Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says his side are showing all the signs of genuine title contenders after their 3-0 win over of Wigan.
Wenger watched his men dismantle Wigan at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, with Robin van Persie firing a hat-trick and missing a penalty in an eventful afternoon.
The result saw Arsenal remain just two points behind Manchester United at the top of the Premier League table, which Wenger says his side are in with a good chance of topping.
“We know we now have eight home games and it’s important to win the home games – then we have a good chance (of winning the title),” Wenger told SkySports.
“We are up for it. We are hungry, we want to do well, we play well so it will be interesting.”
Wenger also admitted he would rest some players for Arsenal’s second-leg Carling Cup semi-final against Ipswich this week, despite the fact his side trails by a goal.
“We rotate from game to game. We play nine games in January which is a historical record for Arsenal.”
“We have a strong squad, some great players have not played today. Some of them might play on Tuesday,” Wenger said. “When you are in many competitions you just think about your next game.”
“We have some knocks and bruises. Fabregas, Nasri, Djourou has a shoulder problem – we will have to assess that on Sunday and Monday.”
“(Lukasz) Fabianski will still be out for Tuesday, (Manuel) Almunia maybe is coming back into the squad on Monday so he will be available.”
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez was disappointed with the referee’s decision to send Gary Caldwell off in the second half, when he was adjudged to have fouled Cesc Fabregas in the penalty box.
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“I know Cesc very well. He is a wonderful player and very clever, and he knows how to buy decisions off referees,” Martinez said.
“There is contact, but you do not know how much of that comes from Cesc looking for it, or from Gary’s leg. I don’t think that contact is intentional to bring Cesc down.”
“Cesc comes from different culture – you do not cheat, if you take a decision from the referee it is because you are clever and you are getting something for your team.”
British transfer records, unreasonably high wage bills and levels of frivolity that could only be perpetrated by Russian oligarchs – it doesn’t sound like a recipe for a football club looking to comply with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations. But then again, you never know. When he arrived at Chelsea in 2003, Peter Kenyon claimed it was his aim to turn Chelsea in to a profitable club. A somewhat outlandish statement you might think, but, even after everything that has happened in the last two years, it is more than just a pipe dream. Chelsea can adhere to the FFP rules, but it will be a struggle.
Aims of FFP
As agreed upon in 2009, UEFA have a set of core objectives, which they hope FFP will help them achieve within European football. These aims are: to reduce the inflationary nature of wages and transfer fees, to introduce more discipline and responsibility in club finances, to ensure that clubs compete within their financial means, to encourage long-term investment in clubs’ individual youth programmes and infrastructure, and to ensure the economic future of European football as a whole.
Some of these measures have already been taken into account and acted upon at Chelsea, others have not.
The goal for UEFA is that by 2018/19 all clubs will be spending no more than their revenue each year. Before that point some leeway is allowed.
In theory, the first season in which a club could fail in their application to take part in a European competition due to FFP is 2013/14. However it is unlikely that such actions will be taken at this stage
The rules stipulate that a club wishing to enter into a European competition for 2013/14 must have lost no more than €45m for the previous two seasons.
For the 2014/15 season that figure of debt allowed remains at €45m but is calculated over three seasons instead of two. For the 2015/16 season the maximum shortfall is €30m over the three years. This format continues until 2018/19 when there are no more allowances made.
Whilst these figures for the near future may seem unattainable, allowances can be made if the excess shortfall (i.e. debt exceeding €45m within this period) is a result of player contracts signed before 1st June 2010. However, this will only be accepted as an excuse if the club can prove that there has been, and will continue to be, an upturn in the financial health of the club.
Chelsea’s efforts
Contrary to popular belief, Chelsea have been making considerable efforts for some time now in order to prepare for FFP. For example, they have a clear long term transfer policy, as demonstrated by the signings of Romelu Lukaku, Lucas Piazon, Kevin De Bruyne and Marko Marin. Despite being ‘in charge’ at the time, Andre Villas-Boas admitted to having no involvement in the signing of De Bruyne and made it perfectly clear that signing Lukaku had not bee his idea either.
