The disrespect for Andy Cole

[0le]

I listened to the podcast on Youtube, was a good watch. He mentioned in the podcast I believe that only one of his goals was a penalty. Sensational.

Its difficult to get an accurate picture of how many PL penalties each player in the top 10 PL goalscorers has scored. This is my attempt:
Shearer - 56 [source]
Rooney - 23 [source]
Cole - 0 [source]
Augero - 26 [source]
Lampard - 43 [source]
Henry -23 [source]
Fowler - 17 [source]
Defoe - 14 [source]
Owen - 13 [source]
Ferdinand - 0?

The current list of top 10 PL goalscorers:
1. Alan Shearer [260]
2. Wayne Rooney [208]
3. Andy Cole [187]
4. Sergio Aguero [180]
5. Frank Lampard [177]
6. Thierry Henry [175]
7. Robbie Fowler [163]
8. Jermain Defoe [162]
9. Michael Owen [150]
10. Les Ferdinand [149]


Assuming that information is correct, you can then rearrange the top ten PL scorers as follows based on number of PL goals scored without including PL penalties:
1. Alan Shearer [204]
2. Andy Cole [187]
3. Wayne Rooney [185]
4. Sergio Augero [154]
5. Thierry Henry [152]
6. Les Ferdinand [149]
7. Jermain Defoe [148]
8. Robbie Fowler [146]
9. Michael Owen [137]
10. Frank Lampard [134]

The PL goal ratios (goal/appearances) of the top ten strikers mentioned above, without considering their PL penalties:
1. Thierry Henry [0.59]
= Sergio Aguero [0.59]
3. Alan Shearer [0.46]
4. Andy Cole [0.45]
5. Michael Owen [0.42]
6. Les Ferdinand [0.42]
7. Robbie Fowler [0.39]
8. Wayne Rooney [0.38]
9. Jemain Defoe [0.30]
10. Frank Lampard [0.22]

 

[UnrelatedPsuedo]

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.

Their scoring records are a wash, fair go if you prefer Wright.

I’d put Cole far ahead of him though. Better variety of goals, longer peak period, more goals in Europe, more titles, way more assists, better single season, better alongside a wider variety of strike partners, better terrace chant and a better Rap career. Outstanding.

 

[UnrelatedPsuedo]

scored more outfield goals than anyone.

This one isn’t correct mate

 

[TrustInOle]

I listened to the podcast on Youtube, was a good watch. He mentioned in the podcast I believe that only one of his goals was a penalty. Sensational.

Its difficult to get an accurate picture of how many PL penalties each player in the top 10 PL goalscorers has scored. This is my attempt:
Shearer - 56 [source]
Rooney - 23 [source]
Cole - 0 [source]
Augero - 26 [source]
Lampard - 43 [source]
Henry -23 [source]
Fowler - 17 [source]
Defoe - 14 [source]
Owen - 13 [source]
Ferdinand - 0?

The current list of top 10 PL goalscorers:
1. Alan Shearer [260]
2. Wayne Rooney [208]
3. Andy Cole [187]
4. Sergio Aguero [180]
5. Frank Lampard [177]
6. Thierry Henry [175]
7. Robbie Fowler [163]
8. Jermain Defoe [162]
9. Michael Owen [150]
10. Les Ferdinand [149]


Assuming that information is correct, you can then rearrange the top ten PL scorers as follows based on number of PL goals scored without including PL penalties:
1. Alan Shearer [204]
2. Andy Cole [187]
3. Wayne Rooney [185]
4. Sergio Augero [154]
5. Thierry Henry [152]
6. Les Ferdinand [149]
7. Jermain Defoe [148]
8. Robbie Fowler [146]
9. Michael Owen [137]
10. Frank Lampard [134]

The PL goal ratios (goal/appearances) of the top ten strikers mentioned above, without considering their PL penalties:
1. Thierry Henry [0.59]
= Sergio Aguero [0.59]
3. Alan Shearer [0.46]
4. Andy Cole [0.45]
5. Michael Owen [0.42]
6. Les Ferdinand [0.42]
7. Robbie Fowler [0.39]
8. Wayne Rooney [0.38]
9. Jemain Defoe [0.30]
10. Frank Lampard [0.22]

Sorry for being offtopic but that is some achievement from Lampard! Who is the second highest scoring midfielder? Did not know he was so high on the all time leading goalscorers.

