Pragmatism above flair

One of the biggest bits of business so far in the transfer window this summer has been the free transfer of Joe Cole to Liverpool, having been released by Chelsea at the end of the last season. But why was a player with a CV such as Cole, and with clear undoubted ability, was allowed to leave for nothing when he is still 28 and appeared for England in the World Cup this summer? He was effectively consigned to the football scrapheap by the powers that be at Stamford Bridge. It is quite probable that something happened behind the scenes at Chelsea to preempt his departure - Cole himself has admitted there was a breakdown in his relationship with the club over the past season, as negotiations over a new contract stalled. Although he has stated he has a great deal of admiration for manager Carlo Ancelotti, he was clear that there were 'political reasons' behind his departure, and he feels 'now is not the time to reveal them.'
But that still doesn't hide the fact that Cole, for all he has achieved, has not quite fulfilled the potential which was seen in him at such a young age. He has won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cup's and appeared in a Champions League final, as well as gaining 54 England cap's with 10 goals, the last two of which came in the World Cup last month. But that still doesn't seem enough. And here is an endemic problem with English football - a misplaced mistrust in 'flair' players, which has had a detrimental effect on English football and especially the national team. In my opinion, Joe Cole is the most talented English football player since Paul Gascoigne in the 1990s. And look how Gazza turned out!
Where players of the ability of Cole should be nurtured, they are treated with suspicion, and this leads to them not producing their best when it matters most. If he were German, Spanish or Dutch, Cole would have been cherished. In those countries, there is a far greater emphasis placed on technical ability rather than physical prowess, which is a problem in English football as a whole. Look at his Chelsea statistics - of his 282 Chelsea appearances, almost a third of those (92) have been as a substitute. He has started just 28 Premier League games in his admittedly last two injury plagued seasons, and in terms of minutes played, he has been on the pitch for just 10.613 minutes of the 23,940 Premier League minutes his former club have played since his arrival in 2003 - in other words, less than half, His best position should undoubtedly be 'in the hole' behind a lone striker or a front two, where he has freedom to roam, pull the strings and control the game. Think Mesut Ozil for Germany this summer. But so often for Chelsea he played the role of a hard-working winger in a front free, a role the brilliant but pragmatic Jose Mourinho first turned him towards. The situation has been very similar at international level, where he has often found himself stuck out on the left-wing, be it under Sven Goran Eriksson, Steve McClaren or Fabio Capello. His stagnation was emphasised this summer - an England team completely devoid of invention or flair was deemed not appropriate for the ability of Cole, as he made just two substitute appearances totaling just 44 minutes, while Capello favoured the more prosaic talents of Aaron Lennon, Shaun Wright-Phillips and James Milner, none of whom have the ability of Cole. There has been talk this summer of Milner joining Manchester City for upwards of £25 million, which shows where the priority of English football clubs lies. And at Chelsea, he was increasingly behind the likes of Nicolas Anelka, Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou - all good players, but they don't have that 'X-factor' that's so rare in modern day football.
In England, players like Cole are regarded as something of a luxury - and the former West Ham starlet is not the first English player of this ilk to be regarded with suspicion. Despite winning 79 caps for England, John Barnes never totally convinced at international level, while the likes of Glenn Hoddle were considered an unreliable and enigmatic accident waiting to happen. Despite winning 53 international caps, the playmaker was never totally appreciated on these shores, but it was a completely different story abroad. His former manager at Monaco (Arsene Wenger, you may have heard of him) stated: 'he was a superb player. I couldn't understand why he was never appreciated in England - perhaps he was a star born in the wrong time.' Or, perhaps, it is more likely he was a star born in the wrong country.
It is depressing to think that the pinnacle of Gascoigne's international career came at the age of 23 in the World Cup in Italy in 1990. He had so much more to give, but the English press were more intent on bringing up the ghosts from his personal life, and as he descended on the downward spiral towards despair and depression, we were more than to jump on the bandwagon.
While Cole has not trodden the same path and wasted his talent in that sense, there is a feeling that he is in the last chance saloon at Anfield, if he is to get the most out of his God-given talent. His final defining act for Chelsea shows he has the ability to do it on the biggest stage - an outrageous flicked finish to give his side the lead at Manchester United in what was effectively the title decider at Old Trafford was Cole at his impish best, and he will thrive under the responsibility which will bestowed upon him by his new manager Roy Hodgson. He needs to be a focal point, not pushed out to the touchline. He has always had self-belief in his talent, which has been a problem for many of this managers' - he will take risks and try skills most wouldn't dream of, and this sometimes results in mistakes. But his first manager at West Ham, Harry Redknapp, asked him to train with the first team at the age of 14, a testament to both his ability and attitude. Let's hope Hodgson continues his penchant for attacking football he displayed so productively at Fulham. Cole's former Chelsea teammate Arjen Robben (similarly neglected by Mourinho) has even declared that the front three of Cole, Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard is, 'as good as any in Europe, including Barcelona's. And everyone involved in football in this country (except perhaps those in the higher echelons at Stamford Bridge) will be hoping this helps Cole revive his career - Liverpool in the state they are seem the perfect match. Then maybe the great question which sums up Joe Cole's career won't be 'what if?