The disrespect for Andy Cole

[FujiVice]

Andy did an interview with The Beautiful Game podcast and with Keys and Grey, discussing the fact they did a top ten strikers on BBC and they didnt have him in the top ten (although Wrighty put him at number 10 after the fact, because he respected him or something.) Its got me thinking, He's scored 40 goals in a season, won the champions league, was at one point United's all time leading European goalscorer won the Premier League by scoring on the final day twice, scored more outfield goals than anyone. Put those stats with anyone else, and you're talking an all timer.

So what was it? People bang on about Michael Owens injuries, but Coley came to United with shin splints which effected him for 2 years. He broke his legs in a reserve game, and went down with pneumonia within his first 2 years at United. Yet nobody ever gives Coley that excuse when they talk about poor form. There seems to be a big dislike for him among pundits and the press, just because he didnt play the game Shearer and Owen did.

For me, he was absolutely brilliant. Even all those missed chances in his first few years, I look back on now and admire how great his positioning was. He goal machine whose pace and willingness to adapt to the team was first class.

 

[RUCK4444]

He’s a better player than Ian Wright for a feckin start.

 

[GlasgowCeltic]

Can’t remember if it was Hoddle or Venables who made the judgement on him as a player but it stuck with him and has ever since

 

[duffer]

Outstanding player.

 

[FujiVice]

Can’t remember if it was Hoddle or Venables who made the judgement on him as a player but it stuck with him and has ever since

Hoddle.

 

[hubbuh]

Andy Cole did a really interesting interview with The Guardian recently. It was extremely candid, revealing some of the mental health problems he's experienced following some problems that emanated from his transplant. It can be read here. Unfortunately I was a bit too young to really appreciate Cole as a footballer, but from the footage I've seen retrospectively he was ace. Fantastic partnership with Yorkie that won the club a treble! Legend.

 

[The Cat]

Not the only time one of Hoddle's opinions has been totally wrong.

 

[bdecuc]

Andy did an interview with The Beautiful Game podcast and with Keys and Grey, discussing the fact they did a top ten strikers on BBC and they didnt have him in the top ten (although Wrighty put him at number 10 after the fact, because he respected him or something.) Its got me thinking, He's scored 40 goals in a season, won the champions league, was at one point United's all time leading European goalscorer won the Premier League by scoring on the final day twice, scored more outfield goals than anyone. Put those stats with anyone else, and you're talking an all timer.

So what was it? People bang on about Michael Owens injuries, but Coley came to United with shin splints which effected him for 2 years. He broke his legs in a reserve game, and went down with pneumonia within his first 2 years at United. Yet nobody ever gives Coley that excuse when they talk about poor form. There seems to be a big dislike for him among pundits and the press, just because he didnt play the game Shearer and Owen did.

For me, he was absolutely brilliant. Even all those missed chances in his first few years, I look back on now and admire how great his positioning was. He goal machine whose pace and willingness to adapt to the team was first class.

I think he arrived as a goal-poacher and because he tended to miss quite a few (and commonly remembered misses) in his early years here he's a bit under-appreciated. However it's that bit about adapting to the team which was really impressive about him. His general play outside the box was limited really when he first came I thought but they way he gradually and gradually improved that part of his game over the years was really good. He obviously worked very hard through his career because he seemed to improve so much as a fooballer during it - while not losing that ability to score goals. That's what impressed me most about him.

 

[GledTheRed]

Loved Andy Cole as a player, was brilliant for us.

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

I was young during his prime but considering I'd happily list the likes of Schmeichel, Cantona and Irwin as my United heroes it is odd that I instinctively underrate Andy Cole in my mind. As has been said his early years when he missed a lot of chances (I remember my uncle singing 'he gets the ball, does sod all' gleefully at me, the bastard) must have counted against him in our minds, but what he did after those tough times at United was superb. He's definitely a hugely underrated player, and I'll try to put that right in my mind from now on.

 

[groovyalbert]

Such an excellent player, and more versatile than is often given credit for. Some of his partnership play with Yorke was some of the best seen in the league. Controversial opinion for this forum I'm sure.

A consistent and valid criticism was the number of chances he would often squander, not dissimilar to Ibra or Lukaku in recent years. This may be why he was omitted from top 10 lists.