 

[0le]

Sorry for being offtopic but that is some achievement from Lampard! Who is the second highest scoring midfielder? Did not know he was so high on the all time leading goalscorers.

For over 100 PL goals it seems to be:

1. Frank Lampard [177]
2. Steven Gerrard [120]
3. Ryan Giggs [109]
4. Paul Scholes [107]
5. Matt Le Tissier [100]

 

[Eckers99]

I took a while for me to fully warm to him. He looked pretty limited alongside Cantona and missed a lot of gilt edged chances. I don't think I realised how good he'd become until 98 - 00 when he'd added a lot more to his game and had become a very intelligent - and lethal - striker. At his best, he was top class, and his partnership with Yorke is still the best, most intuitive, combination I've seen at United.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Third all time goalscorer in the league says it all really.

 

[Raees]

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.

Valid point.

When I watch him and Yorke, I can’t help but think how timeless they look and how even as individuals they would thrive in the modern game. Don’t get that same vibe with Ruud or Hughes.

 

[Mike Smalling]

Class player and scored some absolute bangers. Overhead kicks, lobs, chips, low hard drives, etc.

A personal favourite of mine is his goal against Fiorentina:

Spoiler: At 00:20

 

[TrustInOle]

For over 100 PL goals it seems to be:

1. Frank Lampard [177]
2. Steven Gerrard [120]
3. Ryan Giggs [109]
4. Paul Scholes [107]
5. Matt Le Tissier [100]

Cheers mate. Looks even more impressive considering he is 57 in front.

 

[0le]

Andy Cole also spoke about Roy Keane in the podcast, how they were friends and also Keane visited him in hospital, which he felt was a sign that Keane respected him. They still keep in contact.

 

[RUCK4444]

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

Nobody said Shearer, but he’s Clearly better than Wright.

Shearer’s record includes all the pens he took, Cole never took pens. Both had bad injuries otherwise their stats would be even better.

Cole is criminally underrated. I actually like Ian Wright and rate him, but it’s not close.

 

[RUCK4444]

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.

You can name 10 better strikers than the player placed third in all time PL goals?

Oh please - do enlighten us, I’ll put the kettle on whilst you list them

 

[Cassidy]

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.

Does he?

 

[RUCK4444]

I think the biggest reason he is underrated, and it’s not a legitimate reason just a theory of mine, is that he was never the out and out star of the United team as he was surrounded by class players and bigger names.

Always part of a pair up top, never the Henry or Aguero of the team, never the one to carry the team on his own... but he didn’t need to.

People let the limelight of other major club stars get in the way of their judgement on him I feel.

But the guy was unreal, his stats prove it for those that didn’t see him first hand.
Could score all types of goals, deadly whenever fit, great linkup and could partner with anybody up top. Would absolutely walk into this side now.

 

[SilentWitness]

Looking at the list of scorers you'd say that Aguero will probably overtake him at some point. Kane has a decent chance of overtaking him too. Lukaku may have had a chance if he didn't go to Inter. Henry probably would have overtaken him if he didn't leave for Barca. Heck, even Ronaldo left the league 11 years ago and he is only 100 goals behind him. The top scorer thing is a contstant and there are many variables so it isn't the end of all arguments when considering strikers apart from Shearer really (Purely because of how far ahead he is compared to everyone else, it puts gives him a bit more oomph in that argument).

It defintely has changed my opinion of Cole a bit though, I didn't realise he was that high up on the list. Kudos to him, that is impressive.

