I know it is a bit unfair to highlight one photograph with Liverpool’s Joe Cole looking forlorn (after all there were probably times in the training session yesterday when he did have a smile on his face), but I think the shot of him to the left says it all about his Anfield career so far. Injuries have certainly played their part in Joe’s difficult start to his career on Merseyside, but as he said himself, his confidence was at an all time low even before his most recent injury:

“I have never had a period like this before, I need to find my form somehow. I need to do a lot better, but I’m only looking at myself, no-one else. I am desperate to do well for Liverpool and, every minute of every day, I am thinking about how I can get there. I know I’m not playing well. I expect a lot better of myself, but at least I am at a club who are going to help me through it.”

So what is Joe’s problem? Although he was never the player he was built up to be when he signed on a free transfer in the summer (Stevie Gerrard’s comments on his skills certainly didn’t help matters), he is also by the same extent a very good player who is just not living up to his potential. If we disregard the wage issue and the reasons behind his move to the Reds, Cole moved away from London in the expectation of getting first team football at a club who weren’t even in the Champions League. A move to Spurs certainly would have been easier, considering his close ties with both London and the team’s manager Harry Redknapp, but he opted to go out of his comfort zone by moving up North with his family.