Carlton Cole (born
November 12,
1983 in
Croydon,
London,
England) is a
football player who currently plays for
West Ham United.
Contents
[
hide]
//
[edit] Background
Cole was brought up in
West London and attended
Chiswick Community School. He is of
Nigerian and
Sierra Leonean descent via his parents
[1] but rejected the chance to play for either of the national sides.
[2] [edit] Club career [edit] Chelsea
Cole made his
Chelsea debut on
6 April 2002 as a substitute for
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in a 3-0 victory against
Everton.
[3] He made his first senior start three weeks later, scoring a goal as Chelsea beat
Middlesbrough at the the
Riverside.
[4] He made one more appearance for Chelsea in the 2001/02 season, in a 3-1 home defeat against
Aston Villa in May 2002.
[5]
Cole started the 2002/03 season in the Chelsea first team squad, scoring a goal and making another in the opening game of the season in a 3-1 win over
Charlton after coming on as a substitute for
Zola.
[6] He suffered a hairline fracture in his leg in August but returned to action in a
Worthington Cup tie against
Gillingham in November, scoring two goals.
[7] Claudio Ranieri, the then manager of Chelsea, described Cole as being the best young player that he had ever coached, saying,
"I've never coached a young player like Carlton. He's fantastic even though he hasn't really started his career yet. He has a very long contract, and, in my opinion, a very big future at Chelsea."[8] However, with
Gudjohnsen,
Hasselbaink and
Zola available for selection, Cole's first team opportunities were limited and he was loaned to
Wolverhampton Wanderers in November 2002
[9] for one month, later extended to two months.
[10] Having made seven appearances for Wolves, scoring one goal,
[5] his loan spell was cut short as Chelsea, needing cover, recalled him early in January 2003.
[11] Cole made a further twelve league and cup appearances for Chelsea in the 2002/03 season, in addition to the four that he made before going on loan to Wolves.
[5] He scored six goals in all for Chelsea that season,
[5] including a spectacular, left-footed volley against
Sunderland[12] and the winner against
Bolton Wanderers[13] in April 2003 as Chelsea pressed for a place in the
Champions League.
Cole signed a new six-year contract with Chelsea in the summer of 2003
[14] but with
Mutu, Gudjohnsen, Hasselbaink and
Forssell also battling for a place in the starting lineup for Chelsea, he joined
Charlton Athletic on a season-long loan in August 2003,
[15] where he scored five goals in 22 league and cup appearances,
[5] helping Charlton to finish the 2003/04 season in seventh place in the
Premier League. Despite Charlton being keen to retain Cole's services for the 2004/05 season,
[16] Cole joined
Aston Villa on another season-long loan.
[17] This move sparked off a dispute as Charlton were expecting Cole to return to the club as part of the deal that took
Scott Parker from Charlton to Chelsea.
[18] The dispute was later resolved when the two clubs reached a settlement.
[19] Cole scored three goals in 30 league and cup appearances for Aston Villa,
[5] including a goal on his debut in a 2-0 win over
Southampton in August 2004,
[20] in a season which was interupted by a knee injury picked up in an England U21 match against Holland U21 in February 2005.
[21]
He returned to Chelsea in summer 2005 where he appeared in pre-season friendlies.
[22] However, first team opportunities were limited by the presence of
Drogba and
Crespo[23] and Cole made only 12 league and cup appearances for Chelsea in the 2005/06 season, scoring one goal in the FA Cup win over Huddersfield.
[5] He joined
West Ham United in July 2006,
[24] having made a total of 31 league and cup appearances for Chelsea, scoring eight goals.
[5] [edit] West Ham
Cole joined West Ham United in July 2006 for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-year deal.
[24] He scored seconds into his competitive debut for West Ham after coming on as a substitute in injury time to seal a 3-1 home win against
Charlton Athletic in August 2006.
[25] However, in a season of turmoil at West Ham in which the club only secured their place in the Premier League on the final day of the season, Cole was unable to establish himself in the first team, making 21 league and cup appearances, 13 of which were as substitute, and scoring three goals.
[5] [edit] International career
Cole was a regular member of the
England Under 21 side, scoring six goals in 19 appearances,
[26] including two goals in the 3-1 win over Ukraine U21 in August 2004.
[27] Peter Taylor, the then England U21 manager, felt that Cole had
"...the potential to break into the full England squad...".