 

[SilentWitness]

I think a big part of it with younger people i.e people 25 and below (I'll include myself in this despite being 26) who aren't United fans will probably always associate Cole with Yorke. Maybe it is just me but whenever I think of Cole I always think about his partnership with Yorke because that's the season that will always be looked at when he comes up into neutral conversation. In regards to other strikers like Shearer I don't think of his partnership with Sutton as much, I think about him as a standalone quality striker. Same with the likes of Henry, Ibra etc. His partnership with Yorke was that good that it gets pushed to the forefront of convos about him compared to the other strikers on the list.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Absolutely cracking player. I think he is very underrated by many.

 

[RedTiger]

He’s a better player than Ian Wright for a feckin start.

100%

 

[Rozay]

If I speak.

Another one of the ‘questionable attitude’ players he was.

 

[Buster15]

Loved Andy Cole as a player, was brilliant for us.

Me too.
He was a much better player than he was given credit for.
He was often criticised for needing too many chances to score.
But he was a top class striker for me.
And his positional play and genuine pace made him very difficult to defend against.

 

[11101]

Can’t remember if it was Hoddle or Venables who made the judgement on him as a player but it stuck with him and has ever since

This.

It's not only Cole though. Hasselbaink, Smith, Dublin and a few others are forgotten from that time. They're not in recent memory, but not old enough to have entered legend either. They're also not plastered over MOTD every week like big ears and misery guts.

 

[balaks]

He’s a better player than Ian Wright for a feckin start.

I wouldn't go that far. Wright was better in my opinion but both were fantastic strikers.

 

[NickSantigo]

IIRC he was being allowed to leave in the summer of 1996 but stayed and fought where a lesser player would have left.
He seemed to go to another level when Dwight Yorke came.

People forget how good he was for Newcastle with Beardsley.
Really underrated player

 

[711]

It was Match of the Day on BBC. They made a comment about needing lots of chances to score and in those days everyone, public and other journalists, just used to repeat what had been said on Match of the Day to each other ad nauseam. They did the same with Ronaldo, for years feckwits went round saying he had no end product when if they'd have used their own eyes they'd have see he was fecking brilliant. As for Cole, yes, underrated, by a lot of United fans too.

 

[devilish]

Can’t remember if it was Hoddle or Venables who made the judgement on him as a player but it stuck with him and has ever since

Hoddle

 

[meamth]

Never got the chance to watch him play week in, week out. Started supporting United in 2003.

Thought he is obviously highly rated due to him being in the treble squad, but reading this thread I quickly realized when they discussing the elite level strikers, Andy Cole has never been mentioned regularly.

It's always, Kun, Henry, Ruud, Shearer, Wright, but rarely Cole. Was he that far away from them?

 

[UnrelatedPsuedo]

I wouldn't go that far. Wright was better in my opinion but both were fantastic strikers.

Are you serious? Cole is closer to Henry than Wright in terms of ability, and impact.

 

[pacifictheme]

IIRC he was being allowed to leave in the summer of 1996 but stayed and fought where a lesser player would have left.
He seemed to go to another level when Dwight Yorke came.

People forget how good he was for Newcastle with Beardsley.
Really underrated player

Amazing since Beardsley probably hated him.

But yeah Andy Cole is one of my favourite players. Loved him as a player, so underrated.

 

[duffer]

Never got the chance to watch him play week in, week out. Started supporting United in 2003.

Thought he is obviously highly rated due to him being in the treble squad, but reading this thread I quickly realized when they discussing the elite level strikers, Andy Cole has never been mentioned regularly.

It's always, Kun, Henry, Ruud, Shearer, Wright, but rarely Cole. Was he that far away from them?

I've never heard anyone talk about Wright in the same breath as the others. Cole was better than Ian Wright for sure and I'd have him not far off of Ruud.

 

[balaks]

Are you serious? Cole is closer to Henry than Wright in terms of ability, and impact.

Yeah I'm serious. Wright has a better goal scoring record than Cole and I preferred him as a player. Still think Cole was fantastic.

 

[Josh 76]

He’s a better player than Ian Wright for a feckin start.

No way was he better than Ian Wright.
Cole was a good player. Great goalscorer
But I can name 10 better strikers than him in the PL era.

 

[tjb]

This.

It's not only Cole though. Hasselbaink, Smith, Dublin and a few others are forgotten from that time. They're not in recent memory, but not old enough to have entered legend either. They're also not plastered over MOTD every week like big ears and misery guts.

