Captain Kevin Nolan

[Morocco Mole]

Incredible that he played the full 90 today.

I'd like to see a midfield three of Noble-Diame-Cole but I doubt we will.....

[Rocketron]

Incredible that he played the full 90 today.

I'd like to see a midfield three of Noble-Diame-Cole but I doubt we will.....

Spiegel, Tomkins, O'Neil, Diame, Taylor, Vaz Te, Chamakh
MM these were our subs today. Who would you use to replace Nolan?
I agree he wasn't at his best.

[COYI]

I'd have taken him, rather than Collison off.

[baritalia]

Joe Cole to AM position (his primary), Nolan off, Vaz Te, Taylor or Chamakh on.

[HamburgHammer]

Can anyone really see Big Sam dropping a fit Nolan under any circumstances ? Unless he's suspended because of bookings or injured Nolan will continue to play I reckon. I know he brings a lot to the table skipper-wise. But now that his goals tally has dried up maybe his teammates will also start to ask what he actually contributes on the pitch in terms of effort, running or making things happen during a game.

[Johnny Pa(i)ntsil]

Spiegel, Tomkins, O'Neil, Diame, Taylor, Vaz Te, Chamakh
MM these were our subs today. Who would you use to replace Nolan?
I agree he wasn't at his best.

This.

With our line-up and bench, he was still our best option. Unfortunately, this was probably his worst game for us, in a game where no one else stepped up to cover.

[tavbet]

I think today's performance should lead to a spell on the bench for Nolan. He has been invisible for the majority of our games this year and his saving grace has been his ability to be 'Johnny on the spot' and nick a goal.
With players coming back from injury we now have plenty of cover in midfield and I think his substitution at the end of the game could be a signal from Sam that his time is up for a while.

[HammerMan2004]

By contrast, bar a great save he could've put us 1-0 up after 4 minutes and started a rout and would've had the luxury of being replaced 20 mins earlier.

[Lincolnhammer92]

Hasn't had a good game since Newcastle and that was back in November. Definitely need a spell on the bench. Joey Cole looks so much more dangerous in the centre than Nolan ever does.

[snooperpooper]

Is it a case that he really needs Carroll in front of him?

And whilst there is absolutely no place for passengers particularly in a West Ham side what value does he bring as a captain. Who do you give the captain's armband to?

[VikeltAussie]

surely you can use the Nolan thread?

[westlondonhammer]

When he plays well we invariably don't lose...

Also, don't underestimate the impact of a captain... please remember Matt Upson

That is all!

I am not saying he does or doesn't deserve to be dropped, just wanted to highlight the above

[Rainham Hammer]

Sam will never drop him, I was surprised he even subbed him for Vaz Te which should have happened a lot sooner. I like Nolan but his performances recently have been shocking, a spell on the bench would let him know it hasn't been good enough. Will never happen though.

[tavbet]

surely you can use the Nolan thread?

It went missing....

[m-h]

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=134242&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=captain+kevin+nolan

[e17]

He's going to score the winner for us at Anfield

& then there will be threads on here being bumped from when he was on form

I do understand peoples frustration on his apparent untouchable status, but I fear more that our form is based very heavily on his form

Hope it picks up soon. I trust Allardyce to do the right thing eventually if it doesnt

[fjthegrey]

In my opinion it's worth trying something else.

We have one system and it lacks any real guile, especially at home where we need it that little bit more, due to the more defensive approach of opposition. We paint by numbers, sling enough balls in the box and eventually we'll score. It's foolproof in the sense that it does work. It'd be useful to have a bit more variety though, for occasions like today.

[VikeltAussie]

http://www.kumb.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=134242&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=captain+kevin+nolan" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

lol. Miami

[hammer1975]

on form he's our biggest goal scoring threat and I'd still prefer a chance fell to him than anyone else in our team (which is, I suspect, why Sam leaves him on too long). it was only six months ago when he scored 5 in 9 (or similar) and he hasn't become crap overnight

however he's way off form. usually his benefits outweigh the fact that he doesn't touch the ball as much as the rest of midfield with his short passing linking up play and keeping pressure in etc....however I'm concerned by how many times he appeared to give the ball away badly today - a few times giving QPR a chance to break. the rest of the midfield also appear reluctant to get ahead of him meaning that we very, very rarely break fast creating one-on-one options for our forward or advanced midfield

will be interesting to see the OPTA stuff to see if that was just a false impression

would play Joey central for a few games personally but I'm not overwhelmed with the idea of playing vaz for the full 90 until he gets some more confidence back either

[Gerblatz]

Not been impressed with his game in recent time and should have been dropped long before and made to earn it. Am now beginning to wonder about and question Allardyce's decision making where Nolan is concerned. How much does the manager, player, agent influence play it's part? Some of the players coming back from injury or competing for his position could feel aggrieved.