Joe Cole's time at Liverpool not so great now!.
It wasn't so long ago that Joe Cole stated he had joined "The biggest club in the country" which really pushed my buttons at...
https://www.chelseadaft.org/2010/12/joe-coles-time-at-liverpool-not-so.html
It wasn't so long ago that Joe Cole stated he had joined "The biggest club in the country" which really pushed my buttons at the time, when he signed for Liverpool in the summer. Joe stated that he See's his future playing "Just in behind the striker" and the general opinion was that this had played a part in leaving Chelsea as he couldn' ever get a start in that position.
Well well, just five months later and with Liverpool languishing down the League and Joe struggling for form, Roy Hodgson appears to be getting frustrated with Joe this week. First stating that his form needs to improve and now today stating that Joe needs to be able to play anywhere and not just in the position he wants.
Hodgson is quoted in the Guardian this morning saying:
"Joe has to come to terms with the fact that he has come here after an unsuccessful period at Chelsea with high hopes of taking Liverpool by storm and unfortunately it's not happened.Now stepping away from my biased Chelsea view of course and looking at the player that is Joe Cole, you have to say the guy has that much talent you would want to slot him into your side in any of the attacking midfield positions.
If he says 'Well I'm not playing in my right position', then you'd have to ask him what his right position is. If he says the only place he can play is behind the striker, then he is limiting his chances of playing here.
We also have Gerrard and [Raúl] Meireles who can play in that position, and at the moment quite often we are playing with two strikers. I would be sad to hear him saying something like that, because he would be suggesting he can't do what he has done so often for England and Chelsea, which is playing in a different position."
Whether or not that's out wide or in the middle like Chelsea have with three there, you would want Joe to be a part of it as he has undoubted ability. I always have been a fan of Joe Cole and at times would be stating on here that Chelsea and England need Joe Cole playing.
I am of the opinion (and Liverpool supporters would probably not care anyway) that you should stick Joe Cole out wide left for Liverpool in front of Paul (my mother hates Scousers) Konchesky, put Babel out wide right in front of Glen Johnson and put Dirk Kuyt up top with Torres. That leaves Meireles and Gerrard in the middle of midfield, leaving them with plenty of options to get the ball forward or out wide.
Jose Mourinho once slated Joe Cole after he scored a deflected winner for Chelsea at Anfield by stating he needs to work harder and maybe just maybe it seems this still rings true of Joe these days.
For me Joe can be just as influential out wide as he could be playing inside but it's difficult to back the guy when he insists on limiting his chances of playing but stating he wants to play in one position and being "unhappy" at playing in another.
One thing is for sure, in these days playing in the Premier League and for clubs like Chelsea and Liverpool it should be about playing for the shirt, giving it your everything, making sure you are playing and doing enough week in week out.
At the moment he isn't so I am asking you the football fan reading this:
Do you agree with Roy Hodgson? Where would you play Joe Cole?
KTBFFH.