[28] [edit] References- <LI id=_note-Okirie>^ a b "Nigeria chase Cole", BBC Sport, 20 May 2004. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-0>^ "Cole happy to spurn Nigeria", BBC Sport, 6 September 2004. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-1>^ "Hasselbaink sees off Everton", BBC Sport, 6 April 2002. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-2>^ "Blues boss hails Cole", BBC Sport, 27 April 2002. Retrieved 27 April 2007. <LI id=_note-sbase>^ a b c d e f g h i Soccerbase: Carlton Cole, Racing Post. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-3>^ "Chelsea comeback thwarts Charlton", BBC Sport, 17 August 2002. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-4>^ "Ranieri hails Cole as best yet", BBC Sport, 6 November 2002. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-5>^ "Ranieri hails Cole as best yet", BBC Sport, 9 November 2002. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-6>^ "Cole joins Wolves on loan", BBC Sport, 28 November 2002. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-7>^ "Cole extends Wolves deal", BBC Sport, 29 December 2002. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-8>^ "Cole returns to Chelsea", BBC Sport, 2 January 2003. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-9>^ "Chelsea boost Euro bid", BBC Sport, 5 April 2003. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-10>^ "Cole punishes Bolton", BBC Sport, 12 April 2003. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-11>^ "Chelsea duo sign new contracts", BBC Sport, 3 July 2003. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-12>^ "Cole joins Charlton", BBC Sport, 20 August 2003. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-13>^ "Charlton want Cole to stay", BBC Sport, 16 June 2004. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-14>^ "Cole joins Villa on loan", BBC Sport, 12 July 2004. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-15>^ "Charlton contest Cole move", BBC Sport, 15 July 2004. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-16>^ "Charlton reach Cole deal", BBC Sport, 12 August 2004. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-17>^ "Aston Villa 2-0 Southampton", BBC Sport, 14 August 2004. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-18>^ "Cole faces lengthy injury lay-off"', BBC Sport, 25 February 2005. <LI id=_note-19>^ "Chelsea 1-0 AC Milan", BBC Sport, 25 July 2005. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-20>^ "Cole sights Chelsea starting spot", BBC Sport, 13 November 2005. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-whufc>^ a b "Hammers sign Chelsea striker Cole", BBC Sport, 5 July 2006. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-21>^ "West Ham 3-1 Charlton", BBC Sport, 19 August 2006. Retrieved 14 July 2007. <LI id=_note-22>^ Squad Profiles: carlton Cole, BBC Sport, Retrieved 15 July 2007. <LI id=_note-23>^ "England U21 3-1 Ukraine U21", BBC Sport, 17 August 2004. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
- ^ "Taylor backs Cole", BBC Sport, 3 September 2004. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
[edit] External links
Carlton Cole is a talented young English striker who made his Chelsea debut in April 2002 in their 3-0 home win against Everton. His first start came later in the month at Middlesbrough, and he marked the occasion with a goal.
In 2002/03, he started the campaign on fire, scoring three goals in his first three games and making the most of Chelsea's injury-plagued strikeforce. However, he was then shipped out on loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he continued to impressed, though only scoring one goal.
He scored on his return to Chelsea in their 4-0 FA Cup win over Shrewsbury, and made a hero of himself in April 2003 when he scored the winning goal in consecutive games against Sunderland and Bolton. He clearly has a big future ahead of him.
Unfortunately, the arrival of Roman Abramovich changed Chelsea completely, and like many others on the fringe of the first team, Cole suddenly found himself further down the queue behind the new boys. In August 2003, he moved to Charlton Athletic on loan for the season, hoping to get regular football with the Addicks.
However, injuries prevented him making much of an impact at the Valley and although Alan Curbishley wanted to keep him, Cole left in the summer. His return to Chelsea was short-lived though, as he signed for Aston Villa in July on a season-long loan.
At Villa Park, he scored three goals in 27 games, but returned to Chelsea in 05/06 where he continued to struggle.
He therefore moved to West Ham United in July 2006 for an undisclosed fee.
document.write('');// Visual basic helper required to detect Flash Player ActiveX control version informationFunction VBGetSwfVer(i)on error resume nextDim swControl, swVersionswVersion = 0set swControl = CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash." + CStr(i))if (IsObject(swControl)) thenswVersion = swControl.GetVariable("$version")end ifVBGetSwfVer = swVersionEnd FunctionSub AT_FLASHO1060792_FSCommand(ByVal command, ByVal args)call AT_FLASHO1060792_DoFSCommand(command, args)end sub
However, despite scoring just 24 seconds into his debut, he rarely got the chance to prove his worth to the Hammers and started only eight goals.
He will hope for more luck in the 2007/08 season.