Whilst signing players without asking your manager might not appear a constructive action, providing they were all thoroughly scouted, buying young and reasonably priced players is a sensible move for the future. Buying Fernando Torres for £50m during the January transfer window reeked of short termism inspired by desperation to hold on to the title. Chelsea have learned from their mistakes. There is a plan to avoid having to make such signings again. Whether Abramovich will stick to it is another matter.
The decision to initially only offer Roberto di Matteo a one year contract (and then a two year contract) was another big step for Abramovich. However mean it may have seemed and whatever Abramovich’s motives for doing so were, it is a serious issue. If Roman wishes to continue dispensing with his managers quite so regularly then he needs to refrain from handing them long, costly contracts. Redundancy packages to former managers are a major issue at Chelsea, one that appears to have been recognised.
New stadium
Having the Chelsea Pitch Owners turn down Abramovich’s approach to redevelop the stadium was a blow for the club with regards to FFP. Yes they would have had to take on a certain amount of debt to build the stadium, but it needn’t have been that costly. Providing they did it this year it might have been possible to raise the money through a combined effort from the council, sponsorship deals for naming rights and a nominal donation from Abramovich. Arsenal may have built their stadium the hard way but Tottenham and Chelsea can look to buy a new stadium whilst incurring minimal costs themselves.
Moreover, the money Chelsea could have received from a larger stadium would have gone far, far further than the modest returns currently provided by Stamford Bridge. It’s worth pointing out that since the Champions League’s creation in 1993 Chelsea have the smallest stadium out of all the clubs who have ever won it. This shows just how much Abramovich has had to stump up in order to get Chelsea where they are today, and how far they have to go before they can realistically support themselves at this level. Obviously there are other sources of income but it is an issue that the club need to address.
Turn debt in to equity
Easily the most effective way for Chelsea to solve their debt problem is to turn the club’s debt, which is owed to Abramovich, in to equity for the owner. Not only is this a good way to decrease the current debt but there are also rules within FFP that state that an owner may lend up to €45m to their club over the course of the three season period as long as they then turn that debt in to equity. If an owner wishes to simply lend money to the club without turning it in to equity then the limit is €5m.
The problem with this is that it is not good value for money for Abramovich. If he never has any intention of selling the club or of recouping his losses then it’s an excellent plan, but if that is not the case then it is an unattractive move for him, especially considering he already did this 2009.
Other options
There are a host of other options available to Chelsea. First, they can go down the route of Arsenal with The Emirates and Man City with Etihad and rename their stadium. Arsenal received £100m in 2006 for the naming rights to their new ground whilst City’s recent shirt and stadium deal gained them £300m. The problem with these long-term deals is that towards the latter stages of the agreement sponsorship deals have normally progressed so fast that the money is no longer competitive.
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This is a problem Arsenal has been suffering from for the last few years and will continue to until 2014 when some of their deals expire.
Chelsea can also raise ticket prices. Fans at some point have to realise that if they want success as a result of massive financial investments they may, at some point, have to contribute to such actions. Man City fans will almost certainly discover this over the next few seasons. The problem for Chelsea is that their tickets are already relatively expensive. Nonetheless, as the current Champions of Europe playing regularly in a relatively small stadium there will never be a lack of competition for tickets. Such is the price elasticity of tickets to see big clubs.
The future
The next few years look undeniably difficult to navigate for Chelsea. The latest financial figures released by the club indicated that their debt was around £91m, their turnover was just over £222m and their wage bill was over £189m. A net loss of £60m on player trading for the year is a shockingly bad return but things are changing.
The club set up a Club Financial Control Panel to ensure that the requirements of FFP are met and if the club’s hierarchy can dissuade Abramovich from rushing out and buying a marquee player every single transfer window then there may be hope for the champions of Europe. UEFA being UEFA it seems certain that FFP will not be a watertight set of rules, but regardless of loop holes Chelsea, given discipline from the owner, can achieve this seemingly impossible goal.
Will he stay or will he go has been the theme this summer at Arsenal as the future of Cesc Fabregas remains uncertain. Barcelona are clearly sticking by their plans to drag the deal out to the last knockings of the transfer window, much to the frustration of Arsene Wenger.
At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Gunners blogs that include fans booing has nothing to do with pre-season; Wenger’s plans show a lack of priorities, while it is time to give up on Fabregas.
