The other option of course is for Cole to go to a smaller team, such as the newly promoted Queens Park Rangers (another team he has been linked with), and take a pay-cut in order to play first team football week in, week out. The question at that point is what Joe Cole values more; money or playing regularly? With some footballers it is difficult to tell at times, but for Cole it does seem like the latter is more fitting.
Of course, if he were to stay at Liverpool he would need to accept a cut in his wages anyway. The fact that he is being paid £90,000 per week is ridiculous enough, but when it is compared to Raul Meireles’ (one of LFC’s most consistent performers this season) pay packet of £30,000 per week it is even harder to swallow. Putting aside the argument that “£30k a week is still a ridiculous amount of money” for another time, it is clear that Cole should not be earning more than the Portuguese international. So since Cole is likely to take a pay-cut if he stays at Liverpool anyway, perhaps a move to a smaller club would be in his best interest?
I for one, being a Liverpool fan, would love to see Joe Cole stay at the club and play his way back into the first team. After all, the team is in real need of good wingers and that is a position Cole has played in to great success over his career. Nevertheless, I think it would be better for Cole personally if he moved on in the summer. It is not fair to the player to have to sit on the bench every week with no discernable way of getting back in to the first team and it is unfair to the club to have to pay the player £90k per week to do just that.
In my opinion a move to QPR, although a big step down for a player of Cole’s calibre, would be his best option. He would get regular first team action and would be treated like a star by the Rangers’ fans. At Liverpool and Spurs, Cole will spend more time on the bench than on the pitch, but the opposite is true at Rangers. I hope Joe makes the right decision for his future because I would hate to see another great footballing talent squandered.
This article was written by Alex Watt and is courtesy of our partner website thisisfutbol.com. Read the latest news and blogs about European Football at TiF. – ed
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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
When has a player ever taken a pay cut???? This is football were talking about not Disney!!!
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.
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..
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.
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.
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 !!
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.
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!