HELLO Joe,
You may never read or even see this letter but I really hope you do. I am a lifelong Red who adores the club which has brought me some of my happiest memories in life and helped picked me up in times of gloom. I am also a very optimistic Red and carry the belief that those lucky enough to represent the club at any level and thus live the dream of many deserves my support.
Now going back a couple of years, when your contract at Chelsea was drawing to a close and speculation was rife of your next destination, the link to Anfield that started out as a whisper got me excited. You were a player I had admired from afar and quietly cursed each time you netted against us (all too often for my liking), and as d-day approached I was nervous, truly believing that your signature would be a signal of intent from my club and a real step forward in difficult times. When it was announced you had signed I was overjoyed and believed we had got quite the coup.
In the early days the promise was certainly there, you showed in the first few non-competitive and European matches that there was promise and even against Arsenal I thought you looked good until that rather harsh red card. It was this red card however that seemed derail your Red journey, and since then as I’m sure you will admit that limited chances and injury have hampered your return to the form you know you are capable of. The Lille move seemed like a good idea at the time and I think worked out well as you seemed to return to levels close to what you can deliver and hopefully you will have built the momentum to return to Melwood and kick start your Liverpool Career.
As positive as your year in France seems, and with a new manager in charge that knows you, has worked with you and plays the football that suites you, there is still a rather large elephant in the room that will continually rear its head and stop you taking off. It is the reason why fans can’t get behind you fully and embrace you, why you have been taken to the collective Kop bosom like Suarez and Agger for example and it £’s plain and simple.
The wage that you are on will be the constant glass ceiling at Anfield. I understand the dynamics of free transfers in that the wage you receive is indicative of no transfer fee being paid and being sufficient enough of a carrot to get your signature over our rivals, yet circumstances has changed. You are part of a much younger and hungrier squad that have a passion that is not generated from wage alone. This wonderful club wants to get behind its players and drive them forward, living at their dreams in the boots of their heroes.
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The purpose of this letter is to present a proposition to you as I want to see you succeed in Red. Winning round fans can be as simple as 100% commitment on the pitch (Kuyt), world class skill, commitment and appreciation of the fans (Suarez), local boy (Carra and Stevie), a tattoo and commitment (Agger) and so on. My idea for you, to get the fans on board, to win round the doubters and cynics and allow Reds worldwide to take you to heart is to negotiate a new contract. Simple.
The twist is that you take a reduced wage, say half of what you are on each week. I am sure that this would remain a considerable amount and in reality a galaxy away of the money earned by Mr and Mrs Kop each year let alone week. For me this would show that you have a commitment to the club and want to play for the shirt rather than your bank and I guarantee the reaction of the fans would blow your socks off and the support you would receive as a result would be like nothing you have ever experienced. We are led to believe that Bellers is doing this to return to Cardiff and he will forever remain close to the hearts of both clubs.
I hope you have read this and I hope you give it some consideration as I believe you are a top, top player, and I want you to succeed at Liverpool.
You’ll Never Walk Alone
Tim Williams
@timdibs
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Haha both those would certainly please fans! But seriously it’s not as outlandish as you think! Check out damiano tommassi at Roma!
Not saying for an instant that this will or should happen, instead just want to get chatting about the subject. The lad is on a lot, 3 x what Suarez was on and he will struggle to justify!
Sorry Joe, it’s time you found another smaller club.
Class! It is a tough ask considering there are family dynamics but I think Mr Williams is right as Cole will forever be seen as a wage monger amongst patriots.
I’m sorry Timmy, Joe Cole is dead and gone ..
It’s not Joe’s fault we agreed to pay him approx 90000 a week,and why should he take a pay cut to satisfy the fans. Would Carragher take a pay cut for spending so much time on the bench regardless what he thinks of the club.
I would never have signed Joe Cole. Both Carragher and Gerrard pushed for him to sign. You can thank the great C Purslow for that with encouragement from those players i mentioned, maybe they should contribute to his wags. Joe is probably the most technically gifted English football player, but it’s common knowledge that he not the brightest (basically he’s a thick as two short planks) and because of this he is unable to understand what is asked of him by his manager. The tactical side of the game is something he just does not understand and it’s really obvious if you watch him play. If you want this clarified from sources better than me just see what one J Mourinho and one C Ancelotti said about him. They just didn’t bother with him very much because they knew he couldn’t understand what they wanted from him tactically. I rest my case.
20 million wasted in wages, so the sooner we get him off the wage bill the better.
Wow. So may comments. Unfortunately, I agree with the majority of them. I think that the assumption that halving his salary would win the fans over is wide of the mark. Either way, if he under performs, the fans won’t warm to him. The salaries of the players on the pitch is the last thing on my mind on match day. I’m more concerned about getting the ball in the back of the net. I honestly think that Joe still has something to give at Liverpool. He’s a dynamic player who can make a run and pick a pass, we saw it in pre-season. If we’d have paid 5 million for him and not had to pay a salary for his first 5 years, I’d say that was value for money even if he only has one good season between now and when we sell him!