 

[led_scholes]

18 years on and I can still remember how weird was his name in Championship Manager 2002. Andrew Cole..

 

[2cents]

The Hoddle thing was basically based on the West Ham title decider in 1995. Of course people forgot how Cole had kept us in contention up to that point. Anyway this is a re-post:


When you watch the highlights of that Upton Park match, Cole's misses really aren't that bad:


12:05 hits the post with a good effort.
20:00 a half chance that he pulls across goal from a tight angle.
21:40 probably the big one which he would have stuck away maybe 7 times out of ten, but it's a great save.
22:15 by the time the ball comes to him Miklosko is almost on top of him. He maybe could have hit it early with his left foot but I doubt it would make a difference.

The result was more down to some great saves from Miklosko than Cole missing sitters. Also a horrible pitch, and us playing a bit shite and looking knackered.

 

[Gio]

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

This. He scored 41 in 45 games in a single season with Newcastle in the Premier League. That gets nowhere near the credit it should when we are comparing the finest campaigns from the various stars of the league.

 

[charlenefan]

The Hoddle thing was basically based on the West Ham title decider in 1995. Of course people forgot how Cole had kept us in contention up to that point. Anyway this is a re-post:


When you watch the highlights of that Upton Park match, Cole's misses really aren't that bad:


12:05 hits the post with a good effort.
20:00 a half chance that he pulls across goal from a tight angle.
21:40 probably the big one which he would have stuck away maybe 7 times out of ten, but it's a great save.
22:15 by the time the ball comes to him Miklosko is almost on top of him. He maybe could have hit it early with his left foot but I doubt it would make a difference.

The result was more down to some great saves from Miklosko than Cole missing sitters. Also a horrible pitch, and us playing a bit shite and looking knackered.

And thus birthed the myth that he needed 2 or 3 chances to score a goal

Cole was before my time really but you only have to look at his back catalogue of goals for us to see he was a special player, his lack of International recognition is probably why he's overlooked

 

[RUCK4444]

Looking at the list of scorers you'd say that Aguero will probably overtake him at some point. Kane has a decent chance of overtaking him too. Lukaku may have had a chance if he didn't go to Inter. Henry probably would have overtaken him if he didn't leave for Barca. Heck, even Ronaldo left the league 11 years ago and he is only 100 goals behind him. The top scorer thing is a contstant and there are many variables so it isn't the end of all arguments when considering strikers apart from Shearer really (Purely because of how far ahead he is compared to everyone else, it puts gives him a bit more oomph in that argument).

It defintely has changed my opinion of Cole a bit though, I didn't realise he was that high up on the list. Kudos to him, that is impressive.

I see your reasoning but there are other factors also. Him being pivotal in the treble season, something no other striker in the PL (outside of that team) has achieved as an example. 5 time PL champion, CL winner - better trophy haul than many on that list I'm assuming.

Excellent linkup and team player, even before United at Newcastle with him and Beardsley scoring crazy numbers. You may also be inclined to argue the defences currently are at least a tier below what they were in Cole's time. Central defenders for sure have dropped off a cliff. Scary to think what numbers Shearer would have got against some of the defences now.

 

[Righteous Steps]

He was a top player, I think he is right to feel slighted. Probably down to a few reasons, United being the best team around with a number of world class players was one, I think also in relation to other top class players of his time, Cantona Yorke Zola Bergkamp Sheringham he probably had less to his game all round, but also the 90’s PL is full of underrated top strikers.

You’ve got Dublin Fowler Ferdinand Le Tissier who all go under the radar, Wright would be in that convo if not for his media work and him breaking Arsenal records, but for England all of them have less caps than you would expect from players of thei quality.

 

[Righteous Steps]

And thus birthed the myth that he needed 2 or 3 chances to score a goal

Cole was before my time really but you only have to look at his back catalogue of goals for us to see he was a special player, his lack of International recognition is probably why he's overlooked

It’s a stupid thing to knock him on because even Cristiano needs 2 or 3 chances to score at times.

