10 Newcastle Players Who Turned Around A Bad Start

3. Kevin Nolan

Drafted in midway through the disastrous 08/09 season which would culminate in the club's first ever relegation from the Premier League, Kevin Nolan couldn't have arrived in more tumultuous surroundings. Working best playing off a target man, Joe Kinnear and then Alan Shearer would both ignore that fact, instead restricting Nolan's goal-poaching tendencies by deploying him in the middle of the park. One of his only memorable moments from his miserable half-season in the top-flight with the Magpies had been the red card doled out following a horrific challenge on Everton striker Victor Anichebe. The next season sparked a rebirth for Nolan, as he flourished under the stewardship of Hughton, deployed behind Andy Carroll in a partnership that would reap many a goal for both Newcastle and West Ham. Smashing 17 goals past Championship defences, Nolan reaped havoc in a division that was clearly beneath his talents, as the club bounced back at the first attempt. Continuing his rich vein of goal-scoring form for the club, he finished as the club's top-scorer in their first season back in the top-flight, registering 12 goals, including that famous hat-trick in the 5-1 mauling of arch-rivals Sunderland. While one can't really argue against the club's decision to replace him with Yohan Cabaye in the summer of 2011, as Pardew attempted to implement a more expansive brand of football following the loss of Andy Carroll, Nolan was certainly a valuable asset for the club and went some way to earning himself cult-hero status with that hat-trick against the Mackems. Kinnear was certainly a dreadful manager, and clearly wasn't a fan of annunciation, but he should at least be accredited with signing the Bolton Wanderers captain.