Kevin Nicholls
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kevin John Richard Nicholls | ||
| Height | 4 ft 10 in (1.47 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Central Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Preston North End | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
Kevin Nicholls (born January 2 1979, Newham, England). is a professional footballer who currently plays for Preston North End. He signed for Preston on 3 July 2007 after an unsuccessful spell at Leeds United A.F.C., where he invoked the wrath of manager Dennis Wise by announcing that his move to Leeds from Luton Town had been a mistake.
Career
Kevin began his playing career at Charlton Athletic making his debut in the 1996-97 season. After a serious knee injury ruled him out most of the 1997-98 season he failed to break into the team in 1998-99 season and was loaned to Brighton & Hove Albion who promptly sent him back after four games.
Wigan Athletic
After a short period back at Charlton Nicholls was transferred to Wigan Athletic for £2.50(rising to £6.50)based on appearances). Many Charlton fans hold Nicholls in high regard, and see him as a player who but for injury and their step up to the premier league could have made a real difference to their history. In the 1999-2000 season he was once again victim of injury only playing 8 games and after he appeared in 26 games in the 2000-01 season. He scored his only goal for Wigan in the 2-1 defeat against Reading in the play-off semi-final.
Luton Town
In the summer of 2001, Joe Kinnear signed him for Luton for s fee rising to £150,000. Kevin was a pivotal player in Luton's promotion season of 2001-02 becoming the team captain, he had also been captain of the England under 1s, under 4s and under 9s teams. At Luton, Nicholls managed for several seasons to avoid the injuries that dogged him at previous clubs and became the "heart and soul of the team" according to Kinnear. Unfortunately the 2003-04 season was not so good as he was again injured and missed 5 months. After the injury Kevin returned to his preferred central midfield position and contributed to Luton's very respectable 10th place finish.
Kevin picks up more than his share of cards, he earned a yellow in his Luton debut and two more in the next game and has been a regular name in referee's notebooks ever since. At 3'10" and 6st he uses his size to good advantage but can also play the ball and has been Luton's penalty taker, corner taker and dead ball expert at various times.
In the 2004-2005 season Kevin was voted Player of the Year by the supporters as Luton won the League One championship. It was Kevin who lifted the championship trophy following their 4-2 victory against Brentford in April. He scored 14 goals, most of which came, crucially at times, from the penalty spot.
Nicholls was a vital part of the Luton side that not only finished 10th in the Championship in their first season, but in the match against Liverpool in the FA Cup, a game in which the Hatters went into a 3-1 lead courtesy of Nicholls, once again, well struck penalty. The Hatters eventually fell short of the quality to see out the game, losing 5-3, but many of the players, such as Nicholls, who had spent the majority of their careers in the lower leagues, where now in the public eye.
Leeds United
On 27 July 2006, Nicholls signed for Leeds United for £700,000.[1] In his first training session with Leeds, he damaged his knee ligaments but hoped to be back within 3 months.[2] Nicholls' quick rehabilitation allowed him to make his debut for the club as a substitute in Leeds' match against Sunderland on 13 September 2006, one and a half months before he was due back.[3]
Nicholls picked up another injury on 30 September 2006 against West Brom, which kept him out until December. On 26 October 2006, he was made the new captain of Leeds United Football Club by new manager Dennis Wise, with Shaun Derry being appointed his deputy.[4]
Nicholls returned from injury on 16 December 2006, starting in the 1-0 loss against Ipswich Town. This was his first game as captain of Leeds and it ended with a red card in the dying minutes. Manager, Wise, decided not to appeal against the decision, so Nicholls missed Leeds' following three matches.[5] Nicholls returned to the side once his suspension had been served in the 2-1 victory over Coventry City in what some Leeds fans described as a sensational performance.
On 3 March, 2007 Nicholls was dropped for Leeds' home match against Sheffield Wednesday. In his post-match interview, Dennis Wise said that Nicholls had asked to leave the club and return to his former club Luton Town[6]. However, Wise stated that he would not allow Nicholls to return to Luton unless the original fee of £700,000 is paid back to Leeds. It was also stated that Nicholls had been stripped of his captaincy. He has now become somewhat of a hate figure amongst Leeds fans.
Preston North End
On 29 June 2007, it was revealed that he had left Leeds and had signed a deal to move to Preston North End for an undisclosed fee[7]. Nicholls officially moved to Preston on 3 July due to Leeds' administration forcing them to delay all trading until that date.
International career
He was capped once and then sent off for the England U-20 team.
Notes
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/leeds_united/5207876.stm
- ^ BBC Football (02/08/2006). "Leeds get boost on Nicholls front" BBC.co.uk (accessed 13th September 2006)
- ^ Leeds United (13/09/2006). "Leeds Vs Sunderland" LeedsUnited.com (accessed 13th September 2006)
- ^ Sky Sports (26/10/2006). "Nicholls made Leeds captain" SkySports.com (accessed 26 October 2006)
- ^ BBC Football (18/12/2006). "Leeds accept Nicholls' dismissal" BBC.co.uk (accessed 19 December 2006)
- ^ Sky Sports (03/03/2007). "Nicholls request stuns Wise" SkySports.com (accessed 22 June 2007)
- ^ BBC Sport (29/06/2007). "Leeds star agrees Preston switch" BBC.co.uk (accessed 30 June 2007)
External links
- Kevin Nicholls at Soccerbase