Any thoughts on Kevin Nolan

[Shuggie13]

I think he would be a great buy for us. He seems to take the game and drive it forward (when Big Sam isn't getting them to hoof it upfield) and the big plus is he scores a fair few. We should put a 8 to 10 mil bid in for him, as I reckon Manchester Rowdies will shell out 14 for Carrick.

[Danishspurs]

Would rather keep Carrick... But Nolan is a quality player who scores a fair few.. But even if Carrick left I don't think we need Nolan..

[Shuggie13]

I'd disagree, how many goals came from midfield last season? I'm not sure of the total, but I'm sure if we had an attacking midfielder last season we would of not of had so many of those poxy draws, instead of relying on the strikers.

[Neil_Vaughan]

He did score a cracker against us

[Chinaman]

If Carrick goes and Jenas is moved into the centre more to partner Zokora, his return should be around 10 goals. I reckoned Zoko could also rake in 3 to 4 and Lennon, with his confidence bolstered by his WC appearances, should double or triple last season's contribution of 2. With better attacking play and Barbie's mobility drawing defenders away, the 4th midfielder, whoever he may be, should also get 2 or 3; and presto, our MF may get us 20 or more goals.

[highlander]

i very much doubt if zokora will score any, his record is poor. he is not remotly attacking and about as prolific as Makelele

[Chinaman]

At least more prolific than Carrick's world beating total of one.

[SurreySpur]

didn't carrick score 2 last season? not that it makes much difference.

[highlander]

yeah he got 2 last season, makelele got none, his only chelsea goal came last season from a rebounded penalty which was far more luck than judgement

[SurreySpur]

Nolan would be a good buy for us, he's a consistant premiership player that has the ability to boss a game. if Carrick goes then Kev would be a more that able replacement.

[suBerb]

How old is Nolan?

[England's No.1]

How old is Nolan?

According to here (http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/fo/profiles/20000000000000000000019567.html), he was born 24/06/1982, which would make him 24.

[suBerb]

According to here (http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/fo/profiles/20000000000000000000019567.html), he was born 24/06/1982, which would make him 24.


Thanks. He's as old as Carrick.

[sundancer]

Nolan is a good player but where would we play him?, I would not want to leave Jenas out because that's the posistion he plays, and I would want Carrick and Zokora in before him also.

[highlander]

we should only even consider nolan if carrick went, otherwise its a waste of time and money

[suBerb]

Bidding for Nolan would mean that we are going to sell Carrick.

[Shuggie13]

I am still very undecided about the Carrick situation. I started the thread to see where and if Nolan could fit in. Also I been thinking about the options out there and losing Carrick doesn't seem such a bad idea.

Yes, he was probably our best player last season but I think he we brought Nolan in I'm not sure we'd miss Carrick that much.

[Shuggie13]

And another thing, Nolan should of made the World Cup squad. I'm not one for conspiracy theories but I really do believe he was the victim of not being at a 'fashionable' club. Was he even tried in friendlies.

So if Carrick left we'd replacing him with another 24 year old English International prospect.

As for Zokora's goal tally, I'm not sure of his role at his old club but he didn't seem shy of going forward during the WC. He nearly scored a belter in his last match.

[JJ]

I think keeping Carrick will be key to Lennon's progression as a player. He picks him out alot and plays alot of balls into space for him. I don't think we can afford to lose distribution like Carrick without replacing it, and to do that the only player i can think of who would instantly do the job would be Pirlo.... and that's not happening.

[Chinaman]

I'd like to see Jenas and Lennon interchanging positions continuously in a match and watch the opposing defenses all at sea trying to contain them.

[Shuggie13]

I like that idea a lot Chinaman.

[Chinaman]

So you're a good tactician as well.

[JJ]

They both have the pace to do it, and it would certainly have full backs on their heels having Lennon's dribbling runs and Jenas' driving runs.

[Shuggie13]

If we can then get that same balance on the left, to quote kung fu movies, 'our style and moves will be devastating'.

[Chinaman]

I can see Lennon going inside a lot more next season. If he manages his first goal early on, he may have the confidence to go on and notch a few.

[JJ]

Yeah, once he gets a goal or 2 under his belt, he'll start realising he's capable of taking a few more risks.

[Chinaman]

If Routledge can cut it in pre-season, we can also at times have him on the right and have Lennon on the left just to bemuse our opponents more.

[JJ]

If Routledge can cut it in pre-season, we can also at times have him on the right and have Lennon on the left just to bemuse our opponents more.

I mentioned in a thread a while back that i would like to see Routledge and Lennon on either wing. Even if for one game just to see how it goes. With 2 solid centre mids, i think we could manage with 2 nippy/lightweight wingers.

[TURKISH]

Nolan for me is a steady player. Jenas has pace and drive in midfield. If carrick goes which i hope not then i would want jenas to play centre midfield (his natural position) were he can play better by having consistency.

But if the club would want to buy an attacking midfielder then please dont waste 8million on nolan PLEASE by someone who would take us to that next level.

[DarlinginJapan]

Yes, there is this thing where we can seem to buy lots of "good" players rather than a few "great" players, but then again we're not a European heavyweight... yet. But you would rather sign one top class player than a couple of pretty good lads who'll get lots of games, do alright for us but won't take us from our position at the top of the middle group in the Premier League into that important top-4 position.

