Cole on Keane and Sheringham

October 08, 2009

Andy Cole

IN the second and final part of M.E.N. Sport's serialisation of Andy Mitten's new book `Glory, Glory' about United in the 1990s, Stuart Mathieson takes a look at extracts from the chapter on striker Andrew Cole.

Cole signed for the Reds from then major rivals Newcastle United in a sensational transfer £6m transfer in January 1995, with Keith Gillespie going in the opposite direction.

COLE ON HIS DEBUT SEASON

Cole scored five times in the record 9-0 victory over Ipswich Town seven games into his Old Trafford career but losing out on the league to Blackburn on the final day of the season at Upton Park is the match that stands out in his memory.

"I got a lot of criticism that day," said Cole. "Ludek Miklosko was unbelievable in the net. I hit the post but we couldn't get a winner.

"Those people in the media who had said I had been brought in to win the championship were now saying that I had cost United the league.

"I took too much of it to heart. I was devastated by how much flak I took because it implied that I wasn't committed to United. I was - I'd even missed the birth of my first child to play for United a few weeks before."

COLE ON ERIC CANTONA

"He was the only player I saw who the manager never had a go at. We all went to a film premiere and were told to wear black ties. Eric turned up in a cream lemon suit with Nike trainers. The manager told him that he looked fantastic. I liked Eric and considered him friendly."

COLE ON TEDDY SHERINGHAM

"Our problems started when I made my England debut. I replaced Teddy. I was making my debut. Maybe I was naive, but I think he should have wished me all the best.

"I was nervous, as anyone would be. Instead, he walked straight past me and blanked me. It's not like I told Terry Venables to take Teddy off.

"So I was devastated when Teddy Sheringham signed for United because I couldn't stand him. We played a friendly in Milan in 1997, just after he'd signed. He said something on the pitch. I didn't like it. 'I'm only trying to help you,' he said. 'I don't need your help,' I replied."

Ironically, the striking partnership between the two thrived.

COLE ON ROY KEANE

Roy Keane and Cole enjoyed a positive relationship.

"Not everyone did," said Cole, "but we didn't have a cross word. He knew my character and I knew his. I called him 'Schiz' and got away with it so he must have liked me.

"We came in at half-time at Highfield Road one year. We'd not been playing well and Schiz started raving at Gary Neville. Nev gave it him back and Roy flipped and started chasing him around the dressing room. It was hilarious.

"The manager came in and settled him down.

"We went to Spain one year to train. Schiz always ended up taking Quinton Fortune out with ferocious tackles. The gaffer saw this one and came over, telling him to calm down.

"Roy told him to keep his oar out. The manager abandoned training. The lads couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"I had a set-to with Teddy on the pitch. Everybody knew that Teddy wasn't my cup of tea and I wasn't his. We came in at half-time and it was going to go off between me and Teddy.

"Schiz calmed me down, but then he wanted to start fighting Teddy.

"He could be really, really cutting. He used to hammer Yorkie. During a game. He'd hammer him for his touch. Yet he never did it to me."

COLE ON YORKE

"I liked Yorkie. We were totally different. Dwight was, 'Look at me, I play for Manchester United, I've got a nice bird and car.' I'm the opposite.

"I bought a Porsche one year but was so self-conscious that I couldn't drive it. It took me two months to drive it to training. Yorkey had no such worries."

COLE ON LEAVING UNITED

United signed Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2001. Here, finally, was the new striker who pushed Cole to the sidelines.

"One day I knocked on the manager's door. I'd always had a brilliant relationship with him and he was great in that meeting.

"I told him that I didn't want to be sat on the bench. I didn't want to steal a wage. I wanted fans to come up to me and say that I had put a good shift in for my wages.

"The manager told me that he didn't want me to go, but said, `I know how you are, understand where you are coming from and will let you go.' In hindsight, I should have swallowed my pride."

GLORY, Glory! Man United in the 1990s - The Players' Stories written by Andy Mitten is published by VSP and comes out October 12. The book costs £17.99, but MEN readers can get £5 off by ordering directly from the publishers at www.visionsp.co.uk and entering the promotion code UWS at the checkout page. Andrew Cole and Andy Mitten will be signing copies of the book at WH Smiths in the Trafford Centre on October 29 (5-6.30pm) and at Waterstones in Manchester Arndale (1-2pm) the same day.