We also look at the best Arsenal articles around the web this week.
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Caption Competition: An Arsenal Collector’s Item
Arsenal fans aren’t booing simply down to one pre-season result
Wenger paying the price for towing the financial line
Does Arsene’s transfer plans show a lack of priorities?
2 players for the price of one
Is missing out a genuine concern for Arsenal fans?
Is it time for Arsenal to give up on him?
Doomed whatever we do Arsenal?
Arsenal set to sign Real youth star
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Best of WEB
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Fickle Fans and Mistakes made by Arsenal…… -Highbury House
Should Arsenal play Fabregas in their Champions League play-off to spite Barcelona? – Gunnersphere
Arsenal concede 2 leads, lose own silverware and booed off by the home fans. Good times! – Le Grove
The beginning of a beautiful anti-climax? – Online Gooner
One Of Us Speaks: Brothers in Arms – A Cultured Left Foot
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Arsenal legend believes Barton is a possibility for Wenger…but only if he can control him – Gunnersphere
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Click on Miss Suric below to see her in all here glory
Someone, somewhere does not like Avram Grant. After taking Chelsea to within a flea’s eyebrow of a fantastic treble, the Israeli was cruelly denied on three separate coronation days in 2008. Similarly at Portsmouth, Grant inherited a sinking ship when he took over the reins at Fratton Park, only for another missed penalty to dog his attempts to break his English silverware duck in last year’s FA Cup final.
Now, with his West Ham side only 90 minutes from Grant’s third Wembley final, the former Maccabi Haifa man finds himself facing a fixture the English press have decided he dare not lose. After an extensive board meeting this week, it was decided that the perennially unfortunate Grant would be given a little more time to arrest the Hammers’ slide down the table.
Arsenal arrive at Upton Park on the back of a bizarre Carling Cup defeat away at Ipswich. Much has been written about how poor Arsene Wenger’s charges were on Wednesday, and they will be aware that another defeat against their struggling London rivals could be terminal for their season.
Tottenham travelled to Stamford Bridge in pursuit of their first win at the ground in the Premier League era, a result that would all but guarantee their place in next season’s Champions League at the expense of their London rivals.
They duly delivered as goals from Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen ensured that the gap between the two side went to eight points following a match that was always likely to have a huge impact on the race for the top four.
There was no doubt that the 28-year hoodoo – Gary Lineker scored the winner when Spurs last won a league match at the Bridge – was another psychological hurdle for Mauricio Pochettino to guide his side over prior to kick off.
They were helped by the return of talisman Harry Kane, who was fit enough to return to the bench but Toby Alderweireld was not included in the matchday 18.
We’ve taken a closer look at the reaction of the Spurs fans on a huge afternoon in the race to Europe’s elite club competition…
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In arguably the pick of the Premier League’s 3pm kick-offs this afternoon, Liverpool hosted West Ham at Anfield, producing a relatively entertaining 2-0 affair.
Raheem Sterling opened the Reds’ account for the afternoon with a cool finish after 50 minutes, whilst Daniel Sturridge wrapped things up with a late goal after coming off the bench, marking his first involvement in a Premier League fixture since August – a 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
In addition to the goals, there were plenty of talking points from this afternoon’s action, and being the lovely bunch we are at Football Fancast, we’ve listed three of them.
RAHEEM STERLING CAN PLAY UP FRONT
There was plenty of confusion over Raheem Sterling’s first outing as a centre-forward for Liverpool amid a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United in December, with many commenting on the midfielder-come-striker’s lack of composure in front of goal.
He’s silenced the doubters in recent weeks however, amid a run of four goals and one assist in nine appearances as an out-and-out front-man, and the 20-year-old added to his haul this afternoon with this impressive finish past West Ham’s Adrian:
https://vine.co/v/OtHd1DWv2TQ/embed/simple
This little bit of trickery wasn’t too bad either…
https://vine.co/v/OtHwnBzghTu/embed/simple
Even with Daniel Sturridge back to full fitness, he may struggle to reclaim his place in the starting line-up from his in-form compartiot.
