the old dog yet.
