18 Jan 2013

Kevin Nolan blasts: Joe Cole was 'harshly treated' at Anfield. Sold too soon...?

Liverpool finally got Joe Cole off the wage bill earlier this month, bringing to an end the latest in a long line of Anfield transfer mistakes. I imagine most Reds fans are happy to see Cole leave the club, especially considering the fact he rarely performed at the level required.

West Ham midfielder Kevin Nolan is delighted to have Cole back at Upton Park, and he believes that Liverpool are to blame for his friend's failure to hit the heights at Anfield.

Cole made an immediate impact for the Hammers on his recent debut against Manchester United, creating both West Ham goals, and putting in an all-round solid performance. Speaking to Reporters after the game, Nolan told Reporters:

"You can certainly see he [Cole] feels like he is at home.

"He was harshly treated at Liverpool and did not get the run of games for the quality he has"


Cole treated harshly at Liverpool? With all due respect, that's nonsense. Plus, it's incorrect to say that he didn't get a run of games at Liverpool:

* 5 Aug-17 Oct 2010: Started ten games in a row for LFC.
* Contribution: 1 goal/no assists in 10 games.
* 31 Oct 2012: Hamstring injury; out until 28th Nov.

Clearly, when Kenny Dalglish came in a month later, he either didn't feel Cole was physically up for it, or he just didn't rate him, which explains why he didn't play much for the rest of the season. Up to that point, Cole had contributed only two goals in nineteen games for the Reds (none in the league), so it's not like he'd earned his place in the team.

When Brendan Rodgers arrived, Cole got injured again, which allowed other players to move ahead of him. Additionally, when he did play, it's not like he made a massive difference.

Ultimately, Cole did not consistently get a run of games because he just didn't offer enough to the team. It's that simple, and there's nothing 'harsh' about his treatment at all.

Jaimie Kanwar

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23 comments:

  1. As you said, nothing harsh at all. He was on big bucks, and hardly ever played. If anything we treated him amazingly well. How many people would get paid for years while not turning up for work? He was given chance after chance after each Injury to have a few games to see if he can do it, and given a loan spell so he could get a run of games. It just didn`t work out. The fact I think we are paying some of his wages still, or brought out his contract just so he could move on, shows again that we treated him very very well (if that rumour is true).

    I don`t blame Cole, he was unlucky, but at the same time I don`t blame LFC for moving him on. I think that was the best move for all parties.

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  2. Just a player trying to stick up for his teammate.  Wouldn't read much more into it than that.

    I'm sure Cole and LFC wish it worked out better. 

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  3. Good luck Joe Cole. He was a squad player and came to Liverpool too late in his career. Wages spent on buying an additional left back would be a better investment. I don't think he's been badly or harshly treated. He's been more than well paid.

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  4. I might not always agree with you 100%, but here, I do.

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  5. It's a shame, Joe was a really nice guy and I wanted him to do well for us. He got off to a bad start and just couldn't recapture his form. Looking at West Ham I think they are more suited to him because crossing is a big part of his game. I wish him all the best in the future.

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  6. Why mention money in respect of him not playing, that wasn't Coles choice. Being paid alot is no substitute to being sidelined to the likes of 20mil Downing and the other terrible buys Kenny brought in. The idea that his wage was compensation is a joke, just bad management, not his problem. Lets be honest, the season and form he showed at PSG suggests he had more to offer.

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  7. Is Nolan jumping on the anti-Liverpool bandwagon or what? As far as I can see, there's absolutely no need for him to blame Liverpool for Cole's lack of contribution when he was a player for LFC/sudden impact on West Ham's performances. He IS quality! We knew that. That's why we signed him but Liverpool is NOT to blame for all the games that he simply didn't 'turn up' for.
    I have always respected Nolan but this is something that won't even affect his reputation. It will simply pass unnoticed, media-wise. There must be a reason as to why he directed the blame in this direction. My guess is 'BANDWAGON'.

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  8. I wish I was harshly treated for 100 grand a week. I'd sit on a bench for an hour-and-a-half every Saturday afternoon, and lie on a physio's table during the week, for the guts of 5 million quid a year. I'd even punctuate all that with a lengthy holiday in France.

    But then, I'm not picky. 

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  9. a friend defending a friend thats all this is we the fans know he had every chance at anfield but he was not bothered about us cash was king for him,if he was that bothered about playing for west ham or anyone for that matter he would have jumped at the chance to join them,but even whem the chance arose for him to join his boyhood club,he was not going to go unless he got a pay off from lfc ,well shot off imo

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  10. Joke hole cleaned up when he was with us, talked a good game & that was about it, amazing to see the shift he put in for west ham on his debut, never put one like that in for us, a gentleman who conned the f*** out of us

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  11. I think it was lille he was at.

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  12. a mate who is an estate agent showed his misses around a 3 storey house in southport she really liked the gaff but stated all the stairs would be no good for joes knees . he was knacked when we bought him and was one last big earner 4 him .he fu"cked us over good and proper

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  13. Nah, don't think so. One problem with him was that he was brought in when we mainly needed wingers. And a winger he ain't. He can play there, but it hardly is his best position. The central attacking midfield position was Gerrard's, so there we go. Wrong player brought in and too late in his career too.

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  14. Yeah, don't blame LFC as they didn't really have the game that suited Cole. His record at Chelsea was very good and was voted player of the season at least once (perhaps twice). Daglish is a terrible manager and absolutely clueless with regard to tactics and motivation. Best all round solution for all parties. 

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  15. sorry m8 whats kenny got to do with it 3 lfc managers managed to get jack sh1t out off him 

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  16. Agree completely. He got paid an awful lot of money for very little contribution to the team.

    The harsh red card on his league debut put the dampeners on the fans expectations and he never recovered.

    Be nice to see him rediscover his form back where he began.

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  17. I imagine Kevin Nolan will say the same thing about Andy Carroll when LFC finally sever all ties with his other "harshly treated" mate.

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  18. I dont know why you have to write an article and make the most of it everyone says something, do you really care what nolan thinks? What if Voronin goes and says tomorrow Ive been harshly treated at liverpool and I had quality, will you making a new article for that? Dont see the point of this actually, but as long as you have the nerves, do it even tho its a bit strange

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  19. big words from a glorified donkey, if it was andy carroll he said had been harshly treated id totally agree, but as good as jo cole used to be and how nice a bloke he is, just didnt cut it in a poor liverpool squad, simple as that.

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  20. way past his best,even before we took him.

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  21. Greg | Liverpool Kopites1:22 am, January 19, 2013

    I'd like to think instead that he was victim of the Gerrard jinx. Wasn't he called better than Messi by Gerrard? We all know what happens when Gerrard bigs something up... ;P

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  22. he is just not cut out to play for Liverpool 

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