Former captain and eternal cult hero Kevin Nolan has shown his enthusiasm for his former club Newcastle and everything he loved about us during his stint in the early 2010s.
Speaking on the EFL Unfiltered podcast, Nolan dove deeper on the brilliance of St James’ Park and the people of Newcastle,
Check out what he said below:
Moving from the ~28,000 capacity Reebok Stadium to the 52,000 capacity cathedral of St James’ Park would be a sight for any player, and Nolan was no exception upon his arrival back in 2009.
Feeling like he was leaving a “big massive club” at Bolton, Nolan remarked: “I didn’t realise until I walked out St James’ Park, when you walk out at the top where you sign and everything else, you walk out and you’re like ‘Jesus’.”
“Maybe it was the right move and maybe at the wrong time, but the right move for me. And I was like, I wanted to make it succeed.”
“I left there in a great place: what a city!” Something that seems to be a shared opinion amongst former players and captains alike
Despite ultimately not being a long-serving player compared to previous captains, Nolan won the hearts of the Toon faithful very easily, owing to his immense effort in the Championship win of 2010, as well as a certain hat trick against a certain team.
When asked about the ‘legendary status’ he had for some fans, Nolan modestly replied:
“That’s all they ever talk about, (the hat trick against Sunderland) and the chicken dance.”
“You see kids now, their dads go ‘This is Kevin Nolan’ ‘That’s him! Who scored the hat trick!’”
“It’s unbelievable the love they show you there, I’ve never known anything like it.”
Playing in a one football city compared to growing up in the two club city of Liverpool, Nolan understands just how much the football club means to the local community, and couldn’t be more enamoured by it.
“When you go to Newcastle, there’s nothing else. It’s just the football club and this big master stadium in the middle of the city where everyone love going.”
“It’s like their church, if you get the chance to play there, you’ve got to give everything, and I just loved everything about it.”