Our pursuit of Joe Cole has been a protracted one to say the least.
I remember hearing whispers about it last year and then writing about it in January for another site and slowly the story of Joe Cole leaving Chelsea went from a rumour to an inevitability.
Chelsea blew hot and cold with Cole, at times showing that they didn’t want him around (I seem to remember a veiled insult from Ancelotti who claimed he had the better Deco anyway) as well as stating they would do everything in their power to keep him.
But the fact they would not raise his wage to give him parity with the likes of Frank Lampard and John Terry seemed to prove enough of a stumbling block and yesterday night a reputable journalist from The Mirror revealed Joe Cole had left Chelsea.
Throughout his negotiations with Chelsea other clubs including us circled, waiting to see the outcome of the saga and at numerous points it was claimed we had struck a deal and as had Arsenal whilst Spurs were lurking. But up until now no breakthrough.
Yet as Joe Cole is now officially a ‘free agent’ there is no obstacle in our push to sign him.
With cash tight he is available on a free which should appeal to the clubs owners as well as Sir Alex, who has constantly talked about a lack of value in the transfer market. In saving on a transfer fee we may be inclined to offer him what he wants in terms of wage, the issue that caused Chelsea to balk and is proving a stumbling block for Arsenal who has a strict wage structure in place.
It is thought Cole may not want to leave London but the wage as well as lure of United may prove too hard to resist as he looks lift the European cup and to add to his 3 titles. We are not the only club looking at him but we are probably the best so with all the apparent barriers out of the way we should snap him up sooner rather than later.
I agree wholeheartedly with the addition of Joe Cole to United, he would be a usefull central midfielder and for cover if required on the right hand side of the attack.
To sign a fully fledged international player on a free, how could anyone say no!
I understand the fitness problems but used sparingly would be a definite asset.
Let us not forget who almost broke Joe Cole’s confidence one Mr Mourhino,lambasting in my opinion regards his unwillingness to carry out his defensive duties, and removing the maverick cavalier qualities Joe Cole once possessed.
Joe when with Mourhino was not unlike how Eto was used by Mourhino at Milan almost like a right back.
I believe Sir Alex and his backroom staff would embrace Joe and allow him to flourish and bring an energy and excitement we all want to see.
Nothing will happen though till England are finished with the World cup(two weeks lol Joking).
Mr Cappelo has made it quite clear, 100% concentration on England duties only, to stay zeroed in on our aim, in South africa.
But defenitely would be a stellar signing.
Overall, I’d be happy for Cole to join United, but I don’t think some of the potential negatives should be overlooked.
Pluses: he’s a great player, fills a current void in our team, a free transfer and meets SAF’s desire to retain a “Britishness” on the team.
His wage demands should be of concern to us. Not so much financially, and even if he was overpaid (which is relative because everyone in the EPL is overpaid), as it would easily cover that in having zero transfer cost. What concerns me about his wage demands is that it may point to an inflated ego and insecurity which can affect the team. I’ll rarely give Chelsea credit, but what they offered was fair and good on them for sticking to principle. I don’t know if it is good for the dressing room if a guy is too insecure about not being paid as much as his teamates. What right does he have to say he deserves as much as Lampard – will he do the same for Rooney?
I hope his reasons for leaving are more related to his lack of favour under Ancelotti. He doesn’t strike me as an egomaniac, but sometimes quiet guys can still be poisonous. All that being said, I’d lean to giving him the benefit of the doubt, but it’s worth looking at both sides.
Did anyone else see that Makelele adivised him to join United over Arsenal? Pretty cool that an old foe still recognizes the greatness of United.
I saw Desailly say that too.
I agree about the ego thing, as good as he is it’s quite clear that he wasn’t as important to the Renties as Lampard or Terry so he shouldn’t really have been looking to be on the same kind of wage as them.
I don’t think he is as egotistically as that (well I hope not) and if he is Sir Alex may be able to sort it out before it becomes a problem.