 

[balaks]

Does he?

Yes he does, not by a huge margin but it is better.

 

[SilentWitness]

I see your reasoning but there are other factors also. Him being pivotal in the treble season, something no other striker in the PL (outside of that team) has achieved as an example. 5 time PL champion, CL winner - better trophy haul than many on that list I'm assuming.

Excellent linkup and team player, even before United at Newcastle with him and Beardsley scoring crazy numbers. You may also be inclined to argue the defences currently are at least a tier below what they were in Cole's time. Central defenders for sure have dropped off a cliff. Scary to think what numbers Shearer would have got against some of the defences now.

Indeed, I wouldn't disagree. I don't think there can be any argument that he is underrated considering his overall numbers, the treble season and the Newcastle season. I do think there is probably a bit more of an argument to be had when comparing him to other PL strikers and where he'd be on the list though. Top 10 should be a certainty but then it gets down to more opinion based reasoning, what people prefer in a striker etc.

 

[Tel074]

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

That's a mad comment. Cole was absolutely no where near Henry's ability. And for the record in my opinion Wright was better than him as well

 

[2cents]

My favorite oft-forgotten Andy Cole goal:


Tough away tie against a strong Leeds, loads of controversy in the build-up as Beckham was dropped, and Cole wins it out of nothing by bullying one of the league’s best defenders in Radebe.

 

[pastyfool]

My favorite oft-forgotten Andy Cole goal:


Tough away tie against a strong Leeds, loads of controversy in the build-up as Beckham was dropped, and Cole wins it out of nothing by bullying one of the league’s best defenders in Radebe.

I was at that game. Although my ticket was in the Leeds family bit. It was so hard sitting still when Cole broke free and ran towards the goal. I remember I had my UTD shirt on under my jumper. Haha—it's funny thinking back.

I remember when we signed Cole. I was at college, so was naturally at the pub playing pool. One of my friends was listening on headphones to the radio and shouted out 'Manchester United have just signed Andy Scholes for £7M'. We were all like ‘Who the hell is Andy Scholes?’. We couldn't figure out who she was talking about. Never put two and two together because you could never believe Newcastle would have sold him. I had to wait until I got home to find out the news.

One of my favourite players.

 

[fishfingers15]

My favorite oft-forgotten Andy Cole goal:


Tough away tie against a strong Leeds, loads of controversy in the build-up as Beckham was dropped, and Cole wins it out of nothing by bullying one of the league’s best defenders in Radebe.

Lee Bowyer

 

[fishfingers15]

I was at that game. Although my ticket was in the Leeds family bit. It was so hard sitting still when Cole broke free and ran towards the goal. I remember I had my UTD shirt on under my jumper. Haha—it's funny thinking back.

I remember when we signed Cole. I was at college, so was naturally at the pub playing pool. One of my friends was listening on headphones to the radio and shouted out 'Manchester United have just signed Andy Scholes for £7M'. We were all like ‘Who the hell is Andy Scholes?’. We couldn't figure out who she was talking about. Never put two and two together because you could never believe Newcastle would have sold him. I had to wait until I got home to find out the news.

One of my favourite players.

 

[DWelbz19]

Does he?

By a bit, yeah.

Ian Wright: 213 games; 113 goals; 22 assists
A goal every 1.88~ games

Andy Cole: 414 games; 187 goals; 73 assists
A goal every 2.39~ games

Cole’s assist record is quality for a striker, though! Only Henry (74); and Sheringham (76) have more as ‘pure strikers’.

0 penalty goals is quality too! Definitely deserves a lot more respect on his name.

 

[DWelbz19]

Cheers mate. Looks even more impressive considering he is 57 in front.

Lampard was a bit of a goal scoring monster. I don’t think anyone will come close from midfield for a while, really. He scored 43 penalty goals but Gerrard in second scored 32, so swings and roundabouts.

 

[acnumber9]

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.