Leeds and Chelsea did not sustain any real level of success during their eras. If Hasselbaink had played for United, he would be very much remembered. The other two are rated as highly as they should be.

 

[decorativeed]

I think he suffers from the same thing as people in other fields. What the media says sticks, regardless of any evidence to the contrary or any other redeeming qualities.

Andy Cole was a fantastic striker, who became a better player while at United. Because of a couple of incidents - in games where he was not the only high-profile player guilty of not finding the back of the net - he got this reputation of being someone who missed too many chances. I don't remember more than a handful of missed chances in the years I watched him play, yet it's repeated ad-infinitum.

The guy scored bags of goals for us. He assisted dozens. Take Alan Shearer's penalties off his record (Cole was never a penalty taker) and Cole's record is better. Same goes for a comparison with Wayne Rooney. According to the stats on the Premier League website, Cole's shooting accuracy is 40%. That's higher than Rooney, Torres, Drogba, etc. By comparison, they list Aguero at 41% and Henry at 43%. A lot of the older players don't have stats available for some reason.

 

[roonster09]

He should be rated way too highly than many players. His record is very good and deserves lot of respect.

	Games	Goals	Assists	Non Penalty goals	NP Goals + assists	NP Goals per game	NP Goals + assists per game
Shearer	441	260	64	208	272	0.47	0.62
Cole	414	187	73	187	260	0.45	0.63

 

[balaks]

He should be rated way too highly than many players. His record is very good and deserves lot of respect.

	Games	Goals	Assists	Non Penalty goals	NP Goals + assists	NP Goals per game	NP Goals + assists per game
Shearer	441	260	64	208	272	0.47	0.62
Cole	414	187	73	187	260	0.45	0.63

Are we trying to suggest he was better than Shearer now? He was a very good striker but nowhere near Shearer.

 

[roonster09]

Are we trying to suggest he was better than Shearer now? He was a very good striker but nowhere near Shearer.

Did I?

 

[balaks]

Did I?

Well I don't know are you? You did put up a direct comparison with the two players so I think it was fair to suggest you might think that? That's why I was asking you the question!

 

[roonster09]

Yeah I'm serious. Wright has a better goal scoring record than Cole and I preferred him as a player. Still think Cole was fantastic.

	Games	Goals	Assists	Non Penalty goals	NP Goals + assists	NP Goals per game	NP Goals + assists per game
Shearer	213	113	22	97	119	0.45	0.62
Cole	414	187	73	187	260	0.45	0.55

 

[roonster09]

Well I don't know are you? You did put up a direct comparison with the two players so I think it was fair to suggest you might think that? That's why I was asking you the question!

His record is very good and deserves lot of respect.

If I meant he was better, I would have said he was better.

 

[balaks]

His record is very good and deserves lot of respect.

If I meant he was better, I would have said he was better.

Well fair enough, I agree with you too.

 

[TrustInOle]

Well I don't know are you? You did put up a direct comparison with the two players so I think it was fair to suggest you might think that? That's why I was asking you the question!

Or, he is trying to highlight the fact his record speaks for itself when compared to an all-time great. Imagine if he took pens. By no means does this come across as suggesting Cole be better than Shearer.

Fantastic player, along with Giggs and Beckham, he would be the player to excite me when I was younger. His technique was underated.

 

[redshaw]

Top striker that got left out internationally and this seemed to tarnish his rep. Same with Brucie and Pally and others, it was very London scouse centric back then.

 

[711]

Well fair enough, I agree with you too.

I think Shearer was the better player than Cole, but I think Cole was the better value.

Newcastle sold Cole to us for £7m and 18 months later bought Shearer for £15m. If they'd have kept Cole and bought two world-class defenders with the extra £8m instead then the league might have been theirs.

 

[TrustInOle]

I think Shearer was the better player than Cole, but I think Cole was the better value.

Newcastle sold Cole to us for £7m and 18 months later bought Shearer for £15m. If they'd have kept Cole and bought two world-class defenders with the extra £8m instead then the league might have been theirs.

Extra value for events eventually leading to OGS

On a quick change of thought, looking back through history and what we accomplished, how many of you would swap the Cole transfer for Shearer? Would be and easy no for me, that Yorke partnership has yet to be beaten in my opinion. But maybe thats a rose tinted view from my childhood.