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Red Culture (08/10/2009 at 12:07)

Good player not appreciated by United faithfuls. I have always wondered why though.

tripone, canada (08/10/2009 at 12:34)

Fantastic player, too bad a lot of PPL did not like him, and for no good reason. Look at his record and love for the club. Oh man, some of his goals were unbelievable, I remember the one against Spurs (last game of the 98-99 season)when he controled it on the fly and scored to give us the win and the League. Thanx Andy, oops, Andrew Cole.

2OLEGEND, Lancaster (08/10/2009 at 12:41)

Andy Cole never got the credit he deserved mainly by rival supporters. Played a big part in the Treble season. His partnership with Yorkie is one of the best i have seen.

I'm just like Stewie Griffin, Fictional Quahog, Rhode Island (08/10/2009 at 12:57)

You can understand why some criticised him because his first touch was not always spot on. Also he seemed to waste chances, but his positioning was excellent.

A great goalscoring predator who worked his socks off.

james cromley, stockport (08/10/2009 at 13:05)

Remember where I was the day he signed and I can't say that about many players. A natural box finisher with a great work rate. Some of the games 'experts' criticised the amount of chances he needed to score a goal but he scored 93 in 1995 appearances for United no wonder Teddy was scared of his England place as well.

England's loss was our gain. I wish he had smiled more though. Always seemed a bit uptight although I am told he is a very generous and humble bloke.

edinburgh red, edinburgh (08/10/2009 at 13:08)

Cole was a good player for us and he was quite unappreciated for us, but his goals record is impressive and he always put the work in,also his partnership with yorke is probably the last time we have seen our front men constantly working in tandem, I remember cursing him on the day blackburn won the league but looking back on the game later his chances weren't that clear cut.

james cromley, stockport (08/10/2009 at 13:45)

93 in 195 sorry

Solskjaer20Legend, Epsomville (08/10/2009 at 13:59)

Great finisher who was unfairly criticised by the press and fans alike.

Monkey tennis?, yes please (08/10/2009 at 14:02)

Used to call him 50p feet as you never knew which direction the ball was going to go in, but like others, looking back he was a pretty decent forward. In the time that we had Cole, Yorke, Ole and Teddy i think most of us knew that a goal was going to come from somewhere.

Lord Ruud (08/10/2009 at 14:22)

I often think the reason Cole was underappreciated was because of the media coverage he got. Much-maligned wouldn't even come close. The guy never took penalties and yet still scored 187 premier league goals and still the press criticised him.

People outside United also wondered why Solskjaer wasn't in ahead of him. Solskjaer was a better natural finisher but Cole's movement off the ball was absolutely superb and was the central reason he got so many chances and we got so many goals from midfield due to the space he created.

To be fair, most United fans I have spoke to seem to realise the contribution he has made to the club, so I presume it is just the ABU's who think he didn't score that often and wasn't very good.

stuart ripley (08/10/2009 at 14:26)

we have not had a forward with movement like his since he was always trying to get that yard of space which is why he got so many chances to the untrained eye it looked like he missed loads but he should always be given the credit for being on the spot. He and yorkie together would cost you millions nowadays we got the pair for the price of Nani (comon son prove you were worth it !)

Alias Smith, over the moon (08/10/2009 at 14:49)

tripone, perhaps it was that game at Upton Park in May 1995. I was there - travelled to the game on the tube in great spirits, sat among the home fans, travelled back on the tube with the taunts of the West Ham fans ringing in my ears.

Still don't know how Coley managed not to score that day. Thankfully, he went on to great things in tandem with Yorkie but the disappointment of that day lingers!

Duncan, London (08/10/2009 at 14:53)

Cole. Great clinical striker. Outstanding positioning but in the rush to get to the ball he was sometimes off balance so his first touch was often difficult to control. Was excellent for Newcastle as well.

His goals per chances was a lie peddled by the Sun and Hoddle. I read a stat in the Times one year that had him as the highest scorer of goals per chances in the league. Interestingly he actually did score 1 in 3. The stats for Shearer that year was 1 in 4 chances. In fact when you strip Shearer of his penalties (he scored 56) their career goals per game tally was very close.

