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{{Infobox Football biography
| playername = Andrew Cole
| image = [[Image:Replace this image male.svg|150px]]
| fullname = Andrew Alexander Cole
| nickname = Goal King Cole, Cole The Goal
| height = 5 ft 10 in
| dateofbirth = {{birth date and age|1971|10|15}}
| cityofbirth = [[Nottingham]]
| countryofbirth = [[England]]
| currentclub = [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]]
| clubnumber = 8 <!--8-->
| position = [[Football (soccer) positions#Forward|Forward]]
| youthyears =
| youthclubs = [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]
| years = 1989&ndash;1992<br />1991<br />1992&ndash;1993<br />1993&ndash;1995<br />1995&ndash;2001<br />2001&ndash;2004<br />2004&ndash;2005<br />2005&ndash;2006<br />2006&ndash;<br>2007
| clubs = [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]<br />→ [[Fulham F.C.|Fulham]] ''(loan)''<br />[[Bristol City F.C.|Bristol City]]<br />[[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]]<br />[[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]<br />[[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]]<br / >[[Fulham F.C.|Fulham]]<br />[[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]]<br />[[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]]<br>→ [[Birmingham City F.C.|Birmingham City]] ''(loan)''
| caps(goals) = {{0}}{{0}}1 {{0}}(0)<br />{{0}}13 {{0}}(3)<br />{{0}}41 (20)<br />{{0}}70 (55)<br />195 (94)<br />{{0}}83 (27)<br />{{0}}31 (12)<br />{{0}}22 {{0}}(9)<br />{{0}}18 {{0}}(3)<br>{{0}}{{0}}5 {{0}}(1)
| nationalyears = 1994<br>1995&ndash;2002
| nationalteam = [[England B national football team|England B]]<br>[[England national football team|England]]
| nationalcaps(goals) = {{0}}{{0}}1 {{0}}(1)<br>{{0}}15 {{0}}(1)
| pcupdate = 20:10, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
| ntupdate = 19:38, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
}}
'''Andrew Alexander "Andy" Cole''' (born [[15 October]] [[1971]] in [[Nottingham]]) is an [[England|English]] [[football (soccer)|footballer]] who plays as a [[striker]] for [[FA Premiership|Premiership]] side [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]], and is one of the highest scoring players in the game's history. He is most well known by the name '''Andy Cole''' (which he was universally known as in the 1990s) but in 2000 he asked to be known as '''Andrew Cole'''.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/904641.stm</ref>

Although ranked second in the all time scoring charts of the [[FA Premier League]], in his career Cole has scored a total of 188 Premier League goals, 2nd behind [[Alan Shearer]] who has 260 goals, Cole is currently the highest goalscorer still playing in the Premiership. Cole currently plays for [[Portsmouth F.C.]] having joined them from [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] on transfer deadline day at the start of the [[2006-07 in English football|2006-07]] season. Cole has the distinction of being one of the few players in England to have swept all possible honours in the English game, including the [[PFA Young Player of the Year]] award, as well as the coveted [[UEFA Champions League]] title. Cole was also [[cap (football)|capped]] fifteen times for England between 1995 and 2001, scoring once.

==Arsenal, Fulham and Bristol City ==

Cole started his career as a youth player for [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]. He made his only league appearance for Arsenal, aged 19, as a substitute against [[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]] at [[Bramall Lane]] during a [[Football League First Division|First Division]] game on [[December 29]] [[1990]]; Arsenal won 4-1 but Cole did not score.

The following season he was loaned to Fulham in the Third Division, where he scored 3 goals in 13 games, before being sold to Second Division [[Bristol City F.C.|Bristol City]] in a £500,000 deal - at the time he was the [[Ashton Gate]] club's most expensively signed player.

== Newcastle United ==

Having proved himself as a competent young goalscorer with Bristol City, Cole was quickly one of the hottest prospects in England and his name was regularly linked with [[FA Premier League|Premiership]] clubs throughout the [[1992-93 in English football|1992-93]] season.

In February 1993, Division One leaders [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] splashed out a then club record £1.75 million for his services. He then scored 12 goals in as many league games to confirm Newcastle as Division One champions, although 25-goal [[David Kelly (footballer)|David Kelly]] was the club's top scorer.

After Kelly was sold to [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]], manager [[Kevin Keegan]] brought in [[Peter Beardsley]] as Cole's strike-partner for the [[1993-94 in English football|1993-94]] Premiership campaign. The red-hot Cole scored 34 goals in 40 games during Newcastle's first Premiership season as they finished third and qualified for the [[UEFA Cup]]. Cole scored a total of 41 goals in all competitions - breaking the club's goalscoring record which had been set by [[Hughie Gallacher]] nearly 70 years earlier. The PFA voted 22-year-old Cole as Young Player of the Year for that season.

Cole then scored 9 Premiership goals in 18 games for Newcastle after the start of the [[1994-95 in English football|1994-95]] season, and also scored a [[hat-trick]] against [[Royal Antwerp]] in the UEFA Cup.