35 goals between them and Cole didn’t take penalties. And Wright scored a lot more at a lower level than Cole.

 

[Drainy]

Lampard was a bit of a goal scoring monster. I don’t think anyone will come close from midfield for a while, really. He scored 43 penalty goals but Gerrard in second scored 32, so swings and roundabouts.

If I remember correctly, Scholes only scored a couple of penalties so pretty amazing he is up there with them since he was nowhere near as athletic.

 

[DWelbz19]

If I remember correctly, Scholes only scored a couple of penalties so pretty amazing he is up there with them since he was nowhere near as athletic.

Just one PL penalty goal! (Three his entire career!)

 

[Lay]

For over 100 PL goals it seems to be:

1. Frank Lampard [177]
2. Steven Gerrard [120]
3. Ryan Giggs [109]
4. Paul Scholes [107]
5. Matt Le Tissier [100]

Like Cole, Lampard gets heavily underrated. Won’t find many midfielders who can play that many games and score that many goals every season.

 

[Spark]

The Beautiful Game podcast have absolutely smashed it during lockdown. I work with one of the guys and the amount of effort they put in to it is insane.

I listened to the podcast on Youtube, was a good watch. He mentioned in the podcast I believe that only one of his goals was a penalty. Sensational.

Its difficult to get an accurate picture of how many PL penalties each player in the top 10 PL goalscorers has scored. This is my attempt:
Shearer - 56 [source]
Rooney - 23 [source]
Cole - 0 [source]
Augero - 26 [source]
Lampard - 43 [source]
Henry -23 [source]
Fowler - 17 [source]
Defoe - 14 [source]
Owen - 13 [source]
Ferdinand - 0?

The current list of top 10 PL goalscorers:
1. Alan Shearer [260]
2. Wayne Rooney [208]
3. Andy Cole [187]
4. Sergio Aguero [180]
5. Frank Lampard [177]
6. Thierry Henry [175]
7. Robbie Fowler [163]
8. Jermain Defoe [162]
9. Michael Owen [150]
10. Les Ferdinand [149]


Assuming that information is correct, you can then rearrange the top ten PL scorers as follows based on number of PL goals scored without including PL penalties:
1. Alan Shearer [204]
2. Andy Cole [187]
3. Wayne Rooney [185]
4. Sergio Augero [154]
5. Thierry Henry [152]
6. Les Ferdinand [149]
7. Jermain Defoe [148]
8. Robbie Fowler [146]
9. Michael Owen [137]
10. Frank Lampard [134]

The PL goal ratios (goal/appearances) of the top ten strikers mentioned above, without considering their PL penalties:
1. Thierry Henry [0.59]
= Sergio Aguero [0.59]
3. Alan Shearer [0.46]
4. Andy Cole [0.45]
5. Michael Owen [0.42]
6. Les Ferdinand [0.42]
7. Robbie Fowler [0.39]
8. Wayne Rooney [0.38]
9. Jemain Defoe [0.30]
10. Frank Lampard [0.22]

Andy Cole was criminally underrated throughout his career, outside of United (and with England especially). Those stats are fascinating and put him right up there with the best of the prem.

 

[RUCK4444]

Just one PL penalty goal! (Three his entire career!)

That is mental Scholes only took that few penalties.

With his ability you would assume he would be deadly at placing penalties in the cobwebs.

 

[UnrelatedPsuedo]

That's a mad comment. Cole was absolutely no where near Henry's ability. And for the record in my opinion Wright was better than him as well

I wasn’t comparing Cole to Henry. Only that I’d have him closer to the Frenchman than he was Ian Wright.

To be fair, I didn’t rate Ian Wright too much. He’s in there with Fowler, Ferdinand, Kane. Not the top number 9’s.

 

[UnrelatedPsuedo]

Like Coke, Lampard gets heavily underrated. Won’t find many midfielders who can play that many games and score that many goals every season.

Haven’t heard anyone underrate coke. If anything it’s overrated.