While off-field matters in Darras Hall, Northumberland last week may have made him one of the most (in)famous landlords in Britain, Kevin Nolan has subsequently shown he is fully focused on his football right now with a goal and two Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Bonus Points in last weekend’s 2-1 win at West Ham.
With four of their next six games at St James’ Park (SUN, ars, BLA, FUL, bol, CHE), Newcastle have a decent run of fixtures on the horizon, and although Chris Hughton’s side haven’t won in their last three home games, Nolan has scored three goals in four matches in front of the Geordie fans this season.
Nolan has managed 90 minutes in only two of Newcastle’s last four league games but, significantly, has found the net both times; aside from the West Ham match, his other goal was a penalty against Stoke. Interestingly, with the likes of Joey Barton on the pitch at the time, this suggests Nolan is the club’s number one penalty taker. With the first North East derby against Sunderland in two years up next this weekend at St James‘ Park, the possibility of a spot-kick might not be that too far away in the highly-charged atmosphere. With Fantasy investment in their squad inevitable with the aforementioned fixtures, this could be a factor worth considering.
Hughton’s favoured 4-4-1-1 formation allows Nolan the freedom to float behind Andy Carroll last season, and the system certainly favoured him, with 17 goals in the Championship. Even with a change in shape last weekend, as Newcastle playing 4-4-2 to accomodate Shola Ameobi alongside Carroll, Nolan still found the net. As the following two heat maps (the first in a 4-4-1-1 at home to Stoke, the second in last week’s game at West Ham) Nolan’s ability to get into forward positions doesn’t seem to be affected if Hughton chooses to play him in a centre midfield pairing.
So far this season, he has registered 9 shots on target, more than players such as Nicolas Anelka, Marouanne Chamakh and Darren Bent, and with 4 goals in the 8 games he‘s played in, the Newcastle captain is well on his way to topping his highest total of nine Premier League goals at previous club Bolton.
Nolan is currently part of 9.5% of FPL squads, less than the likes of Gareth Bale, Paul Scholes and Matthew Etherington, although with 40 pts, he has scored more than the trio, despite less game time. His last three games have seen Nolan return an average of 6 points per game, an indication that, in spite of his team’s recent inconsistencies, Nolan is still producing the goods.
