To legions of passionate Luton Town fans he is affectionately known as ‘Nico’. To the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy he is known as captain courageous and a leader whose presence has never been seen at a trophy final since.
Luton Town legend Kevin Nicholls is the first midfielder to be inducted into the trophy’s team of five finals and we can scarcely think of a player more deserving.
Kevin Nicholls (Luton Town)
If ever a player embodied everything that is great about the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, then ‘Nico’ was it.
The Hatters’ talisman missed much of the 2009 season through injury, but managed to regain fitness in time for the final against Scunthorpe United – and boy was he ready.
Luton Town might have been fighting relegation from League Two and opponents Scunthorpe gunning for promotion to the Championship, but it didn’t show.
Captain Kevin turned the odds on their head and appeared to revel in the underdog tag, dragging his team from a goal down, to extra time, then to an eventual 3-2 win with minutes remaining.
The fact that Nigel Adkins’ Lincolnshire side eventually gained promotion to the Championship weeks after this final underlines Luton Town’s achievement.
Goals from Chris Martin, Tom Craddock and Claude Gnakpa in extra time saw off a Scunthorpe side packed with quality and it was Luton’s skipper who really caught the eye on the day, winning the man-of-the-match award for his efforts.
Kevin said to the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy after the game: “It was a massive achievement for the club to win the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. I hope the fans are really happy, because without them, there would be no Luton Town.”
Kevin is best known for his time at Luton, where he spent eight years at in two separate spells. At the beginning of his second stint at Luton in 2008, in which he dropped two divisions in order to play, Nicholls stated that his main motivation for returning was his love for the club.
Nicholls is arguably one of Luton's most successful captains, having won two promotions and the Football League Trophy during his tenure.
A long-term knee injury sustained in 2009 led to him volunteering to be released from his contract on 27 August 2010.
A no nonsense, hard tackling midfield dynamo, Nicholls’ talent also caught the eye of Leeds United and Preston North End, but he will undoubtedly be best remembered as a genuine legend at Kenilworth Road.
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©2009 Johnstone's Paint Site by Cogent Elliott
