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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Ridiculous letter.. Joe gives 100% for us and always speaks very highly of the fans and Liverpool. Its just a shame his legs have gone
Surely giving 100% for the club is the absolute bare minimum no??
Put in perspective, Suarez was on 35k a week before his new deal, cole on over 90k. His wage a serious hangover of a time where Liverpool overspent and we are still feeling the repercussions. Our wage bill from last accounts remained ingest the highest in the league, a far through from our current predicament. Why shouldn’t people be challenged to earn their money or show that what they say is truly meant?
Two chances, A Dogs chance and No Chance.
Would certainly win the fans though!
What an absolute pointless and ridiculous article! If JC ever does read this, I too am a lifelong Liverpool fan and I do not share the same values as Tim above! Nor will 90% of the fans! In the games you play, simply give your all, blood sweat and tears, as fans we will see this, and love you for it! That is all a player ever needs to do for Liverpool! Try you hardest every time you pull on a Liverpool shirt and that is all you can do!
I would say that 100% effort is a bare minimum for putting on a red shirt and does not justify a huge wage. I like cole as a player but he is hamstrung by the money he earns. A gesture to the club and the fans to show his commitment is radical granted but it’s been shown before where a desire to play for a team outweighs money in the pocket! Ask mr bellamy
What?!
To be honest if I was a footballer I wouldn’t be renegotiating my contract to earn half what has been agreed, although the thought would be nice! To get us fans on side we just want to see desire ,determination , and effort. That’s 90% of it for a fan.
True, but it has been seen that some put football before money. How refreshing would it be for a footballer to make such a gesture to win the fans? No one doubted cole giving 100% or in fact Aquilani or jovanovic or dossena
Point continued…..but have they truly represented value for money?? Our higher earners should be those who deserve it and have worked for it, gerrard, Suarez, Lucas etc etc
Behind the confusion THERE IS A POINT – Time to produce or leave Mr Cole
laughable article!! Joe Cole is past it & will be loaned out again because he is greedy & wants his huge wage packet. I reckon Kenny tried to sell him last summer, but he dug his heels in. Time to start playing hardball with him & Carroll. Let them know that they can stay if they want….but will be on the bench. Maybe then they will prick up their ears!!
I think that letter is sad weird and the worst letter ive read.give half your wage away what for you weird man wow.ITS like me in work and my best mate saying give up your wages son well atleast half i dont think your trying hard enough yeah rite i wud slap yeah i wud joe has been jinx with injury and is now on his feet hes a nice lad and will prove himself this season and hell score many goals.good luck joe from a real die hard lfc fan …………
How can any normal persons work be compared to that of a footballer? I fail to see how the letter is not supportive of joe or criticising him in any way? There is a lot of negativity out there for joe stemming from a wage that until recently was 3x that of Suarez! Wages like cole and Aquilani I go with those in the recent past such as jovanovic have really hampered Liverpool and fsg in their attempt to progress and become self sufficient, rightly or wrongly, have struggled to handle these figures! Cole say he wants to perform for LFC, well prove it!
Awight geezer (TW), Yeh i wills play for noffink if you give hawf your wonger back to your boss you useless git!!!
Stupid is as stupid does…..
Point missed I think!
what kind of idiots does this site let write for them . what a stupid article ! if joe cole actually read it , i hope he wouldn’t pay any attention because it was written by a moron , this sites standards are slipping .
Constructive criticism, you got to love!
Look or war to reading your articles in the future 😉
Honestly speaking,He is right in some ways.I used to love J.Cole like my Alonso because both used to be match winners.Seeing his playing value depreciate without even playing much matches is questionable for a player that earns that much.Remember when Chelsea gave you a matching orde,WE Liverpool fans welcomed you wholeheartedly and so i will love to give us that spirit we saw you with before LFC gave you that opportunity to serve.I know you are not a dead wood but an asset.Still love you…
Thank you for understanding the underlying points of the article! Some seem to think that it is a piece that is to be posted to joe cole! LFC fans as a whole take players into their heart much more than others and are desperate for their success! Yet as much as I want cole to succeed and before him Aquilani, there is a point where you need to step back and look at wages and can they be justified? His career so far, cole’s can’t and realistically he faces an uphill battle to justify. Radical admittedly but is there a better way to win fans in the short term?
Well tim you are a very hard person to please thats what i think.it doesnt matter how much joe cole is on its the lfc board that thought he was worth every penny and under kenny never got a chance.So if any ones to blame its the manager becos he never got a chance but rodgers knows what he can proudce but if joe cole reads that letter he will be insulted your meant to get behind your team not rip them in half wow boy how cud you you secret mank joe just igorne him…from a true red…..
