Cole is on loan at Lille and has become Anfield’s forgotten man after a disappointing debut campaign. Where will he play his football next season?
There is a closed down cafe near to where I live, with old newspapers covering the glass to stop people looking into the empty premises.
One of these papers is a back page from the summer of 2010, which always catches my eye, as it is a photo of Joe Cole holding a Liverpool shirt, with the headline; ‘We will win the league.’
How did that turn out?
For Joe Cole, Liverpool, and England, his move was an abject failure, featuring a red card on his debut, missed penalties, plenty of time on the bench, and Roy Hodgson’s dismal reign in charge.
That was part of his problem, when Kenny Dalglish took over, he had his own ideas, and Cole was not at the forefront of them, which was made clear when he was allowed to find a new team to spend the season on loan at.
To Cole’s credit, he chose to enhance his footballing career by playing overseas for a Champions League side in Lille, rather than the safe route of joining a mid-table Premier League side in Aston Villa or even a return to Championship club West Ham United.
At Lille this season he has been a steady performer, rather than a revelation, but confirmed that he still has something to offer at the top level.
The question is will this be at Liverpool? Well let’s explore his season at Lille a little further.
He has scored eight goals in 35 appearances, his highest tally since 2007-08, and the fourth highest of his career. The most goals he has scored in a season was 11 with Chelsea in 2004-05, so he can still eclipse this, with two months of the season remaining.
He has also provided five assists during his time in Ligue One. Of his eight goals so far, three came in one game, when he bagged a hat-trick against an amateur side in the French Cup in January.
On Sunday evening he spent most of the game on the bench for Lille’s 4-0 win over Valenciennes, replacing the much-talked about Belgian, Eden Hazard in the 84th minute.
It was not a mistake for Dalglish to leave him out, Cole needed regular football, and despite the club’s struggle for goals at home, if he was not in the manager’s plans, he was right to allow him to go on loan and get his confidence back.
Whether Cole is a long-term solution at Anfield, the answer would be no. Now 30, Liverpool should be looking at a younger creative player, such as Arsenal target Younes Belhanda or Bilbao’s Iker Muniain.
But if their targets cannot be bought this summer, or even if they are, there is no reason why Cole cannot use his years of experience and technique off the bench to influence games.
Cole may not be the star name who Liverpool fans crave this summer, but he will have a point to prove, and complimented with the attacking talents of Luis Suarez, he can still play a role.
He is 30 not 35, he is not ready to call it quits on his career just yet, and could have two or three years left at the top if he keeps fit and healthy. His season on the continent will have done him no harm, and Liverpool will see a better, wiser player return than the one who left.
It may be a mistake to cast him aside without another chance, so Liverpool’s management should think carefully if they can fit Cole into their set up for next season, even as an impact player and let him prove himself from there.
Should Cole be allowed a second chance at Anfield next season?
image: © k1ngk0ng
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