No assumption was meant but the question to your point is, as a red what would your reaction be to a player voluntarily taking a pay cut as a gesture to prove his worth? Look at tommassi at roma
my dyslexic grandma , who knows nothing about football , would like a go at writing articles for this site as she could do better and more interesting articles than you tim .
ok , constructive criticism … for starters , of course cole always tries his best and then ……..oh i couldn’t be bothered explaining why its such a stupid and pointless article .
stop wasting our time with this drivel tim
Perhaps your dyslexic grandma may be best employed in responding! If you want to chat then lets chat, here is some starter questions for you:
1. Trying your best good enough for 90k a week?
2. Can Liverpool sustain a squad player at 90k a week in our current situation?
3. Will fans ever give joe a chance to settle whilst earning wages that until recently were much higher than Suarez?
4. Rodgers has talked at length about the gravy train at anfield being over, where does this leave joe?
5. What suggestions would you have for joe to stay, succeed and win over fans? Or is simply trying your best good enough rather than a bare minimum?
6. As a fan, how would you feel if a player signed reduced terms as a gesture to the club and to the fans?
You may not realise but this is not actually a letter being sent to joe cole, rather a piece to highlight our financial hangover from a previous regime. Joe cole is a thoroughly nice chap by all accounts and undoubtedly talented but can his LFC career start with this elephant in the room? When LFC are having to pay off Aquilani to get him off the wage bill and giving a price for agger rather than city the bum rush we can’t afford squad players earning that much. The suggestion, albeit radical, is not unheard of, please check out damiano tommassi at Roma.
Please feel free to read my other articles and I look forward to your feedback and future writing tips.
On a serious note, football is about opinions, which is part of its beauty, people will always differ but surely it makes it more enjoyable to engage and challenge rather than dismiss? With that thought I would love you to come back with answers to my questions above so we can have a chat.
ok- to your first point , yes all we can ask of any player is for them to try their best whether its talent like suarez or dross like poulsen ,if we went out and bought donald duck and put him on 90k a week its the clubs fault not the player
2. its not down to the player at all , again its the clubs fault , joe cole is the tiniest tip of the iceberg when it comes to wasted money in recent years
3 . liverpool fans always give players a chance if they see the effort being put it , which is why putting the boot into a player ( which this article does ) is not helping anyone .
4.rodgers likes cole and is obviously happy cole is there
5 .my personal opinion is , i dont think cole is good enough anymore and should be sold . but as long as he stays and continues to give his all (which he does ) , then pool fans should get behind him and not write articles like this about him .
6. that is just so unrealistic and silly , i wouldn’t give up some of my wages , would you ?
finally yes it annoys me to see such money spent with very little return , but when i think of some of the other characters who have tainted the red shirt in recent years ( diouf , diao , konchesky , jovanovic ,degen to name a few ) , i dont agree with berating a player like cole , he doesnt deserve it . if you need to attach blame , look to the club , ayre , purslow , hodgson , but you cannot blame the player for his fee ( carroll ) or wages
I’m glad you came back bob, more than anything this article was designed to stimulate debate and chat amongst fellow fans and that is why your fist comment was disappointing!
I can see your point of view and what you are trying to say but disagree with a fair amount! I fail to see how the article sticks the boot in?? I thought I made it quite clear that I liked joe as a player and was desperate or him to succeed! I don’t believe I was berating him either, I think he is a player who possesses tremendous talent but hampered by a millstone. Price tag in the case of Carroll (which I have discussed at length elsewhere here if you want to read) is largely irrelevant, it is wages that hamper the club in the long run.
There is without doubt a huuuuuge monkey on his back at the club and you are quite correct it isn’t his fault, he merely accepted an offer the club made. You do any research into fans feelings on cole (and this piece is based on some you know!) and it is clear some can not get past the stumbling block of his wage. It is clear in most minds that 90k a week for a player in Coles position is not sustainable and as someone who wants him to succeed at the club I thought it was a fair suggestion! As I have Said numerous times damiano tommassi did something similar at Roma! Bellers signed for Cardiff ignoring higher offers. Comparing my job/wage to Coles is a non starter as is completely different but runnin with it if my employer aske to cut my wage to keep employing me then I have 3 options 1. Do it and keep a job and a wage coming in 2. Refuse and get fired/sold/leave 3. Quit and get a similar job with same pay. Can cole get a contract like this elsewhere? I very much doubt it due to his age.
Again I want to repeat I haven’t and won’t actually sen this letter to cole of Liverpool it is merely a tool to stimulate chat around a big problem at LFC with cole being merely an example rather than a target. Also to reiterate as it was apparently not clear, I really rate cole and always have done and this is an attempt at thinking outside the box to try and solve a problem!
