Andrew Cole hangs up his boots

11 November 08 by Bill

Andrew Cole at Manchester United Andrew Cole has announced his retirement from football bringing an end to an illustrious playing career which lasted 19 years.

Of those 19 years, Cole spent just under 6 of them at Manchester United, picking up 5 Premier League titles, 2 FA Cup wins, a Champions League winners medal and a League cup triumph. Cole signed for United in January 1995 for a then British record fee of £7 million – how times have changed – and went on to make 275 appearances for the club scoring 121 goals.

Although Andrew Cole has a raft of achievements to look back on, the way in which his career has ended has been a bit disappointing for him. In July 2008, Cole signed a 12 month contract at Nottingham Forest but after 11 appearances and no goals, Forest confirmed Cole’s contract had been cancelled by mutual consent which has led to the former International calling it a day on his playing career. Speaking for the first time about his decision, Cole told the Times about his frustration at the lack of first team opportunities at Forest and questioned the motivation in bringing him to the club.

“It’s not the ideal ending,” Cole said of his exit from Forest. “It just wasn’t working out. I told them from the outset that I didn’t want to go there to sit on the bench because I didn’t want to be perceived as sitting back and making easy money. I wanted to go there and offer something, but it was a strange one from the start. I never knew what my role was. Was it to lend a hand, use my experience, or was it a PR thing, to sell a few more season tickets? I still don’t know. I felt like the manager wouldn’t have a conversation with me. I don’t know if it’s the right word, but he seemed kind of intimidated by me.

“I wanted it to work out, but I was playing for 60 minutes and then getting taken off. Or sometimes I wasn’t getting picked at all. After a game at Preston, I said to myself: ‘You don’t play, then they give you an hour, then you get taken off. Is it really worth it?’ That was in September. I told him [Calderwood] then that I wanted to go and that I would serve three months’ notice if they wanted me to, which was in my contract. He said ‘no, give it another month’, which I was prepared to do, and then suddenly, a few weeks later, the club start putting it around that they’ve sacked me or that I’ve walked out.”

It’s a shame Cole’s career has ended this way but as he reflects on his career, he can take enormous pride with his record. Only Alan Shearer has scored more goals in the Premier League than Andrew Cole (260 to Cole’s 182) and with the next three on the list unlikely to increase their tallies (Thierry Henry, Robbie Fowler and Les Ferdinand) it seems Cole’s contribution to the game will be remembered for some time to come.