DUB RED, CLONDALKIN (08/10/2009 at 16:22)

The whole thing about Cole which the pictures on the TV would never show was his movement off the ball.I was amazed the first time i seen him play in a stadium he dragged the defence all over the pitch creating space for his team mates.The run to the European cup final himself and Yorke were tremendous together.Not quite a legend but still a fans favorite.

Sparky, Salford (08/10/2009 at 16:24)

You watch the old footage now and realise how good Coley was - unbelievable! Yet I don't think we really appreciated him back then. I'd love a 25 year old Andy Cole up front with Rooney today!!!

Scholesy passed me the ball..., England (08/10/2009 at 16:44)

Always a fan of Cole. He seemed short of confidence at times but was always happy to have him in the team.

Frank Old Trafford (08/10/2009 at 17:23)

Great player who scored loads of goals shame he didn't stay to play a few seasons with Ruud.

Tim1980 (08/10/2009 at 18:13)

Completely agree with Lord Ruud and Duncan. Cole was a fantastic player and the press tried their hardest to destroy him. That he coped so well despite all that pressure and criticism is testiment to his character. He'll always be one of my favourite United players.

I loved it when he finally had the last laugh against Glen Hoddle when he scored for Blackburn to beat Hoddle's Spurs in the League Cup final, too!

Rob Lawrence (08/10/2009 at 18:29)

I'd like to think if he listened to Sheri more, he would have scored a heck of a lot more and lost the UMIST tag

jordy, Middleton (08/10/2009 at 18:52)

I certainly appreciated Coley's efforts for us, and he still regrets leaving United at the time. We all moaned at him from time to time, but he was lightening fast and usually one on one, they'd only be one winner. Still see him at Old Trafford now as he and his son are season ticket holders.

Ed from Davyhulme, Manchester (08/10/2009 at 19:05)

Coley missed loads of chances - but that was because he was nearly always in the right place at the right time which meant he, inevitably, also scored lots of goals. Some people are daft enough to remember the misses rather than the goals. We are sadly missing a guy who knows how to find the right space in the box - Michael Owen is the closest we have to it but he will not match Andy Cole's prowess. Andy's goals throughout his career are testimony to the skill of the guy.

Algernon Blabbermouth, eccles (08/10/2009 at 20:39)

Favourite player,ran his socks off for the team,great bloke.Wished he could have stayed a couple more years. Give the academy kids a few dvd's of Andy Cole and they would learn everything!

tooth&claw, manchester (08/10/2009 at 23:16)

One of the best players to wear the red. I remember the first game of the 98/99 season, Leicester had an early corner and Cole was left forward. Just as the corner was taken Cole sprinted 30 yards towards the touchline, Elliot ran after him. Nothing came of the corner but Cole knew he could work Elliot, Leicester's best defender, so he had him running all game. As it happens we gave away two goals but with 10 minutes to go Elliot was completely out on his feet after another lung busting run chasing Cole and a minute later we were back in the game and eventually got a draw. All the work that Cole did paid off but you would have had to have been in the ground to se it because much of it was far away from the ball. He probably would have got a poor rating too because he didn't have his shooting boots on but I'll always remember the incredible amount of work he did off the ball that day, and every time he played. The win was as much down to him as Sheringham and Beckham. Andy Cole was the most underrated player ever to play in the Premiership.

C.G.Low (09/10/2009 at 02:01)

I was disappointed that he left when he did. Coley's biggest problem was his lack of (self) marketing/promotion skills. He always looked like he was sulking but was probably those introspective lads. So many misunderstood him and thought of him as aloof. A white Scholes in terms of personality.

Sparky was the best ever (09/10/2009 at 05:12)

Cole was the cleanest striker of the ball I've seen. Sometimes players get lucky and mis-kick or inadvertently put spin on it and the ball goes in the net because the keeper was expecting it at another angle. It's strange to say, but if he wasn't so good at kicking the ball where he wanted it to go, he might have scored more.

Exciting to watch and would make Berbatov look like a half arsed, overrated gimp if they shared the pitch. You know, like Rooney does.

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