== Manchester United ==

On [[10 January]] [[1995]], Cole was suddenly sold to [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] for a deal worth £7 million - with £6 million cash plus £1 million-rated [[Keith Gillespie]] going in the opposite direction. He scored 12 goals in his first 18 Premiership games for United, including 5 in one game in the 9-0 rout of [[Ipswich Town F.C.|Ipswich Town]], a Premiership record, and 2 vital goals in United's 3-2 victory away at Coventry City. But he was frustrated by a supurb goalkeeping performance by Miklosko at [[West Ham United F.C.]] on the final day of the season. Victory would have kept the Premiership trophy at Old Trafford - it went to [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]] instead.

He was [[cup-tied]] for the [[FA Cup]] final a week later. Without him United lost to [[Everton F.C.|Everton]] 1-0.

During a difficult first full season in Manchester, Cole was slated by even some of United's own fans throughout the [[1995-96 in English football|1995-96]] season, although he did score in four successive games during the winter, including an important and spectacular opening goal in United's 2-0 defeat of title rivals Newcastle United on the 27th of December, and was in the first 11 for most first-team games. At one point, some fans were even calling for 21-year-old [[Paul Scholes]] to replace Cole as [[Éric Cantona]]'s regular strike-partner. But Cole kept his place, collecting a Premiership title winners medal and scoring the second goal in United's 3-0 defeat of Middlesbrough on the final day of the season which won United the Premiership title, and played in their FA Cup final victory to become part of England's first ever side to win the double twice.

The arrival of [[Ole Gunnar Solskjær]] - and two broken legs suffered in a reserve game - restricted Cole's first-team chances in [[1996-97 in English football|1996-97]], but he still played in 20 Premiership games (10 as a substitute) and qualified for another Premiership title medal. Before the season began, he had been offered to Blackburn Rovers as part-exchange in a £12,000,000 deal which would have brought [[Alan Shearer]] to [[Old Trafford (football)|Old Trafford]]. But Shearer opted for Newcastle instead.

Cole was the joint top goalscorer in the Premiership during the [[1997-98 in English football|1997-98]] season with 18 goals, but United finished trophyless for only the second time in 9 seasons. Despite his high goals-per-game and chances-per-goal ratios, which were superior to many of the players deemed better than him, some United fans still criticised his performances. Cole scored his first European hat-trick for the club in an away match at Feyenoord. Cole ended the season runner up in the [[PFA Players' Player of the Year]] award to Arsenal's [[Dennis Bergkamp]]. But despite this and being the leading goalscorer in all competitions that season with 25, Cole was controversially omitted from the England World Cup squad by then-manager [[Glenn Hoddle]].

Cole faced competition from [[Dwight Yorke]], [[Teddy Sheringham]] and Ole Gunnar Solskjær during the [[1998-99 in English football|1998-99]] season but played a key role in their unique treble of the Premiership title, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League. Cole scored the vital winning goal in United's final Premiership game of the season against [[Tottenham Hotspur]], a result which meant United finished 1 point ahead of rivals Arsenal to win the Premiership title. He also scored United's third and winning goal in their Champions League semi-final 2nd leg against [[Juventus]], sealing their place in the final for the first time in over 30 years. His striking partnership with Yorke proved to be crucial to United's success that season as the pair contributed 53 goals between them and struck up an almost telepathic understanding on the pitch, most notably in a Champions League match away against [[FC Barcelona]], the match ending 3-3 with Yorke scoring 2 and Cole scoring a memorable goal after linking up with Yorke. Also in this season Cole scored his 100th Premiership goal in a top of the table clash against Arsenal at Old Trafford on 17 February. The match ended 1-1.

He was United's top scorer again in [[1999-00 in English football|1999-00]] with 19 goals in 28 Premiership games. He collected his fourth Premiership title medal in five seasons, and scored over 20 goals in all competitions for the third successive season. Cole scored many vital goals for United including the only goal of the game in their top of the table clash against their closest rivals [[Leeds United]]. He also joined an elite group during this season by scoring his 100th goal for the club in a 2-2 draw against [[Wimbledon F.C.]]. Injury just prior to [[2000 UEFA European Football Championship|Euro 2000]] led to Cole missing out on another major competition for his country.

Another title followed in [[2000-01 in English football|2000-01]] when, despite suffering from an injury that restricted his appearances, Cole scored 13 goals in all competitions, including 4 in the European Cup allowing him at the time to become Manchester United's record goal scorer in the competition.

He played made one last appearance for [[Manchester United]] on 13th March 2007, coming on at half time for a friendly game between [[Manchester United]] and European XI in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the [[European Community]] and 50 years of Manchester United in the [[European Cup]].

== Blackburn Rovers ==

The arrival of [[Ruud van Nistelrooy]] and [[Juan Sebastián Verón]] counted against Cole's first-team chances in the [[2001-02 in English football|2001-02]] season, and just before the end of 2001 he was sold to Blackburn Rovers for £7million. Within two months of arriving he had collected a [[Football League Cup|League Cup]] winners medal, scoring the winning goal for Blackburn in the [[Football League Cup Final 2002|final]] against Tottenham Hotspur who were managed by the former England manager and open critic of Cole, Glenn Hoddle. This victory meant that, in the space of seven seasons, Cole had won all three domestic trophies plus a European trophy. Cole ended the season with a total of 18 goals in all competitions, 5 for Manchester United and 13 for Blackburn.