MARK NOBLE MIGHT BE ON HIS WAY OUT FROM WEST HAM
Mark Noble might not be a West Ham great in the same vein as Geoff Hurst, Bobby Moore or Trevor Brooking, but he has now been serving the East Londoners, rather incredibly, for over ten years. His debut as a 17-year-old came all the way back in 2004.
Interestingly however, The 27 year-old was dropped from West Ham’s starting line-up this afternoon in favour of veteran goal poacher Kevin Nolan, following reports in The Mirror this morning that QPR are preparing a bid for his services. The combination of events whipped Twitter into a bit of a frenzy:
With three days left of the January transfer window, we suggest you keep your eyes peeled for further developments.
DANIEL STURRIDGE IS BACK!
https://vine.co/v/OtXZW1H23V3/embed/simple
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Liverpool fan or not, I’m sure you’ll find pleasure in Daniel Sturridge’s return to first team action for the Reds today. The England striker, who now boasts an impressive 33 Premier League goals in 47 appearances for the Anfield outfit, has been out of action for the last six months with a series of niggling injuries.
Not only did the 25-year-old record his first outing of 2015 for Liverpool, but also his first goal. With just ten minutes remaining and West Ham leaving themselves exposed as they pushed for an equaliser, the former Chelsea and Manchester City striker produced this impressive effort:
https://vine.co/v/OtHQK7Ee6Eg/embed/simple
Which, of course, was followed by his trademark dance celebration!
I get that David Beckham is one of the wealthiest players in the game. I get that he can retire somewhere quietly and just sit back for the rest of his days. But one of the biggest reasons to applaud the midfielder is his latest gesture that all of his wages (or at least a large percentage of it) will go to charity. Above all, this is just a guy who seems like he wants to remain in the game, but has now made an exceptional move for his status and image in football.
The other more hideous side of the game is David Sullivan’s revelation of the behaviour of player agents.
Now, wages has taken the game (and many other sports) onto a completely different level, and one that is certainly out of reach for most fans. But the modern game doesn’t get more damning than reports of agents wanting to put someone’s head through a wall for the sake of their own benefit.
At some point or another. No, scratch that. In the very near future, the prominent football governing bodies need to take a stand against the vultures and the “gang warfare,” as Harry Redknapp described it, in football. It’s well enough for FIFA and UEFA to talk about moving the game forward, taking big international tournaments to less developed parts of the world and attempting to stamp their authority on heavy spending. But the fees that agents go after all ties into Financial Fair Play, so why is that particular side of the game seemingly ignored by most with the power to stop it?
And here’s the other thing: when do footballers in general start to take some flak for the actions of agents? Most footballers are off in their own world, like Prince, asking for a camel at 3am in the middle of January. We get that, people have been taken away from reality due to the vast sums of money in the game. But are the majority of footballers that stupid that they don’t understand how damaging their agents are to the game?
Well, the defence will be that footballers are looking out for number one and will of course back their agents as a means of getting the highest possible pay packet. And in fairness, we can probably place as much blame for the wages in football today at the feet of agents as we do with broadcasters like Sky. But Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Radamel Falcao, and players of that stature in football are always going to receive the highest wages wherever they go. Men in football like Pep Guardiola don’t need agents to negotiate the best deal for them; all the former Barcelona manager has to do is turn up at any club in the world and he’ll be given what he wants, on the basis of what he achieved in Spain. So, while agents are important, they’re not absolutely crucial.
But you hear of stories about agents getting a cut of any high-profile deal and wonder what exactly we’re watching. Yes it’s sports, but it’s creeping slowly into the realm of sports entertainment. Let’s have the next FA Cup final contested inside the confines of a huge steel cage—I’m sure that will help to peak interest.
But why is that we talk about people like Jorge Mendes? Why do we need to know the name of an agent and the list of his clients at major European clubs? Why have governing bodies allowed people like him to overshadow certain areas and athletes in the game? It’s wave after wave of questions that need to be put forward, and yet we may never know the answers or have the problems removed.
You can take Arsenal as an example and the influence Darren Dein has had at the club. David Dein would be welcomed back with open arms and the red carpet by most supporters, but his son is public enemy number one, largely for engineering the moves away of players like Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song, among others.