Is Nolan someone who could do that? Who knows? But I do trust BMJ one hell of a lot!

[Chinaman]

As far as LW or AM, I'd rather we sign no one unless they're real impact players as we have enough so-so guys who can cover those positions.

[highlander]

As far as LW or AM, I'd rather we sign no one unless they're real impact players as we have enough so-so guys who can cover those positions.
yeah i agree, we have a good strong squad and dont need covering players.

[shoot_ffs]

interesting piece on opta stats carrick v nolan

http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid=402873&CPID=8&clid=30&lid=1490&title=Midfield+madness

carrick holds up surprisingly well. you could argue that many oif carricks passes are short ones to the back four, and nolan stops passing and drives on. I'm amazed to see carricks tackling above nolan though. You can see nolan fulfils the jenas role, would like to see how they compare and carrick to gary speed or whoever it was holding for bolton. To me those stats show carrick to be the best of the two but he must score more.

[Shuggie13]

Nolan for me is a steady player. Jenas has pace and drive in midfield. If carrick goes which i hope not then i would want jenas to play centre midfield (his natural position) were he can play better by having consistency.

But if the club would want to buy an attacking midfielder then please dont waste 8million on nolan PLEASE by someone who would take us to that next level.


Someone who scored 9 goals and made 4 assists last season, against Carricks 2 goals and 4 assists doesn't seem to be someone who is 'steady' or not capable of taking us to 'the next level'. Let's not forget there will far more supply from Lennon this season and Zokora doesn't seem shy getting the play going. We will definetely need more goals from midfield this season.

8 million on Nolan in the current market isn't a waste compared to the 14 million for Carrick.

[Welsh Spur]

Quite exactly why I don't care if he goes, £14M? I never knew Fergie was so stupid!

[Chinaman]

Don't forget he's getting too old to be a good manager anymore.

[Gino Ginelli]

Personally I really wouldn't want to see Carrick go, I think he's such a hard worker, and does the relatively unglamorous stuff really well. Nolan is a very good goalscoring midfielder though, something we do lack, although maybe JJ will bring his game up a notch this year.

[Welsh Spur]

Yeah, but Carrick is in no way worth £14M so it's great business for the club. If he isn't committed, then he can piss off!

[Chinaman]

I always thought he has a sly look about him. Maybe he wants to do a Sol.

[Gino Ginelli]

I hope not. It'd be too much for that to happen to me twice in a lifetime...

[Shuggie13]

Yeah, but Carrick is in no way worth £14M so it's great business for the club. If he isn't committed, then he can piss off!


My feelings exactly. He may of been the best player last season, but it wont happen this season. It is evident we have a fantastic team spirit at the club at the moment. If someone doesn't want to be part of it, let them go.

bought for 2.75, sold for 14 two years later, great business.

[Chinaman]

Better cash in quick and re-invest in an impact player.

[Gino Ginelli]

Would 14m cover a Gatusso or a Pirlo?

[Chinaman]

We still have money from the sponsorship deals and from the FA, together whatever we can rake in in other tranfers out.

[SurreySpur]

Would 14m cover a Gatusso or a Pirlo?

No, gattuso would cost around that but he wouldn't move to a non CL club. Andrea Pirlo would cost a hell of a lot more than that, and there's probably only a handful of clubs that could afford him.

[Shuggie13]

Pirlo, by far the best midfielder in the World Cup. What a dream buy he would be.

[Chinaman]

Let's hope AC MIlan gets relegated.

[JJ]

Let's hope AC MIlan gets relegated.

Pirlo would probably be snapped up by Real.

[Gino Ginelli]

How about Van Bommel. We've tried to sign him in the past

"Let's hope AC MIlan gets relegated."

I read that gattusso would stay regardless anyway

[Shuggie13]

Theres only one thing I like about Van Bommell, he hates the scum and has had a couple of run-ins with them. Other than that I have never really rated him.

[JJ]

How about Van Bommel. We've tried to sign him in the past

"Let's hope AC MIlan gets relegated."

I read that gattusso would stay regardless anyway

I think he was saying that he would stay if they got kicked out of the champions league, as did Kaka. Not so sure if they intend to stay if they get relegated.

[JuicE]

He's not a Spurs type player, We don't want him, he's a Wimbledon Type player. End of!

[Shuggie13]

He's not a Spurs type player, We don't want him, he's a Wimbledon Type player. End of!

I see what you are getting at, but what I see a 'Spurs type of player' now in the modern game is an attacking midfielder that drives the game forward, gets the ball quickly on the ground to our strikers and scores at least 10 goals a season.

What I do not see as a 'Spurs type of player', is a player that holds the ball for too long in midfield, twist and turn and then 20 seconds play a killer, pretty looking pass that for the majority of time has taken so long that the opposition have read it and the move ends.

One of these players is Carrick and one of these is Nolan. Neither of them are a Wimbledon type player, a metaphor which is about 8 years out of date.

[MarlowSpurs]

He's not a Spurs type player, We don't want him, he's a Wimbledon Type player. End of!
What he plays tennis, **** I'm losing it

[Shuggie13]

What he plays tennis, **** I'm losing it

Losing it? I thought you lost it years ago Marlow.