Having cut the irritating penchant for showboating out of his game, Cole is now an effective player. If only he could get a game
Acclaimed by Harry Redknapp as the most technically gifted young player he’d ever worked with, Cole was destined for the top from the moment he made his first-team debut for West Ham in 1998 aged just 17.
But it took longer than Redknapp and many other sound judges expected, as the young playmaker earned himself a reputation for trickery and showboating that was as infuriating as it was captivating.
Not helped by West Ham’s travails at the wrong end of the table, it was only after his move to Stamford Bridge in 2003 for £6.6m that Cole’s game progressed beyond the occasional flash of brilliance.
Under Jose Mourinho’s ultra-critical eye, Cole added defensive awareness and greater consistency to his box of tricks, to cement a first-team place for both Chelsea and England. In 2008, he was voted Chelsea’s Fans’ Player of the Year.