So you’d ask, why would the son of a man who had such an effect on Arsenal go about dismantling the good work laid down in previous years? Money, obviously. I’m quite certain that Darren Dein has absolutely no interest in whether Barcelona win the Champions League this season and hit Real Madrid for six on the way to doing so. Nor do I believe that he’s particularly concerned if Arsenal finish well outside the top four due in part to his own fine work. But he does care that names like Fabregas and van Persie will be the centrepiece of a transfer window and will offer the opportunity for a couple of million to line his pockets.
Again, you’ve got to wonder how much players actually believe in what they’re saying. They talk about trophies and the glory of certain competitions and even the stupidity over which position they’ll play. But it’s all just a mask for the desire for more money, which of course stems from the agent.
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I don’t believe any club wants to spend £50 million in combined fees for a player, but that’s what football has come to. If UEFA are taking on this militant level of thinking for financial fair play, then they must look to the source. I understand that footballers and most other athletes only have a short career where they need to earn as much as possible, but does that excuse the need to pay someone £180,000 a week for being quite good at making a 30 yard pass? It will never be acceptable.
David Sullivan’s story is about as low as you can get in football, and that particular agent has some fine company at the bottom of the pit.
Had it not been for an incredibly controversial VAR decision, England would have ended the international break with a perfect record of two goals, two clean sheets and two wins from two games.
Of course, it’s important not to get too excited about the Three Lions’ World Cup hopes, but positive performances against the Netherlands and Italy suggest Gareth Southgate’s side will give a decent account of themselves in Russia – especially compared to the last two international tournaments.
Following the 1-1 draw with Azzurri at Wembley, we asked England fans to issue each of the eleven starters individual performance ratings out of ten. And we can now reveal the four players who impressed Three Lions fans most from Tuesday night’s performance…
Soccer Football – International Friendly – England vs Italy – Wembley Stadium, London, Britain – March 27, 2018 Italy’s Lorenzo Pellegrini and England’s Jesse Lingard Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley
Jesse Lingard – 6.6: The versatile Manchester United star added to his winning goal against the Netherlands with an assist for Jamie Vardy’s opening strike and impressed in his dual role in the engine room, partnering Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain but regularly breaking through from the midfield to become part of the attack. Wasn’t quite as lively as he could have been though, and was given a rest after 71 minutes.
Raheem Sterling – 6.6: The first half witnessed arguably Sterling’s best performance yet in an England jersey as he continually got himself on the ball and created problems for Italy’s notoriously resilient defence.
Eventually finished the match with the most chances created, most dribbles and second-most shots at goal of any England player, but a goal or assist evaded the Manchester City forward.
Soccer Football – International Friendly – England vs Italy – Wembley Stadium, London, Britain – March 27, 2018 England manager Gareth Southgate with Raheem Sterling at the end of the match Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley
Kieran Trippier – 6.7: With Kyle Walker moving to centre-half, Trippier is now the obvious choice for England’s right wing-back role and has looked solid in both games, not letting much go past him defensively while popping up with dangerous deliveries at the other end.
He created two chances with two accurate crosses against Italy and that could be a huge weapon for England when Harry Kane is back in the fold.
Eric Dier – 7: The more adventurous feel to England’s attack wouldn’t be possible without someone anchoring the midfield and the Tottenham utility man did an excellent job on Tuesday night, especially in terms of possession as he controlled the direction of the game with simple but effective passes.
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The real question though is whether he’s proved a better option than Jordan Henderson, who impressed as well when England beat the Netherlands at Wembley.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but even when Liverpool’s £16million swoop for Mario Balotelli was just an audacious transfer rumour – one that Brendan Rodgers initially ‘categorically’ denied – nothing about it really made sense.
After all, we’re talking about the same Mario Balotelli that Jose Mourinho dubbed ‘unmanageable’ during their time together at Inter Milan, that Roberto Mancini publicly admitted he wanted to ‘punch in the head’, and almost did during a training ground bust-up in the prelude to his Manchester City departure, that AC Milan wanted to sell almost as soon as they’d bought him.
The 24 year-old seems like a nice enough fellow, even when he’s swapping shirts at half-time, but his professionalism is well…non-existent and he’s hardly what you’d describe as a manager’s dream. This isn’t exclusive knowledge; to quote one pundit, he’s “a strange phenomenon – champagne corks pop when he arrives and again when he leaves.”
