Great player that won the lot.
He came here and evolved as a player adding a lot to his game to help us.
He came here and evolved as a player adding a lot to his game to help us.
Andy Cole - premier league hall of famer
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
Great player, ended up an excellent all round striker and the template for how I judge a lot of forwards. Great body shape for the role, quick, brave, agile and super quick feet. Played for the team first and was much more creative than most people remember, plus he has a special range of goals, headers, volleys, overhead kicks, dribbles, chips, scored every goal, and his movement was incredible. Missed chances but was always a huge threat.
On another note Giggs still being absent from this is ludicrous. What is the justification? Moral reasons when you have a number of other known adulterers in there?
On another note Giggs still being absent from this is ludicrous. What is the justification? Moral reasons when you have a number of other known adulterers in there?
Outstanding
Cole was from an era of peak transfers, didn't seem to be any sagas and a lot of them were an unexpected surprise. I had a paper round and used to love reading the transfer news on the morning back pages.
Most underrated player in PL history.
Remember coming home from school and hearing about the Cole transfer, before the days of transfer windows, was a great day.
Though the best moment was Kevin Keegan trying to convince the Newcastle fans they got the better deal with Keith Gillespie arriving.
Totally. Cole was better than what we had before, but not top class. We could have won in Europe a couple more times with Shearer. It was clear when Ruud came what a top striker did to a team - pity we were on our way downhiill when he arrived.
EPL HOF, ok, 187 goals is impressive.
Had an awesome season at Newcastle being joining Man Utd.
But for me personally, he will go down as one of my least fave UTD players due to the fact he failed time & time again to score in the important games (apart from the Spurs 99 game which helped win the treble).
Cup QFs, SFs & Finals he was found wanting, thankfully football is a team game so others had to step up to the plate to help UTD win trophies.
94-95 final game of the season had to beat WHU, Cantona was banned, McClair managed to score whilst Cole failed, enough said.
Had an awesome season at Newcastle being joining Man Utd.
But for me personally, he will go down as one of my least fave UTD players due to the fact he failed time & time again to score in the important games (apart from the Spurs 99 game which helped win the treble).
Cup QFs, SFs & Finals he was found wanting, thankfully football is a team game so others had to step up to the plate to help UTD win trophies.
94-95 final game of the season had to beat WHU, Cantona was banned, McClair managed to score whilst Cole failed, enough said.
Still probably the most exciting transfer of my lifetime. £7m/£6m+Gillespie seemed massive in 1995.
Odd thing to remember but he was hardly ever caught offside.
He scored in the champions league semi final 1999
He scored two of the most monumental goals in our history! Guaranteed us a place in the final in 99 and won us the league against Spurs too
Goal against Blackburn is my favourite one. Dribble with his right and placed shot with his left.
Bullshit. He scored in Turin to send us to the final. Full speed ahead Barcelona.
Didn’t know he got 34 Premier League goals in one season (42 games but still) with no penalties. That’s insane.
To those who watched him back then, would you say he had a slightly underwhelming career after that start? I assume he must have been one of the highest-rated young strikers ever after that season?
To those who watched him back then, would you say he had a slightly underwhelming career after that start? I assume he must have been one of the highest-rated young strikers ever after that season?
I remember finding him frustrating missing chances.
It's difficult to judge him properly because the hard part is getting the chances.
He became a much better, all round payer after that. At Newcastle he was a scoring machine, had a very good partnership with Beardsely but scoring was his sole purpose. Early days at United were tough for him but once he grew into the role he was fantastic.
Yeah not being old enough to remember him live at Newcastle my memory of him at Utd was being lively but missing as much as he scored, and then wondering how on earth he scored 34 in a season for Newcastle! Then the season with Yorke elevated my opinion of him due to how creative he was that season.
Rewatching any highlights of him now he was better technically than I realised as a youngster.
If memory serves, wasn't Fergie prepared to let him go to Blackburn if Shearer came to us?
You aware that;
1. It was 2-2 with a few minutes to go when he scored & UTD were going through on the away goal rule?
and
2. It was mostly great play by Yorkie leaving cole an easy tap-in?
Right so if Juventus would've scored they would be going through. Cole's goal secured our place in the final.
Definitely underrated.
Whether he was as good as Shearer or others, its subjective. But his record speaks for itself. He was in the top bracket but barely gets a mention, and even some United fans dismiss his achievements.
Someone I won't justify to quote insinuated Cole wasn't very good because SAF signed RVN. Well, Cole was 30 when we signed RVN, and we were still alternating between 442 and 4411/451, with Cole and RvN starting together at times, but Cole wanted to be first choice. Cole could have stayed as a squad player which is still quite an accomplishment for a 30+ year old, for the side dominating English football, and a player for who pace was one of his major assets. His overall game improved a ton at United. Perhaps not quite as clinical as some of the top strikers of his era but he also created goals out of nothing for himself and others.
