Joe Cole

[cream]

Lets hope PSG are taking note. He looks class over in Ligue 1.

[little dave hedgehog]

imagine what gascoigne could've been if he weren't basically football's answer to father jack hackett.

[lickedlollipop]

scored again - against lyon today

[Exiled_red]

7 goals in 22 games for Lille this season. Decent record.

[little dave hedgehog]

http://www.liverpoolfcnews.net/joe-cole-i-want-to-prove-i-am-not-a-liverpool-failure/link/94245/

Joe Cole: I want to prove I am not a Liverpool failure
The winger, who spent the season on loan in France, is desperate to prove himself to Reds supporters after failing to assert himself in the first team after his 2010 arrival
21 May 2012 23:57:00
By John Christodoulou

Joe Cole is looking to return to Liverpool, following the conclusion of his loan spell at Ligue 1 side Lille, and prove he can still perform in the Premier League after an initially disappointing spell at Anfield.
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Cole was signed by Roy Hodgson in the summer of 2010, but failed to recapture the form he showed at Chelsea, and subsequently barely featured when Kenny Daglish was appointed manager the following January.

END OF FRENCH AFFAIR FOR COLE?
The former England midfielder is set to return to Liverpool after Lille loan

But, with the Scot having been sacked, Cole feels he has the opportunity for a second chance at Anfield.

"When I signed for Liverpool, it startled me a bit,’" Cole told the Daily Mirror. "I don’t know if I felt the pressure but the city is so in love with football. It’s a religion. If I go back, I will be more prepared for it this time.

"I can see why people say [joining Liverpool] is a culture shock. It is a small place but it has this great buzz. How can there not be in a city that has produced five Prime Ministers and The Beatles? The people are so sharp, quite a bit like Londoners really.

"There is still a part of me that would really love to make it work there and I don’t want to have a bad spell at Anfield on my CV. But it is out of my hands now. At the minute I can’t rule anything in or out. We have got to speak to Liverpool and see what happens there."

Cole had a very successful season in France, where he recaptured his confidence and was able to avoid injuries to play regularly, appearing 42 times for Rudi Garcia's side, contributing nine goals.

"I’ve definitely broadened my horizons," said Cole. "I managed to do an interview the other day completely in French. It’s very basic but it’s just the aspect of living in another country. Now I can appreciate the difficulties that foreign players have coming to England.

"We have got this great league on our doorstep and I am glad I have experienced it. There were a lot of hurdles to overcome. But this is something we will be able to look back on with great fondness. Who is to say it is going to end?

"It was exactly what I needed. It is a bit slower, a bit more tactical. But this has helped me gain confidence in my body again. I have been able to learn about the tactical side of the game. Foreign players tend to embrace that more than we do."

However the former Chelsea player has acknowledged he will have to work hard to re-adjust his game and adapt to the pace of the Premier League.

"I will have to do extra work because it will be going back to that 100mph pace but I’m sure it will be okay," explained Cole, who likened Ligue 1 as one of the best in the Europe.

"It’s not England, it’s not Spain – they are the two top leagues. But it is comparable with Germany and Italy. This is a very good league. Now I have got to keep thinking ahead."

[dww]

If he's learned something about tactics that could make a big improvement to his game. Unconvinced that he'll ever make it centrally in the PL though. We could do with a goal scoring midfielder though - in a way I hope he gets a chance to prove himself, even if I am sceptical that he is what we need.

[Fivex]

Maybe he'll be helping Downing settle in.

[Angryred]

I wouldn't mind him coming back as long as his attitude has improved & got a point to prove, then let it be!
Just hope Aquilani will do the same!...I would imagine his attitude might change if Capello, if the rumours are true, succeeds Dalglish...

[little dave hedgehog]

don't think his attitude was ever a problem...?

[Alex]

No, I just think he didn't know his best position, neither did Hodgson. He seems to have suffered from that his whole career.

[Angryred]

don't think his attitude was ever a problem...?

Based on what he said in that interview would suggest that he had a different approach coming to us & got a culture shock so was there an attitude about it? So when I define attitude, didn't mean it in a negative manner, just him being a London boy, & big city culture can bring an attitude towards the lesser lights around the country...

[Shaggy]

Joe comes across as a real sound lad.

[Icon]

I say we slot him in...

[Alex]

I think Id rather him and Aquilani, than Downing and Adam.

[Angryred]

I think Id rather him and Aquilani, than Downing and Adam.

Here,here!...empathically an improvement already!