It’s not just the Italy international’s child-trapped-in-an-elite-footballer’s-body-mentality that raised question marks. Barcelona-bound Luis Suarez, through his intensity, tenacity, quality and speed, came to epitomise everything about Liverpool last season, especially going forward.
In polarised contrast, Balotelli, an eternally illusive, mercurial and often static figure on the pitch, actively defies the industriously expansive philosophy that brought the Reds to new heights under Rodgers last year. Variation is important in any squad, but not when it’s so alien to a club’s mentality and style.
Then there’s Balotelli’s goal tally. Despite being long considered as amongst Europe’s front-man elite, the 6 foot 2 striker has never actually scored twenty goals in a single campaign. His best return in any league from his seven seasons at senior level was 14 goals for AC Milan last year, whilst his overall career record is a worryingly uninspiring 90 in 233. Hardly evidence to suggest Balotelli could replace the firepower of PFA and FWA award winner Suarez, who scored just eight less goals than the Italian’s career haul during 133 appearances for the Anfield side.
So why did Liverpool buy Mario Balotelli? Perhaps for marketing purposes? The Italian has a huge media profile and is the kind of signing that could make the Reds exceptionally popular with certain sponsors – not to mention the added revenues of world-wide shirt sales.
Or maybe it was a simple case of huge risk bringing even bigger reward? Although Balotelli comes with more baggage than most and his goalscoring record is decisively ordinary, he’s shown glimpses of world-class talent before. If Liverpool could help him produce that on a consistent basis, their £16million investment would go down in the history books as one of the greatest transfer scoops of all time.
Or a slightly more sinister theory; was it a Brendan Rodgers vanity project? A walking, talking, goalscoring example of how all those positive quotes and confusing similes can turn even the most uncontrollable of footballers into a world-class star.
Perhaps that’s a rather insulting notion, but you can imagine the Liverpool gaffer’s thought process; “I kept Luis Suarez under control for two years, barring a few bites of a few defenders’ shoulders, maybe I can do the same with Mario Balotelli. Maybe I’m the Premier League’s bad-boy specialist. Maybe I should sign Joey Barton as well.”
Rodgers has an interesting relationship with Jose Mourinho too, having spent part of his coaching career under the Chelsea boss as one of the club’s academy coaches, before moving on to manage the reserve squad. He’s yet to beat the Special One in a Premier League fixture, so perhaps the Liverpool manager eyed the opportunity for psychological advantage by succeeding where Mourinho hadn’t in taming Balotelli. The Premier League management racket is filled by intriguing, personal subplots like that.
Even if Rodgers’ vanity wasn’t focused on his own man-management abilities, I still struggle to comprehend why he thought moving to Liverpool would transform Balotelli into something more dependable.
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He’s played for two of the biggest clubs in Italy, the Italian national team and one of the biggest clubs in England without ever showing conviction to change, so why would Anfield, for all its history, prestige and militant supporters, suddenly hit the striker like the berating of a chav on Jeremy Kyle, providing the enlightening realisation that his career’s currently heading only one way?
Liverpool is certainly a unique club, but it’s no more unique than San Siro-sharing outfits, one of which the 24 year-old has supported since childhood, or two-time Premier League winners Manchester City. Why would putting on a Reds jersey suddenly bring about wholesale changes in Balotelli’s character? Why would it stop Balotelli being Balotelli?
Of course, it goes without saying that neither moving to Anfield nor the influence of Brendan Rodgers has produced a more mature, potential-fulfilling Mario. He’s still got the mind of a child. He’s still work-shy. He’s still bringing negative attention to both himself and his employers, the most recent instance coming in the form of a bizarre retweet of a racist comic book sketch. He’s still playing for himself, rather than the team.
There was clearly no plan when signing Balotelli. Impulse took over both Rodgers and Liverpool – the opportunity to excel with an individual where others with larger transfer budgets and salaries had continually failed. Just months later, without a Premier League goal in sight, Brendan Rodgers’ vanity project already needs an exit strategy.
There’s no place like home. Home, is where the heart is. Indeed, the prodigal son is now back where he belongs.
