Kevin Nicholls
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kevin Nicholls (born January 2, 1979, Newham, England) is an English football player currently playing for Leeds United F.C
Kevin began his playing career at Charlton Athletic making his debut in the 1996-97 season . After an 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 for four games then after a short period back at Charlton he was transferred to Wigan Athletic for £250,000 (rising to £600,000 based on appearances). 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 Joe Kinnear signed him for Luton for £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 18s, under 19s and under 20s 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 in addition to falling out with new Luton manager Mike Newell over his playing position. After the injury Kevin returned to his preferred central midfield position and contributed to Luton's very respectable 10th place finish.
Kevin is a traditional hard man who 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 5'10" and 11st 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.
On 22nd July 2006 Leeds United agreed a £700k fee with Luton for the player who is to come up to Elland Road to discuss terms and have a medical.
[edit]
International career
He was capped for the England U-20 team at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, the team finished bottom at the group stage with three losses and no goals.
[edit]
Playing RecordSeason Team Games Goals
1996-97 Charlton 7 1
1997-98 Charlton 7 0
1998-99 Brighton 4 1
1999-00 Wigan 8 0
2000-01 Wigan 24 1
2001-02 Luton Town 43 7
2002-03 Luton Town 38 5
2003-04 Luton Town 24 2
2004-05 Luton Town 47 14
2005-06 Luton Town 33 6
------------------------------
http://tmbo.org/offensive/images/picpile/stupid%20zidane.gif