Kevin Nolan scoops Championship Player of the Year award.
Posted on March 15th, 2010 | 62 Comments |
Nolan is Newcastle’s top scorer this season with his 13 goals so far proving vital in securing top spot in the table for the Toon and a likely return to the Premier League.
The 27 year old scouser has won many fans over this season, not just on Tyneside but throughout the country as his goal scoring exploits and battling qualities have come to the fore this time around and have in fact led to Nolan wearing the captains armband on a number of occasions.
On collecting the award, Kevin Nolan had this to say to a 900 strong audience:
“I’m delighted to pick this up and I want to thank my team-mates, Chris Hughton, all of his backroom staff and the supporters and of course my family.”
“It is going to be nice to take this (trophy) home and see my daughter run around with it.”
Hmm, the second line suggests that this isn’t exactly a coveted award and whilst credit must be given for being ranked number one in the top 50 football league players, I’m sure Kevin would swap it for a place in the Premier League in a flash.
Regardless of that, it’s hard to win a personal award if the team around you are struggling so credit should quite rightly be shared among the rest of players and coaching staff. We’ve seen time and time again that we sometimes don’t turn up for matches, appearing to switch off for some, but the team inevitably never give up and we gain scrappy points when really we don’t have a right to, and some of that surely has to go down to team spirit, something Nolan himself acknowledged by saying:
“When I first joined Newcastle, there was a lack of togetherness between the players and the fans but one of the best things to happen this season is that we’ve got them back on board. We’re now looking to the future together and we have to make sure that what’s happened to this fantastic club never happens again.”
Of the other awards, the most notable was for January transfer window target Jermaine Beckford, the Leeds striker picking up the award for League 1 Player of the Year which is no doubt a reward for his 27 goal return so far this season.
Getting back to all things Newcatle though, I’d be happy if all the players picked up personal awards as it means the team has been doing well. I’m also surprised Jose Enrique wasn’t in with a shout as, for me, the guy has just been a cut above most players in this league. Fabricio Coloccini has also been one that has impressed this term although you could argue that a player with his price tag and pedigree should always impress in the 2nd tier of English football.
Keep the gongs coming I say!
A few more goals would be nice before the end of the season Kev.
Ta for the 13 so far though, got our season off to a great start, leading from the front, or at least from behind the front, if you will?
:)