When Cole emerged on the scene as an incredibly gifted teenager at West Ham, many felt he would go on to become an absolute superstar. The tricks and flicks he used to pull off were truly mesmerising, and there had arguably not been a more natural gifted English player since Paul Gascoigne. This skill was slowly eked out of him by cautious coaches, however, and although he enjoyed an extremely successful spell at Chelsea, by the time Roy Hodgson and Liverpool came knocking he was well past his best. Although still just 28 when he signed for the club in the summer of 2010, he had lost any pace he once had, and looked scared to try anything other than the simple ball. Some felt it would be a clever signing by Hodgson, giving Cole a new lease of life and regular football, but his time at Anfield was just one big disappointment. His £90,000 weekly wages were also ridiculously bloated for a player so far past his peak. On his first Premier League appearance for Liverpool, at home to Arsenal, he was sent-off in the first-half for a reckless challenge on Laurent Koscielny. He never recovered from that point on. After an uninspiring first season at Anfield he was sent out on loan to Ligue 1 side Lille, and having impressed there he returned to Merseyside looking to show the fans he could still be a success. Again a mixture of injuries and poor form worked against him, however, and he made just 10 appearances in the 2012/13 season, scoring once against former club West Ham. He returned to the Hammers at the end of that campaign, and remains a shadow of the player he once was.