Whether he was as good as Shearer or others, its subjective. But his record speaks for itself. He was in the top bracket but barely gets a mention, and even some United fans dismiss his achievements.
Someone I won't justify to quote insinuated Cole wasn't very good because SAF signed RVN. Well, Cole was 30 when we signed RVN, and we were still alternating between 442 and 4411/451, with Cole and RvN starting together at times, but Cole wanted to be first choice. Cole could have stayed as a squad player which is still quite an accomplishment for a 30+ year old, for the side dominating English football, and a player for who pace was one of his major assets. His overall game improved a ton at United. Perhaps not quite as clinical as some of the top strikers of his era but he also created goals out of nothing for himself and others.
OK. Scored the winner late against Coventry to keep us in the race in 95. Scored against Southampton to take us to the final day. Scored against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi. Scored against Newcastle at Old Trafford in a must win game in December. Scored on the final day of the season against Boro. Scored against Arsenal at Highbury in 97. Scored against Liverpool at Anfield to chinch the title. Scored against Liverpool at Anfield again the following year. Was our leading goalscorer in Europe before Van Nistelrooy turned up, scoring against the likes of Barcelona and Juventus. And that's just the ones I remember. All he did was score important goals. What an absolute bollocks suggestion.
Also, McClair was a natural goalscorer. Not exactly anything to be ashamed of.
They didn't so irrelevant.
So by number 2 should you not be giving Cole credit for the pinpoint cross to Yorke for the second?
He was really good in that second leg, like pretty much everyone was
That post is clutching at straws big time, I suggest you totally analyse UTD's QF, SF & Cup Final games & you'll see the true extent of him blowing it in the really big games, 95-96 is a prime example when Cole failed & it was Cantona that was producing the important goals time & time again apart from 1 goal, FA Cup SF equaliser vs Chelsea & even then it was up to Becks to provide the all important winner.
Clutching at straws = giving examples of what big games actually are.
A lot of people never really get how ridiculously good he was, but in the last few years he's been starting to get his due, which is refreshing. Yes, he had an enviable goalscoring record, but he was a selfless player unlike a lot of players around him in the goalscoring list.
Cole had this ability to move out to the wings and use his pace down the flanks to stretch defences. By doing that, he was making himself less of a goal threat and bringing other players into play who could push through the middle, but he made space for others to attack.
The intelligence of Andy Cole's off the ball movement and link up play is on another level to anything we have now. He made United's attack fluid with the way he shifted the ball and played off the shoulder of the last defender.
Cole had this ability to move out to the wings and use his pace down the flanks to stretch defences. By doing that, he was making himself less of a goal threat and bringing other players into play who could push through the middle, but he made space for others to attack.
The intelligence of Andy Cole's off the ball movement and link up play is on another level to anything we have now. He made United's attack fluid with the way he shifted the ball and played off the shoulder of the last defender.
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This is such an illogical argument. Writing off a player as blowing it because he didn’t score the winning goals in all QFs, SFs and cup finals every season is just nonsense - those Utd teams had match winners across the board and they all stepped up in various games at various times, Cole included.
You naming some matches when someone else stepped up doesn’t magically negate all the other times that Cole did, especially when other posters can easily point out those specific matches where he did.
I think even Cole admits now that he should have stayed another couple of years, even as a squad player.
He'd improved his game that much that there was an argument he could even play as more of a number 10. The few games he played with Ruud with in 01/02, he still looked really good. Certainly would have been better option in hindsight than Forlan.
Jesus Christ. Don’t die on that hill. It’s absurd.
So we’ve woken up this morning to see some absolute idiotic suggestions. Is that you Glenn
He’s sat amongst some pretty elite players here
Shearer 260 goals including pens
Kane 213 goals including pens
Rooney 208 goals including pens
Cole 187 goals including ONE penalty
Excluding penalties he sits second
Quite simply you don’t score that many goals, get a transfer to Man Utd, play multiple seasons at Man Utd and win as many trophies as he did if you’re not a good player.
I’m sure we can all go back and break down game by game how many important goals he scored…of which there would be many. Any goal in a 1-0 is a winner. Any goal in a 2-1 win is important. It’s only when you’re scoring in heavy wins (like 9-0 Ipswich) where it becomes perhaps less relevant.
I would hazard a guess you just didn’t like him from day 1. To blame him v WestHam is crazy. The team failed that day and it’s widely regarded that Steve Ogrizivic had his best career performance
Brilliant post but I think the goalie was ludo mi
Brilliant post but I think the goalie was ludo miklosko
I would worry about someone's football analysis if they thought Cole blew it in the Semi Final, Second Leg... He had a brilliant game.
Is that you Teddy?
Ahh yeah. You’re right. My bad
Only if you think goals are the singular measure of a strikers worth. He was a far better player in 2000 scoring 20 odd goals than he was that season at Newcastle.
Andy Cole leaving United on New Years Day and scoring the winner in the League Cup final for Blackburn in February sums him up. A winner who will score goals regardless of the occassion.