Topic: The return of Cole....

[kurt85]

Something very wrong with our fanbase. What has joe cole done to antagonise some of you?

[BIGdavalad]

What has joe cole done to antagonise some of you?

Blowing out of his arse after ten minutes while being paid £90,000 a week to be a professional sportsman always endears me to a player.

[lfcmaster]

Like you would know he is a fan just because they were at Chelsea together?

How anyone thinks he can be part of our future sucess is beyond me.

certain managers can get the best out of certain players

all the players should be given a fair chance in pre-season

[Fordy]

Any quotes for these 'he rates _____' you could post

Thats the second player you've said that about with zero quotes to actually back it up

Think you need to do more research to get your answers:

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/rodgers-to-meet-with-duo

Add to it that the comments coming out of Lille today I think that is enough to say that Cole will be given a chance in pre season and Rodgers wants to give him every chance.

Yes we might sell him if an offer comes in that's decent but Rodgers does rate Cole.

Face it and get over it.

[ArgImAPirate]

Blowing out of his arse after ten minutes while being paid £90,000 a week to be a professional sportsman always endears me to a player.

Let's not forget when exactly he came to the club. Under Roy Hodgson, a lot of players struggled. Cole's season was extremely stop start. Getting sent off in the first match against Arsenal wasn't something I think he wanted to do, so he could spend more time sitting on his arse counting his money. It was a mistake and shouldn't have happened - shit happens though. I don't think he wanted to get injured twice that season. Like Bellamy around the end of this current season - it's hard to get into a run of form if you're not getting minutes regularly and the circumstances of his first season at Liverpool meant it was logical to keep him out of the side most of the time.

He's definitely not worth the wages he's on, at least not on what he's shown in a red shirt or at Lille (where he was good, but he had to accept a squad role even there). He and Bellamy are both veterans who can play a big role if rotated correctly. I think Bellamy is much, much, much better - but Cole at Lille showed he can still play at a decent level if he can remain fit.

I think we need quality in depth and while he's expensive, if Rodgers wants him here and Cole wants to prove himself here, then I think it could be to the benefit of the squad. We know Rodgers rates him, we know a lot of the playing staff like him, and we know that while he's no longer at his best he's still capable of quality. I mean, he was crap in that first season, and he still managed to get goals and assists.

[BIGdavalad]

I'm not talking about being match fit or playing well or being injured. I'm talking about being morbidly obese and unable to move more than fifteen feet without needing an oxygen tent.

[Get]

Think you need to do more research to get your answers:

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/rodgers-to-meet-with-duo

Add to it that the comments coming out of Lille today I think that is enough to say that Cole will be given a chance in pre season and Rodgers wants to give him every chance.

Yes we might sell him if an offer comes in that's decent but Rodgers does rate Cole.

Face it and get over it.

that's the way i see it.  Plus if he gets the best out of joe cole it sure won't be as painful as it is watching henderson on the right.

[kkjellquist]

I think a year away from England, maybe a change in attitude, and smart manager not playing hoof ball could do wonders for Cole.  I fully support him if he's give 100%!

One can't blame him for 90k/week...anyone here would take the max amount of money offered.

[fowlermagic]

Honestly I nearly prefer the likes of Cole before Downing and that is saying something as neither of them have done us any favours in the red of LFC. Patience would be great but we saw how that worked last month with Kenny so if the manager does not think any of the players are not up for the job then he better get rid, bank some cash as he will need to make an immediate impact to keep the owners happy.

[Z e u s]

The way I see it is, if you hold a high line and lose the ball you totally open yourself up to the counter attack (as Barca found out to their cost v Chelsea) so it is essential that when the ball goes forwards it sticks. So filling the forward line with players that have total confidence in their ability on the ball and can play the ball even when pressured is vital and Cole strikes me as someone who can do this.

I totally agree.

At home we should still have plenty of possession, especially against the weaker sides.  If we do that we are going to need more guile than speed.

If teams defend deep you won't be able to use the speed as space it tight.  Therefore you need players who can find space and create openings and Cole is that type of player, like Garcia was for us.

But for Cole to work, the side has to keep the ball well and he needs to be getting the ball in the final third and not in our half or near the half way line.

When Cole was at Chelsea most of us feared him as much as anyone and he hurt us as much as anyone at times.

