Kevin Nolan column

By Kevin Nolan
Bolton captain

Read my answers to your questions

Nicolas Anelka has been in fantastic form for us - with six goals in his last seven games.

I first met Nicolas after a training session on 25 August - the day he signed for the club.

He did not have to come down to the training ground but wanted to meet the players and introduce himself.

Nicolas joins in the banter and takes a real interest in his fellow players

From that day on I have always found him a pleasure to work with and a pleasure to spend time with.

Prior to his arrival at the club there had been a lot of press talking about what a sulk he is and, having got to know him, I think this is a misconception and a real shame.

Nico, as he is known at the club, is a great lad - he involves himself in discussions, joins in the banter and takes a real interest in his fellow players.

When we organise a club function he is always there and I really believe that he is desperate for Bolton to do well.

Although Nico has proved to be very much a team man he is also a very private person who does keep himself to himself.

I think that part of the reason people have a negative view of him is that he tends to stay away from the media and does not really talk to them much.

I also think that with many foreign players they are wary about being misinterpreted. Yes, Nicolas speaks decent English but nonetheless it is not his first language and I can understand his caution.

In one of his first interviews he said that he wanted to play Champions League football and - because he had joined Bolton - some people found it quite funny.

Halfway through the season we find ourselves fourth in the table and with an excellent opportunity to push on and qualify for Europe.

We have won our last four games and, during that period, Nico has scored four goals.

People were critical of his lack of goals early in the season but when a player like Nicolas arrives it takes a while for the squad to attune to his strengths and, also, for him to become familiar with our style of play.

BOLTON'S FIXTURES 23/12 - Man City W 2-0 26/12 - Newcastle W 2-1 30/12 - Portsmouth (H) 1/1 - Liverpool (A)

Certainly, from his first few training sessions I had no doubt about his quality and, as time has gone on, he has settled in at the club.

For example, Bolton are a team who like to make it difficult for the opposition to break us down.

In recent weeks he has started filling in the space if he notices someone out of position - that is probably something he has not had to do too often in his career and shows how the relationship between player and club is developing.

I'm pretty sure that Bolton have not had a player who has scored more than 10 Premiership goals in a season since Michael Ricketts left the club in 2003.

That is a statistic we wanted to change and the reason why I think Sam Allardyce wanted to sign Anelka.

The huge advantage of having Nicolas on board is that we now have three forwards who are really worrying defenders for a variety of reasons.

Kevin Davies is an old fashioned English striker, big and strong, El-Hadji Diouf is incredibly skilful and, while Anelka is also very skilful, he gives us that added dimension of blistering pace.

If we can keep our key players fit, it gives us real optimism for the rest of the season.

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Dear Kevin,
I have been watching yourself and several other captains in the Premiership. Is there a rule in the Premiership that you have to wear your armband on the left arm?
Mark, Liverpool, UK
No, not that I know of. I don't really know why I wear it on my left arm because I am right handed - perhaps because it feels more comfortable. I first wore the skipper's armband playing for Bolton at Anfield when I was 19. I did not really know what to do so just put it on my left arm and have stuck with that ever since.

As many people are aware, you run a Sunday league team in Liverpool. I was wondering if you took them out for a Christmas night out? If so, where did you go and did you take any other Bolton players along with you?
Carl, England
We did go out - a few drinks around Liverpool. A few of the lads from Bolton did join us for a while. Several Bolton players have been out with me in Liverpool over the years when we have had some time off.

Kevin, how do Sam and his staff overcome the language barrier with foreign players? Do they get English lessons as part of the signing on package?
Matthew Lewis, UK
We do have English teachers who help the foreign players. For example, a lot of our African players speak French so we have a teacher fluent in that language who help the players develop their English and make sure they understand important tactical developments and changes in our system of play.
If we have a big team bonding session our performance director Mike Forde will make sure his presentations are available in a whole host of languages.
Quite often players who don't speak English get their point across on the pitch!

Great column Kevin, really enjoy reading it.
I'd just like to know, do players get a new shirt every game, because so often you see players swapping shirts? And if you do get a fresh shirt, what do you do with them after the match?
Chris Randall, United Kingdom
I think players go through about 20 shirts a season. Players do swap shirts and our kitman is very understanding, but if you do it every week he will charge you - not that you notice because the money just disappears from your wages!
Over the busy festive period he asks players not to swap too many because he struggles to get replacements in!

Kevin will continue to answer a selection of your questions each week throughout the season. Send us your questions using the post form in the top right-hand corner.