Which one would you choose as 'Player of the Year'?With the news that Newcastle United’s Kevin Nolan has been voted as the Championship’s ‘Player of the Season’, and as the season enters it’s final straight, it’s time here on NUFC ‘Blog to decide who YOU think has been Newcastle United’s first team player of the season.
For the poll below, we have only chosen players who have made ten or more appearences in the first team, either as a starter or a sub in all competitions, so very new members of the squad such as Mike Williamson, Fitz Hall, Wayne Routledge etc, good though they’ve been so far, have just missed out, as have some of the younger members of the squad who have made the odd cameo appearence. In total, this makes a total of 18 players to choose from. (more…)
Kevin Nolan: Championship player of the year.Newcastle United midfielder Kevin Nolan has been awarded the Coca Cola Championship Player of the Year beating West Brom’s Graham Dorrans and Nottingham Forest’s Lee Camp to the award which was held at a cermony in London over the weekend.
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.”(more…)
The Bull: 58% of fans' vote.Newcastle United’s manager, Chris Hughton has been singing the praises of left-back, Jose Enrique, who has been voted as the fan’s “Player of the Month” for the second time in a row.
Agreeing with the judgement of the supporters, Hughton, a full back himself in his playing days, told nufc tv:
“The award is thoroughly deserved and he’s a player in very, very good form at the moment.”
“Defensively he is very strong, but he’s also built up a good relationship with Jonas Gutierrez down that left flank.
“We’re delighted with his performances this season and he has shown what a quality player he is.”
Meanwhile, Jose himself commented on the award: (more…)
Strong...like bull?Not surprisingly, Jose “The Bull” Enrique, will collect the Newcastle United Player of the Month Award for November, when we face Boro on Sunday. And there’s hardly been a more derserving winner in a long while, despite the efforts of some of our more genuine ‘heroes’ of late.
Undeniably one of our better Spanish imports in recent years when compared to Marcelino and Xisco, Enrique has continued to progress since his arrival and quickly become a firm favourite amongst the fans. Despite some initial concerns about his weight (i.e. he was a little on the heavy side) and what that meant for his movement, and the fact that he has hearts in mouths at times at the back, he’s quickly become one of our most effective players. And this season he has improved ten-fold in terms of fitness and overall influence on games.
That fact is all the more impressive considering he’s doing it from left-back, and he combines defensive duties with the ability to get at the opposition from deep positions brilliantly. In fact, he’s arguably one of our better attackers, as he worries their defence as much as, if not more, than anybody in the team with the ball at his feet. Occasionally, he can try to be too clever in keeping the ball in tight areas, particularly in our third, but normally his ability, strength and pace get him out of trouble. (more…)
More room required?It’s already been the season for picking up awards, although of course the most important award Newcastle fans will be hoping for is the league title. But along the way so far, Newcastle boss Chris Hughton has won the Championship’s manager of the month award for the third time this season, adding November to his previous awards in August and September.
Our six-straight-wins run, included a perfect return in November as we enjoyed a 100% record in all four league games, including a couple of tricky fixtures against some of the stronger teams, and as a result we sit proudly at the top of the Championship, four points clear of West Brom in second and ten clear of Notts Forest in third.
Kevin Nolan also picked up the PFA Fans’ Player of the Month for the Championship for the second month running, following his impressive goal haul. Nolan pipped Sheffield United’s Darius Henderson and West Brom’s Simon Cox and although he still looks like he could lose a few lbs and get about the pitch quicker, his ability to score crucial goals has been invaluable, and his influence is a major reason for the current team spirit according to the rumours. (more…)