[Bakez0151]

Rodgers was always going to say J Cole is a wonderful talent. While I'm not accusing him of lying & think he will want to see him in pre-season, it puts us in a better bargaining position looking like we want to keep him than it does him saying he has no future here

[geoffstrong]

 

I'm not talking about being match fit or playing well or being injured. I'm talking about being morbidly obese and unable to move more than fifteen feet without needing an oxygen tent.

Loving your work here sir the image is just too funny!

[Gnurglan]

Something very wrong with our fanbase. What has joe cole done to antagonise some of you?

The real problem is he was the wrong signing and it was so obvious. I don't have anything particular against Cole, but from a squad perspective, he doesn't have a role to fill. Certainly didn't at the time of his signing. I said back then that because we signed him, we'd be forced to spend in LM/RM the next summer (=last summer). Off we went and used 35M for the wings. And Cole wasn't even good enough to be backup.

And I find it highly annoying that he was paraded as this great signing. The comparison to Messi says it all. As if I was supposed to buy that. As if we were all that stupid. It was a signing to please the crowd, but it just showed the incompetence of our management. 

[Z e u s]

The real problem is he was the wrong signing and it was so obvious. I don't have anything particular against Cole, but from a squad perspective, he doesn't have a role to fill. Certainly didn't at the time of his signing. I said back then that because we signed him, we'd be forced to spend in LM/RM the next summer (=last summer). Off we went and used 35M for the wings. And Cole wasn't even good enough to be backup.

And I find it highly annoying that he was paraded as this great signing. The comparison to Messi says it all. As if I was supposed to buy that. As if we were all that stupid. It was a signing to please the crowd, but it just showed the incompetence of our management. 

But that is the past, we all know that he should have got those wages and he wasn't the English Messi etc.

However he is our player and personally I think Cole is more likely to succeed under Rodgers than Downing, for example.

[Channo]

I'm not talking about being match fit or playing well or being injured. I'm talking about being morbidly obese and unable to move more than fifteen feet without needing an oxygen tent.

This. I don't understand some of our fanbase. Love Joe Cole, and criticise Dirk Kuyt and Jay Spearing. The latter two have less ability but bust a gut to play for this club. The first gets paid a tonne of money and was fat. I won't be cheering his name any time soon.

[SportBilly]

Personally I'd like to see us swap him for Cisse or Ba if only for the 'hilarity' of every single rag running the "Cole's to Newcastle" line...

[LFC_BASH]

I like anyone would love to see Cole return and do well for us BUT has he got the determination and hunger needed to succeed?

Personally do not think so.

Has he got anything to prove in England anymore?

His never going to get into the England team anymore, his got a few medals from his Chelsea days and he got his last big contract when he joined us.

[Il Capitano]

Something very wrong with our fanbase. What has joe cole done to antagonise some of you?

I take it you didn't witness his masterclass in the 1-0 defeat away at Villa at the end of the 10/11 season?

I've scarcely seen a worse performance in a red shirt in recent times. He was Downing-esque, without the half-hearted attempt at tracking back.

[shelovesyou]

Something very wrong with our fanbase. What has joe cole done to antagonise some of you?

I tell you what it is, its the fact he was signed without a manager being present, by Purslow, and on very high wages.
It has little to do with his ability.
And of course he smokes.

[dnkw]

I like anyone would love to see Cole return and do well for us BUT has he got the determination and hunger needed to succeed?

He certainly has the hunger.

[Z e u s]

I like anyone would love to see Cole return and do well for us BUT has he got the determination and hunger needed to succeed?

He'd have said he'd want to stay in France otherwise wouldn't he?

He says he has unfinished business at the club and he wants to improve his reputation here which has been dented judging by the comments above.

One thing about Cole is he has always spoken well about the club.

[Z e u s]

I tell you what it is, its the fact he was signed without a manager being present, by Purslow, and on very high wages.
It has little to do with his ability.
And of course he smokes.

Hamann smoked, didn't do him any harm.

Cole has plenty of ability, he has proven that other the years at Chelsea.  One season he was a key player in winning them the title.

If he is fit, his attitude is right and Rodger can get the best out of him, he will be an asset.

[kurt85]

I understand the frustration everyone has with some of his previous performances but he won't be allowed to put in a half-hearted performance under rodgers. If rodgers feels that cole fits into the playing style he's trying to implement then why can't we support that instead of whining on and on about what happened under hodgson because alot of players played poorly under him and he never really got a run of games under kenny. And he has gone away last season and played well for lille. Well enough for their manager to want him back for another season.

