I think I speak for most Liverpool supporters when I say that I was excited and hopeful when we signed Joe Cole for free last summer, I thought he would be a integral part of the team last season and felt that we could genuinely compete for a spot in the top 4. However excitement soon turned into disappointment as we were left to be frustrat with him last season as he looked like a shadow of his former self struggling with the pace of the game and his fitness, also he never really looked comfortable playing as a central attacking midfielder when Woy tested him out on Europa League matches. Joe Cole last season reminded me of the similarities he has with Ryan Babel's Liverpool career (minus the flashes of brilliance Ryan sometimes showed), I for one wanted Babel to stay because his potential was huge but the lad was far too inconsistent. Question is do we keep Joe Cole for this season, to give him one more chance under Kenny's leadership? Or do we move on and replace him with a better player or give a chance to a youngster. Personally I am tempted to give him until January just because I have a gut feeling that maybe he will come good and it will help our squad depth, the only few things putting me off is his wages and his injuries that he's struggled with over the past few seasons. What are your thoughts about Joe Cole? Does his future lie elsewhere or will he be a benefit to us this season?
Good article. I think he could be an important asset to us next season. He can be excellent and if he can show some form, I believe he could be important. There are still some problems though. He is rumoured to be on £90,000 a week which is an immense amount of money. I believe that if a decent offer comes in for Joe (£4-5M) he will be off. Another point... Where does he fit in? I can't see him getting in the starting line-up and do you want a player on £90,000 a week who is on the bench. So, I can see Kenny giving him another chance but if a decent off comes in for him, I think he will be off. I really hope he does show some decent form though.
I disagree that Babel has huge potential. He had all the physical stats (pace, power, a wicked shot) to make him stand out for his age, but absolutely nothing in between his ears. You could see Rafa's frustration at his ability to adapt his game, work on his positioning, or make intelligent runs. Probably his biggest problem though is that i just think he didn't really care. Deep down he didn't want to take his game to the next level. Joe Cole is similar in the disappointment stakes, but i think his problem is that he cares TOO much. Clearly he was desperate to impress and that led to his red card at Arsenal, and then his injuries after that combined with the team's form and a lot of media pressure really got to him i think. This preseason he looks like he has gotten a bit of confidence back and he's taking up some good positions again. Unlike Babel, Joe Cole has actually proved he can be a top player, we just need to make sure he knows he can still cut it. Also people bring up his wages a lot, but it's similar to if we had paid maybe £6/7mil for him and he was on £50k a week, which no longer makes the wages a problem. For £6/7mil you've got to think a fit and confident Joe Cole is a great option to have in the squad. He also hasn't complained once and has only ever said how much he wants to prove himself, which i think people forget. The difference for me is that i haven't thought Babel would step up for ages, whereas i still have some hope Cole will. Would love him to prove his doubters wrong, and it's easier said than done, but if Kenny and Clarke can't get the best out of him then who can?
Fair point your raise, the thing with Babel was he wasn't given a run of games to show what he could do and for me he was played out of position but his attitude let him down ultimately, I do hope Cole is given a chance and you are right he has not complained at all he knows what he needs to do, it will be very interesting to see what happens until now and the end of the transfer window, I do hope he stays at least until January to show he still has got what it takes.
Ryan Babel couldn't cut it. End of. We gave him plenty of time and opportunitues to earn a starting place. I don't agree that he was never given a chance. You earn your place in the team by training hard and taking your opportunities as a sub. He never did that and compounded his non performances with a very poor attitude. Delighted he went. About time we moved on. As for Cole, I mirror your thoughts. I have a feeling he might do it for us next year. I would keep him for all next season. See what he can do with a run in the team.
Agree with Mr Nips and B4F. Cole has shown his value at Chelsea; Babel mostly squandered the chances he was given. At least Cole had the excuse of a bad start and injuries for this season. I think if Babel had any consistency outside of Twitter he'd have been given the magical "run of games" he couldn't seem to earn in training or the games he did get starts in.