Would love to chat further with you bob
i couldn’t disagree more tim .i bet coles 90k a week is not a burden but a nice warm comfort blanket that makes him feel just fine .
it does not matter to fans what wages a player is on ,if he is not doing it , he shouldn’t be in the team .a lot of fans feel spearing is not good enough and should be left out which would make his considerably less wages also a waste , if cole or anyone is not performing (and there were quite a few last season ) then their wages are a waste be it cole 90k or anyone else . why not ask henderson ,carroll, downing or even adam to reduce their wages because they did not give value either . where would it start ? where would it end ? maybe if gerrard had a bad 6 months you would ask him to take a pay cut .
it does annoy me and fellow fans when we waste money but , again look to the club not the players for blame
It clearly is though! Rodgers, Werner and Henry have all come out in the last week and talked about the wage issue and the large salaries the club were left with.
I’m sure 90k a week is very comforting but I promise you that if you ask about the main beef with cole will be the salary! I did!
I think you are missing my point still, I do not blame cole for anything! I want him to succeed, I want him to do well, I want the fans completely behind him and to take him to heart but that won’t happen while he rakes in 90k without absolute worldie contribution! My suggestion has nothing to do with him playing poorly or not! Joe was a big name signing arriving with a big reputation and a big wage packet, his window of opportunity/honeymoon period to be taken to heart was shorter than most and through injury/poor management/poor team form and then going on loan meant he never really ‘arrived’ and now he remains as a focal point of a much maligned period where we vastly overspent on wages which still affects the club. Recognising this and as a gesture would this not win over vast sections of support, get them really onside? Worked for Tommassi
Look at Aquilani, another player I wanted to do well, for whatever reason couldn’t settle/wasn’t fancied we essentially paid him off to join fiorentina! FSG are looking to make Liverpool self sustainable and can not do it whilst squad players earn 90k a week, simple! Cole can not be sold as no club will meet his wages and LFC don’t want to contribute so Rodgers is in a catch 22! Cole doesn’t make the first 11 his wage dictates so FSG will want rid, like they did with Aquilani, but can’t because of the wage. Now as I have said I want how to stay and flourish! My idea was simply a suggestion that would buy favour with the club and support and buy him the time to find his feet and form. Radical yes but not unheard of! I respect your right to disagree and have enjoyed chatting about our different points of view, what football is all about, differing opinions discussed maturely! My next question to you is this:
You disagree with my idea, how would you handle the joe cole situation?
The difference with cole against the young players brought in like Carroll + hendo is cole should be bringing an
Immediate impact his reputation and wage demands, whereas the others have youth on their side. Downing slightly different but was bought by FSG who gave suare 35k initially so can’t imagine he is on a great deal. Spearing is a squad player and his wage will reflect that!
firstly tommasi was already a legend at roma , he had already proved himself and was just returning from a long injury and was playing for his boyhood team . yes it was a fine gesture but because one man does it , doesn’t mean anyone else should , cole is fit (mostly) and ready to play , tommasi was not .
if 35m for carroll and 16m for henderson doesn’t warrant an immediate impact – nothing does , its not fair to single cole out for under-achievement.
as for what to do with cole , i would get rid , take a loss ,pay him off , sometimes you have to take a hit , just as we had to on aquilani ,keane ,and many more and will have to on carroll . after 5 injury hit years i bet you never asked aurelio to cut his wages .these are all the prices liverpool pay for poor choices just as sometimes we get profit from good ones .
we could debate this on and on ,the fact is asking players to cut their wages is preposterous and naive and they are never going to do it , so lets end it there .
Completely disagree with you and the instant impact required of Carroll and Henderson. Please read the articles I did on those chaps.
I’m confused as to how I’m being derogatory about cole by suggesting a solution to help him prosper but you aren’t by wanting to pay him to leave??
Anways you want to end the chat that’s cool, was enjoying the chat, always interesting to talk about different opinions.
Please read my other articles on this site and I hope you find them interesting! If you want to chat further come find me on twitter @timdibs love chatting with other reds.
YNWA
Was aurelio not on a pay as you play deal?
definitely last reply .cutting coles wages wont matter a jot to the fans , if he is not doing , fans will want rid whether he is on 90k or 20k , and if he was back to his chelsea form ,fans would love him even if he was on 200k a week .
so if he cut his wages fans would say nice things about him for about 2 weeks .after that if he was still under performing people would be moaning about him and writing articles on why we are wasting say 50k a week on a washed up player .
i do like cole but it doesnt matter if we were paying him only 10k a week , its still a waste of money , and there are many more who have not earned their huge wages
as for aurelio , no it was not pay as you go , it was proper contract . again not aurelios fault . someone should send hodgson the bill . 10 out of 10 for your persistence and defending your convictions but …