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da betsson： Joe Cole was a fantastic player.
Seven incredible years at Chelsea saw him win three Premier League titles and two FA Cups, before he joined Liverpool on a free transfer in 2010, becoming one of Roy Hodgson’s first signings at Anfield – Cole had scored 40 goals and assisted a further 42 in 280 appearances for the Blues.
However, the former England international never really lived up to expectations on Merseyside. The Reds’ former No.10 was sent off on his league debut against Arsenal, and only managed to find the back of the net five times in 42 appearances.
However, his goalscoring record probably wasn’t the worst feature of his time at Liverpool. Oh no.
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That award goes to Steven Gerrard, whose wild claim upon Cole’s arrival at the club now makes for embarrassing reading for him personally, but hilarious reading for the rest of us.
What did he say?
When Cole arrived at Anfield back in the summer of 2010, Gerrard said: “[Lionel] Messi can do some amazing things, but anything he can do Joe can do as well, if not better.
“He used to shock us in training by doing footy tricks with a golf ball that most players can’t even do with a football. I really fancy Joe for the [player of the year] award this season.”
Ill-informed comparison
At the time, Cole had won three Premier League titles, two FA Cups, one League Cup, one Community Shield and had made the PFA Team of the Year, so he was clearly a player of some pedigree.
However, Gerrard saying that he was basically better than Messi was pure ridiculous.
At the time of Cole’s move to Liverpool, the diminutive Argentine had won four La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey, three Spanish Super Cups, two Champions League titles, one UEFA Super Cup and one Club World Cup title, as well as two Ballon d’Or successes and numerous other individual awards.
Oh, and the small matter of him banging in 127 career goals – Cole only ever managed to score 95 across his entire 20-year career. Fittingly, Messi actually hit his 600th career goal against Liverpool just last Wednesday.