Name: Stephen Nicol
Nickname: "Steve", "Stevie", "Chopsy"




Country: Scotland
Club: Liverpool F.C.
Position: *SB, SMF, WB, DMF, CB, CMF
Side: RF/BS
Age: 23-28 years (11/12/1961)

Height: 178 cm
Weight: 76 kg


Attack: 78
Defence: 77
Balance: 81
Stamina: 86
Top Speed: 78
Acceleration: 80
Response: 82
Agility: 80
Dribble Accuracy: 85
Dribble Speed: 83
Short Pass Accuracy: 80
Short Pass Speed: 79
Long Pass Accuracy: 82
Long Pass Speed: 77
Shot Accuracy: 75
Shot Power: 81
Shot Technique: 79
Free Kick Accuracy: 62
Curling: 76
Header: 81
Jump: 78
Technique: 80
Aggression: 82
Mentality: 82
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 82

Injury Tolerance: B
Condition: 7 | 5 (1986-1987)
Weak Foot Accuracy: 7
Weak Foot Frequency: 6
Consistency: 6
Growth type: Standard/Lasting

CARDS:
P03 - Trickster
P07 - Early Cross
S09 - Covering

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Dribbling - Side - Covering

Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Balanced


INFO:
Nicol is a former side-back or side-midfielder primarily on the right flank, capable of playing also as centre back and occasionally as defensive or central midfielder. He spent the majority of his career at Liverpool, where he made 468 appearances from 1982 to 1994, scoring 46 goals. He played also for Notts County, Sheffield Wednesday and West Bromwich Albion among others. He retired in 2001. He capped for Scotland 27 times.
Arguably one of the best defenders and most versatile players in Liverpool's history, Nicol was as great in defence as he was in attack. In the back, he could challenge and tackle the opposition's strikers, and head the ball. When pushing forward, he proved to be two-footed, took on defenders with his excellent dribbling, showed the ability to overlap and deliver accurate crosses, and scored some brilliant goals thanks to his masterful finishing ability including a hat-trick against Newcastle United. Nicol ate a lot but his fitness was astonishing as he never carried any excess weight. He proved that in the field, hardly missing a tackle, giving the impression of being able to run up and down the touchline forever. He could control the direction of the play by making the first pass in a triangular passing and then pushing forward in order to either draw opponents or make the defenders drop back so that Liverpool's forward line had space to exploit.