Kevin Nolan column
When Gilberto Silva missed a penalty for Arsenal on Wednesday I thought they might have just opened the door for us.
The FA Cup replay was 62 minutes old and we were trailing 1-0. Had he scored, it would have been very difficult for us to recover. 
When we equalised deep into injury time I thought it might just be our year.
They seemed to have nothing left and we were very unlucky not to score in the first period of extra time.
Then they hit us with the sucker punch - and I have to say that is what great teams are all about.
Freddie Ljungberg's finish was magnificent and you cannot take anything away from Arsenal, who fought well to stay in the game when we were on top.
Early in the match Arsenal were brilliant.
As a Premiership player you know the Gunners are capable of playing devastating football, the best in the country.
At times like these you have to try to make sure that they play in front of you, although occasionally - as was the case on Wednesday - it is almost impossible to stop them from getting in behind.
Arsenal probably deserved their win and I would like to wish them good luck for the remainder of the competition.
Having beaten us, I hope that they go on and win it.
Afterwards, the manager told us that he was proud of us, that he was pleased with the way we had battled and that we could consider ourselves a little unlucky.
The match had taken it out of the players physically - playing 120 minutes at full pace against a team so adept at passing has that effect.
But after a tie like that I find it difficult to switch off mentally.
I got home around midnight and watched Miami Vice on DVD to try to relax.
It didn't really work and different incidents from the match replayed themselves over and over in my mind. Finally, about 6am, I fell asleep.
It is Thursday afternoon now and I feel pretty tired today. The manager has given us the day off to rest at home before heading into training on Friday for a recovery session.
With no match this weekend we are probably reflecting on the defeat for a little longer than we would normally.
I'm still gutted about the result but it is all 'ifs and buts' and I'm trying to take the positives out of the performance.
We pushed Arsenal all the way and remain strongly positioned in fifth spot in the Premiership.
If somebody offered us fifth place right now - and a Uefa Cup spot next season - I would take it but as a club we want to push hard for fourth position and a place in the Champions League.
We are heading abroad on Sunday for a spell of warm weather training.
The result against Arsenal will soon be consigned to history and we will all start to look forward to next match.
The season rolls on. 
As a lifelong PNE fan I want to ask wehther we are to suffer yet another season of hope, pain and misery or is this the year we will finally make the Premiership?
Mick Hoyle, Spain
I think that with David Nugent at the club and reports suggesting Michael Ricketts is looking increasingly sharp, they have a massive chance of promotion.
I have not seen much of them this season but apart from the last couple of weeks they have been very consistent.
I think Preston have been very unlucky not to win promotion in recent seasons - and I think that they must be sick and tired of the play-offs.
Kevin, I don't know if this has been asked before, but who do you intend to vote for as PFA Player/Young Player Of The Year?
Ben Walford, England
The voting takes place, I think, over the next couple of weeks.
As things stand my vote for Player of the Year will be Paul Scholes. I'm not too sure about the Young Player of the Year award. If Ronaldo is still eligible I will probably go for him.
Hi Kevin. What do you think about girls football?
I run a girls league in Bolton and we have over 200 girls playing from Under-10s to Under-13s. We started out with 60 girls and it is growing rapidly. When your daughter grows up would you encourage her to play football?
Angela Hardman (Ladybridge FC), England
If a child of mine wanted to play I would encourage them but I would not push them into it - and that would be the same whether a boy or a girl.
There are a few female teams who play at the local parks where I am from in Liverpool. A friend's daughter plays and she really loves the game. It is great to see.
With the England team qualifying for the World Cup this year I would expect it to grow bigger and bigger.
Hi Kev, I always read your column. You nut-megged the goalkeeper last Sunday. I was wondering, do the lads shout "nuts" or "megs" in training, or in matches?
Danial Catherall, England
It does get said quite a lot in training.
If a player is cocky enough they may well shout "nuts" during a game but it is certainly not something that I did last weekend.
Hi Kevin. Could you help settle an argument. My mate Matt says that you are not allowed to wear any other club kit other than that officially supplied by Bolton at training. Is this true or are you simply not allowed to wear another Premiership club's kit?
Christian, UK
You cannot wear another team's strip. Most of the training is supplied by the club - though a few of the lads bring their own gloves and hats during the winter months.
I tend not to wear a woolly hat but I have a neck warmer, the sort you would use when skiing and some gloves. Both are fairly plain.
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