Kevin Nolan was a very successful captain at West Ham United. He dropped down to the Championship from Premier League outfit Newcastle United to help the Hammers achieve promotion back to the top flight in the 2011/12 season.
Nolan was a potent goalscorer for the Hammers back in the Premier League, where he often got on the end of Andy Carroll's nock-downs. In total, Nolan scored 31 goals with 16 assists in 157 games for the club.
The Hammers had two comfortable campaigns in the Premier League with Nolan as captain. However, the 2013/14 season did have relegation worries, but the Hammers still managed to finish 13th in the division.
Now, whilst West Ham are fighting relegation from the Premier League, Nolan is battling the drop with Northampton Town in League One. Northampton are currently 22nd in the division, but only two points off of Leyton Orient, who occupy the place above the relegation zone.
Kevin Nolan is now an experienced coach
It was at Orient where Nolan started his coaching career as player-manager of the club. He then went on to be the boss of Notts County. After losing his job at Notts County, Nolan worked as David Moyes' assistant at West Ham, where they won the Europa Conference League.
When Moyes departed West Ham, so too did Nolan. The former Hammers captain's next role was with England Under-21s as Paul Nevin's assistant. Nolan may now have been Moyes' assistant at Everton, but he has thrown himself back to being a manager with Northampton.
Nolan is a Liverpool fan, so it would have been strange for him to coach the Toffees. However, it would have been a great opportunity for him. It is good to see Nolan back in the dugout as a number one, but his tenure at Northampton could end in disaster with relegation.