[Z e u s]

instead of whining on and on about what happened under hodgson because alot of players played poorly under him

I can hardly think of any player who did well under Hodgson.  Lucas maybe?  Otherwise every player was a shadow of their ability.

[nyctex]

I fear my hoping Cole will work out is too much like me hoping Kewell was going to come good.  You can see something good is there, but it just ain't goin' to happen

[Sevo]

Hazard commented how much Cole "loves" Chelsea and urged him to join them. I'm not saying he won't try for the team, bit if he wishes he was playing for a rival side, perhaps he hasn't quite got the' hunger' people want to see.

[Z e u s]

Hazard commented how much Cole "loves" Chelsea and urged him to join them. I'm not saying he won't try for the team, bit if he wishes he was playing for a rival side, perhaps he hasn't quite got the' hunger' people want to see.

That type of thing happens all the time.  Player asks another player about a club, the player who has been at that club has good words to say aboutthe place.

Cole had his best years at Chelsea, they have just won the Champs League and are showing ambition signing players - he is not going to say bad things is he?  Also we were never in the market for him,so it doesn't affect us.

But Cole has always said good things about our club, says he loves Anfield and he could take the easy way out and stay at Lille on loan, but instead he wants to play be at our club - this shows hunger.

He might not be the player he was, I could understand people having doubts about that.  But doubting his hunger, I don't get.

[The 5th Benitle]

His agent called Roy Hodgson and offered him to us at a discount price. Roy said no.

Hodgson on VDV: 'He's not the type of player we're looking for'.


Gah.

[The 5th Benitle]

I don't know why it isn't more obvious to people that Chelsea got rid because his legs have gone.
 
Too many judging the player on who he was a few years back. He's finished.

[LFC_BASH]

But doubting his hunger, I don't get.

Haven't been following him while he was on loan last season but what did his fellow colleagues say while he was there?

Did any mention how committed he was in training? First in & last out? Always practicing free kicks, willingness to learn etc etc. Also how about in games? Did he show the hunger & passion during games?

Not having a dig, just generally interested.

[Juan Loco]

I don't know why it isn't more obvious to people that Chelsea got rid because his legs have gone.

Because they didn't really get rid as such, the contract ran down.

[The 5th Benitle]

Because they didn't really get rid as such, the contract ran down.

Come on, semantics - they chose not to renew.

[Z e u s]

I don't know why it isn't more obvious to people that Chelsea got rid because his legs have gone.
 
Too many judging the player on who he was a few years back. He's finished.

He might be, I agree.

But he did play a fair amount in France and he was never one who had pace.  His strength was skill and guile.

Haven't been following him while he was on loan last season but what did his fellow colleagues say while he was there?

Did any mention how committed he was in training? First in & last out? Always practicing free kicks, willingness to learn etc etc. Also how about in games? Did he show the hunger & passion during games?

Not having a dig, just generally interested.

They only had good words to say about him from what I have read, the manager wanted to keep him.

On that youtube clip of his highlights that is posted on the page before this, he looked trim and fit from those snippets.

I can see why Rodgers wants to have a look in pre season before giving up on a player who always had the talent, just doubts about his fitness or whether he is past his sell by date.

[Coady]

Something very wrong with our fanbase. What has joe cole done to antagonise some of you?

Probably because he is Purslow's boy.

[spider-neil]

Because they didn't really get rid as such, the contract ran down.

And they offered him a new contract (albeit far less lucrative then ours).

[The 5th Benitle]

And they offered him a new contract (albeit far less lucrative then ours).

Are you sure about that mate?

[RojoLeón]

Cole has plenty of ability, he has proven that other the years at Chelsea.  One season he was a key player in winning them the title.

If he is fit, his attitude is right and Rodger can get the best out of him, he will be an asset.

One season he was a key player, many years ago (6/7 yrs ago?) (An asset is something that provides value btw, not drains it to the tune of 80k pw)

And you genuinely want him back because of that?

But think rafa deserved to be sacked?

Yer head's cut.

[BIGdavalad]

Probably because he is Purslow's boy.

And has his own gravitational pull

[Garstonite]

BigDava sure can paint a picture.

I've never taken to Cole. His past with Chelsea, his wages, the fact Christian twatting Purslow used him as a means to appease the masses post-Rafa... He's got a lot of work to do to make it here.

If I read tomorrow he'd fucked off to West Ham I'd respond with a broad smile.

[nyctex]

He should be on more like an Owen@Manu type contract.