Nolan is plenty good enough to be one of our main 6 or 7 interchangeable midfield players. What no-one wants to see is a return to Nolan playing off Carroll because it has produced some turgid, albeit effective (results-wise), football. That's why he raises a groan for some fans.

Sam wrote a good article in the ES, basically saying he was glad he signed Carroll instead of Bony as it's his cock on the block, not Sullys (who loves a gamble) and Carroll was proven. The same applies to selecting Nolan - Sam knows he'll get a decent shift out of him, so he prefers to start him instead of Amalfitano who drifts out of games but has a better top level to his game.

We won 3-0 because Sam acknowledged the formation mistake and made the right substitution, what's not to like.