English football loves a good cliché and in the case of Joe Cole’s recent return back to West Ham United, you can take your pick from the aforementioned trio of cheese as to which one you’re now sick to death of hearing.
There’s always been something of a strange media obsession with the Joe Cole story, ever since he made his first team debut for the Hammers 13 years ago this month as a fresh faced 17-year-old in the FA Cup.
Indeed, while his profile is somewhat higher than your average 31-year-old making a move during the January transfer window, such has been the bleary-eyed nostalgia heaped upon Cole’s move to Sam Allardyce’s side, it feels as if the actual footballing merits of the transfer have been consigned to the sidelines.
Make no mistake about it, Big Sam’s not brought the former Chelsea midfielder back to West Ham to simply appease the old boys sat at Upton Park. While he may now be 31 and entering the final straight of his long and often polarizing career, Joe Cole has got the potential to make a real difference to West Ham’s season
And given Allardyce’s success in the past at squeezing the best out of the advancing years of some of his players, don’t be surprised for Cole’s transfer to be as sustained in its longetivity as much as its impact.
Of course, given the disappointing turn that Cole’s career has taken in recent years, it’s easy to see why some of the neutrals have found it a little bit more difficult to look past the fanfare. For all the subsequent debate that seems to so often rage over the overall impact the London-born star wielded during his seven seasons with Chelsea, his most recent showings in the Premier League leave little room for argument.
Upon joining Liverpool on a free transfer in 2010, the capture of the then 28-year-old Cole was widely touted as a great coup for Roy Hodgson’s men. After helping fire Chelsea to a Premier League title the season before, it was thought handing a £90,000-a-week four year deal to a player essentially entering his peak years as a footballer was good business.
Yet even if you take into account the niggling injuries and managerial upheaval during his sole full season up in Liverpool, for a player who possesses such an exquisite amount of talent, Cole served his new employers up a hugely disappointing season.
A season-long loan to Lille last season offered him temporary reprieve from his Anfield nightmare, but despite earning rave reviews during his first months with Les Dogues Cole’s performances towards the end of the Ligue One season faded badly. Like a hallmark for much of his career, the fitness levels continued to hamper and the stardust seemingly gradually evaporated as time went on.
But what we did learn at Lille is that if Cole’s backed by a manager and left to play his natural game in a team that are set-up to cooperate, he still has a lot to offer to any club. And in Sam Allardyce, the 31-year-old couldn’t have sought a better manager to try and salvage the last part of his career and prove the doubters wrong one last time.
From Youri Djorkaeff and Fernando Hierro to Jayjay Okocha and the late Gary Speed, Allardyce’s track record in not only salvaging the careers of older players, but ensuing they maintain a sustained level of performance, speaks for itself.
As much as the former Bolton Wanderers boss knows how to get the best of his men when on the pitch, it’s no fluke that Allardyce excels at getting them on the field of play in the first place, too. While some have been keen to ridicule his penchant for sports science and his love for all things ProZone, it’s this quantitative approach that helps Allardyce get the very maximum out of his players.
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He may not have healing hands, but Allardyce’s philosophy will ensure that Cole will be managed sensibly, with real thought given to the amount of games he’s playing and how regularly he’s set to play them. One of Cole’s biggest issues throughout his career has been clocking up enough game time. He’s not going to be much use to anyone sat in the treatment room and Allardyce will be looking for quality, not quantity from Cole.
But if he can stay clear of injury, there’s no reason why Joe Cole can’t wield a real impact for West Ham – and not just for a token half-season run, either.
This isn’t someone who has played 38 league games a season, every season, for the past ten years. He may be 31, but despite his past fitness concerns, he’s got plenty of football left in him yet. He’s still got the ability to pick a great pass, retain possession and the little bit of stardust to change matches. Whether he’s still a matchwinner remains to be seen, but if he can rediscover even the form he hit upon his first few months at Lille, West Ham will posses an asset that few of the teams around them could match.
For all the past few weeks of fanfare, it feels like many have used Joe Cole’s move to West Ham as a precursor to his career’s obituary. Although he’s far from finished yet and if Big Sam can get the best out of him, then his second spell at West Ham could just prove to be one his most seminal chapters.