Quantcast
View from the Kop

Should the Reds just cut their losses with this Fading Star?

|

On the 19th July 2010 it was announced that Joe Cole had signed for Liverpool FC. A well respected, quality midfield play-maker and England international star, Cole’s signing was greeted with delight on Merseyside. Not only had the Anfield outfit picked up a fantastic player, but they’d got him for free! Allegedly rejecting the likes of Tottenham and Arsenal in order to come to Liverpool, Cole cited reasons such as the great history of the club and the prospect of forming a midfield partnership with Steven Gerrard for his decision. Great anticipation surrounded Joe Cole’s debut season at Anfield (Gerrard even said Cole was “better than Messi”) but, unfortunately, things didn’t quite go as planned.

Sent off in his debut game against Arsenal, it has been downhill ever since for the Liverpool number 10. Sure, there have been flashes of Cole’s old genius, such as his 25 second goal against Steaua Bucharest in the Europa League, but ultimately his season has been typified by injury troubles and an alarming loss of form. Now Cole is unable to get into the first team and can only watch as the likes of Raul Meireles, Jay Spearing, Lucas Leiva and Maxi Rodriguez improve week by week. Cole has been reduced to a bit-part player at Liverpool and word is he is on the way out.

Several teams have been linked with the midfielder but the most likely of them is a reunion with former manager Harry Redknapp at Tottenham Hotspur. The question is, should Cole stay at Liverpool or move on to pastures new?

Certainly what Joe Cole needs is to start a few games on the trot in order to regain his confidence and find his form again. Kenny Dalglish does seem genuine too when he has stated that he wants Joe Cole to get back to his best and become a regular fixture in the team. The problem is, of course, that with so many of the other Liverpool players on top form it is tough to justify replacing any of them with a player who is not at his best. And with no Europa League next season, which would have been an ideal place for Cole to get a few confidence building matches, where can the Liverpool manager actually put him in a starting line-up regularly?

However, one would argue that he would face the same problems at Tottenham. Assuming Spurs can hold onto their main midfielders then the likes of Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon, Marlon Sandro, Jermaine Jenas and Steven Pienaar are all options for Harry Redknapp. How exactly is Joe Cole going to be able to start regularly and get on a good run of form in that team? Even with the option of playing Cole in Europa League matches, I still think it would be difficult for Redknapp.

Continue Reading on Page 2 . . .

Share this article

10 comments

  • Brian says:

    Good article but why do you think Joe Cole will have to take a pay cut if he stays at Liverpool, he has a deal, he has a contract, its not performance linked, the next one is but he can play like a bag of rubber spanners week in week out and we are still obliged to pay him his agreed contract. Hes a great player who has had a Nightmare start, if we get decent money for him, sure let him go, might be for the best, but similarly, Joe Cole on form fit is one of the most Dangerous footballers around

  • andrew says:

    When has a player ever taken a pay cut???? This is football were talking about not Disney!!!

    • Tony says:

      Robbie Keane took pay-cat to rejoin Spurs. I am Sure that he will take another cut in order to join another club this summer. 30 year-olds want playing ahead of big bucks.

  • redz says:

    get rid of him ,he done absolutaly nothing for this club, a waste of 90 grand a week,a waste of space too,bye bye joe..

  • Stoney says:

    I find this article very amusing. On a blog at the start of the season a liverpool fan calling himself ‘red’ was very belligerent about how liverpool would challenge for the title, hodgeson would be manager of the season and Joe cole player of the season. He lambasted my boys for wasting money on a ‘past it overrated has been’ Raphael Van der Vaart. What a fool he looks now.

  • redz says:

    if we want to push for a top 4,we have to get rid of cole,konchesky,aurelio,jovanic, soto,ngog,poulsen,aquaman,degan,el zhar,insua,mavinga.bring in 4 to 6 top players.

  • Goldneballs says:

    Joe Cole wasnt brought in to play as a winger. he said so himself that he would only join a club that allowed him to play in the centre or the ‘hole’ which coincedentally is where Stevie G has proved the most devastating in recent seasons, which then Meireles also produced moments of magic. and now with the imminent return of Aquilani, how can Joe Cole be expected to get a regular spot ahead of them, unless he is played on the wing. but every fan has been screaming out that we need to play with width. Joe Cole doesnt provide width or intelligent game play (something which Chelskis sacked manager claimed when he got a player that could play different positions – our Yossi !) added to this, Cole is too slow, too lazy and too old to adapt his game now and with £90k a week being drained out of the club (or £14,040,000 over the remaining 3 years of his contract) he has to be shipped out. he might command a transfer fee in the region of £3.5million. however this might be what it will cost the club to pay off a chunk of his contract as an incentive to join a club paying less.

    i was truly excited when we got Cole, similarly to when Harry Kewell arrived. but with his age and the players at the club he is likely to compete for a starting place with and his lack of ability to play other games, he will rarely get a look in, so best all round to allow him to move on. a club like Newcastle would appreciate him, but he will ikely return to a club in London, perhaps Fulham or Spurs ??! and we know Harry Redknapp cant stop himself signing former West Ham players !!

  • Paul F says:

    Not sure why you think Cole has to take a pay cut to stay at Liverpool. He has a contract – 4 years I believe – with a stated amount that he is to be paid each week. He gets this whether he plays or not and certainly doesnt have to renegotiate it each season. Where did yu get this idea from, because it is quite a mistake to make if you want to write about football.

    The idea that he would leave for less money is also charming, but isnt how the game works. Take Robbie Keane. He was signed by Liverpool for £20m. Of this, Spurs had to pay him £2m to pay off the loyalty bonus in his last contract with them, since he didnt request a transfer. This of course was factored into the transfer fee that Spurs demanded, so in effect, Liverpool paid it. They also paid him a signing bonus. When Liverpool sold him back to Spurs, Spurs paid a fee of £9m to Liverpool. Ands where did approximately £3m of this go? Thats right, it went to our Robbie, by way of paying out the ‘loyalty bonus’ (again, wily old boy that he is, he didnt ask for a transfer), and as compensation for his lower salary at Spurs. So if Cole does leave Liverpool for, say QPR, here is what will happen. Liverpool will be paid a transfer fee, which will go in its entirely to Cole, to pay off his Liverpool contract. Just remember this when fans then start adding that sum to the ‘transfer pot’. The reality is, it is money that doesnt exist as far as LFC is concerned. This is the reality of signing ‘free transfers’ on big money. The fact is, there are no freebies in football.

  • Shaunymo says:

    You can spend his contractual money elsewhere! I think playing Pacheco more and giving the kid some valuable minutes would have been more beneficial than having Cole around! I’m still irked by losing Yossi and then signing Cole! I truly think we should cut our losses and buy Park Chu Young for £7m and pay him half of J.Cole’s salary! You get a player who doesn’t stop moving and plays very similar to his countryman in Park Ji Sung (who is valuable to start and even come off the bench!..or..Spend the £12m for Arda Turan or £9m for N’Zogbia! They all would make less in Salary, give LFC young spritely legs and play with heart! I’m not saying Cole doesn’t play with heart, but the £££ is too much!

Comments are closed.