Not sure how this piece is ripping anyone in half? I wonder if you actually read it or jumped straight to comments!
On the wage that he is on will he ever be allowed to settle in and perform? What club can afford to have a player on 90k a week to sit on the bench?
@mike furnival.Dont get it wrong.Must he (J.C) be given a full season to prove his worth? Hell no! If Bellamy as old as he was before the anfield return could give his best almost all of the time he’s called upon,then J.C has no excuse than to deliver.For crying out loud how long are the fans going to continuing to endure what is not their fault due to some uncommited players with sky rocketed pay? It is not the fans fault that some players did not gel to get us some deserved points last season or dont we deserved to play the CL anymore? Just as the blood is a vital force in the body so is LFC amongst European Champions.
tim i think your a mank please reveil your true manky identity… ha ha ha tim please can i have half of your wages and well for get about it ha ha you joke…….ha ha
Feel free to read my other articles and decide for yourself
The ONLY words an open letter to Josephine should contain are “Get out you useless piece of garbage”. Josephine was overhyped at Chelscum and was made to look better by the players around him. And bcuz of of peoples obsession with have brit players, we allowed him to come in a rob the club blind. To even think that an overhyped, overpaid millionaire is going to give back ANY of the money he steals from the club shows how disconnected from reality most fans are. Players play for money and glory..anyone that thinks “loyalty” to specific club has much to do with it needs to get a grip. You, as an employee, would NEVER agree to give back half your salary, as a “show of good faith”. Why would you think that these players would not laugh in your face at the suggestion??
Not all players play for money an glory, you would be suprised! For example please check out damiano tommasi at Roma!
tim i think we shud all watch you in work then well all decide weather to give you all of your wage.HA HA then ill write a letter about you is that ok timmy……..
Feel free
Tim i forgot mate you said it wud win the fans over if he gave up half of his wages.You tell your work mates that you have give up your wage and see what they say.THEY WUD CALL YOU A WOLLY DO YOU GET ME NOW.You wudnt win any one over trust me.
As a fan how would you feel about any player who came out after signing a new contract and said ‘I signed for less money as it means more to play for Liverpool’
That wouldn’t create an instant positive reaction?
Difference is in my work is that my job isn’t the focal point of millions of fans passion worldwide!
joe cole please stand up and tell timmy your giving half your wages to me mike furnival and then ill get you a pint timmy ha ha your funny timmy ha ha ha what a legend ha ha yuo have made me laugh to nite . ha ha ha ha…….
I’m glad I have been able to make you smile 🙂
Here is an idea then Mikey, you disagree with my point which is fine by me, so your turn now, how would you deal with a problem like joe?
Feel free to read my other articles and you can decide for yourself!
Guys, he is finished and Liverpool are the last big pay. Ancelloti knew it, and let him go on free. Watch the guy after about 70 minutes of play (if ever he lasts as long). Hands on the hips and heavy breathing shows he is finished as a sportsmen. If you can not last 90 minutes as a professional, you are finished. We were conned into buying him and now we are stuck. The reason why he was good in France, is simple, football is not as fast paced as the PL. He should seek a move somewhere in Italy next.
Personally, i feel he can not contribute to the club. As for the wages, he cant ask for a pay cut. This is the reason he left Chelsea, for more money and he is getting it….
Do you not think he has anything to offer Liverpool? Certainly think that’s harsh. I agree with your comment about the French success, but certainly think he has plenty to offer in terms of an impact player, but Liverpool is not a club that can pay 90k+ week for an impact role, and as we have seen in Aquilani it is very hard to move on a player on huge wages!
Although some have missed the point the suggestion made is that a suggestion! Would love to see what others think about how to deal with the joe cole conundrum!
i thought i was the only person who notted his weariness.After few minutes of play,you see him breathing hard like a rot weiller (appolies if it seems).All i want is a chance to watch my team LFC play in CL next season.
If anyone thinks this is absolutely ridiculous, and some do, please check out damiano tomassi! To help here is a copy From his Wikipedia page:
During a summer friendly match against Stoke City in 2004, Tommasi suffered a horrible knee injury, caused by Gerry Taggart,[1][2] and was out of action for a long time. In the summer of 2005 he accepted a one-year contract extension, with youth player wages (€1,500 a month) – a contract which, astonishingly, Tommasi instigated himself in the name of fairness
The question that some have missed, as a red how would you feel about joe cole if he instigated a deal where his salary was reduced? Would it make any difference or would you get behind more?