There were no trophies the following season but he was still able to help Blackburn achieve automatic UEFA Cup qualification, being helped by his old United strike-partner Dwight Yorke who had joined the club in July 2002.

Cole had a frustrating season in [[2003-04 in English football|2003-04]] as Rovers slid into the bottom half of the Premiership when they had been expected to feature in the race for European qualification (by their fans and the media).

== Fulham ==

13 years after spending three months on loan at Fulham, Cole returned to [[Craven Cottage]] for the [[2004-05 in English football|2004-05]] season joining them on a one-year contract. He was the club's top scorer and scored one of the goals of the season against Liverpool. Despite this successful period at Fulham he decided to leave the club after only one season as his family wanted to return to the [[North West England|north west]].

== Manchester City ==

Cole signed for Manchester City at the beginning of the [[2005-06 in English football|2005-06]] season. His arrival was a controversial one, with some City fans struggling to take to a player who had been so successful with their rivals, but a good start to his career at [[City of Manchester Stadium|Eastlands]] won over most doubters. [[Stuart Pearce]]'s side's spent most of the season in the top half of the table. However Cole's season was ended by injury in March. Without him, City suffered a slump in form that resulted in a lower placed finish than expected.

== Portsmouth ==

Despite signing a new contract with Manchester City only months earlier<ref>[http://www.football.co.uk/manchester_city/cole_signs_citizens_deal_229075.shtml Cole Signs Citizens Deal] - football.co.uk, 08/06/2006</ref> and leaving Fulham in 2005 to return to the [[Northern England|north]], Cole signed for [[Portsmouth FC|Portsmouth]] on transfer deadline day ([[31 August]] [[2006]]) for a fee of around £500,000 with that rising to £1m depending on appearances. Cole stated that: ''It's an opportunity for me to play for another two years and I hope to do my best for Portsmouth, score a few goals and get the club into the top 10 which is what they're aiming to do this season. The Portsmouth fans are electric and I know Jamo ([[David James (footballer)|David James]]), I know Sol ([[Sol Campbell]]) and I've played with [[David Thompson (footballer)|David Thompson]] as well, which is always important when you come to a new club because you can fit in straightaway''.<ref>[http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/31082006/1/portsmouth-wrap-cole-signing.html Portsmouth wrap up Cole signing] - Teamtalk.com, 31/08/2006</ref> He scored his first league goal for his new club in the 2-0 win at home to West Ham on 14 October 2006.<ref>[http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/premiership/article1873887.ece Portsmouth 2 West Ham Utd 0: Harry casts Hammers further into the Cole furnace] - The Independent, 15/10/2006</ref>



== Birmingham City loan deal ==

On March 21, 2007, Cole signed on loan for [[Birmingham City F.C.|Birmingham City]] of the Championship until the end of the season.<ref name="Birmingham sign Cole in loan deal">{{cite news
| title = Birmingham sign Cole in loan deal
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/birmingham_city/6474263.stm
| publisher = BBC Sport
| date = [[2007-03-21]]
| accessdate = 2007-03-21}}</ref> He was expected to make his debut against [[Coventry City F.C.]] on [[April 1|April Fools Day]] [[2007]] but had to withdraw thanks to a hamstring injury. Because of his hamstring injury Cole was absent again in the next Birmingham squad.
He made his début on [[14th April]] against [[Southampton F.C.]] and set up [[Nicklas Bendtner]] for Birmingham's 2nd goal. His first goal finally came against Birmingham City's big rivals [[Wolverhampton Wanderers]], in which they won 3-2 at Molineux on 22 April 2007.

== England ==
Despite first being capped for [[England national football team|England]] in 1995, he had earned only 15 [[cap (sport)|caps]] by the time he announced his retirement from international football after failing to be selected for the [[2002 FIFA World Cup]] squad. He scored one goal for England, in a World Cup qualifying match against [[Albania national football team|Albania]] in March 2001. He also scored in his single appearance for the [[England B national football team|England B]] team.

==Honours==

* [[FA Premier League|League Championship]] (1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001)
* [[FA Cup]] (1996, 1999)
* [[UEFA Champions League|European Cup]] (1999)
* [[European/South American Cup|Intercontinental Cup]] (1999)
* [[FA Community Shield|Charity Shield]] (1996, 1997)
* [[Football League Cup|League Cup]] (2002)
* [[Football League First Division|Division One Championship]] (1993)
* [[PFA Young Player of the Year]] (1994)

==References==
<div class="references-small">
<references />
</div>





==External links==
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/shared/bsp/hi/football/statistics/players/c/cole_4692.stm BBC profile]
*{{soccerbase|id=1542|name=Andy Cole}}

{{start box}}
{{s-awards}}
{{succession box|title=[[PFA Young Player of the Year]]|before=[[Ryan Giggs]] |after=[[Robbie Fowler]]|years=1994}}
{{succession box|title=[[FA Premier League#Top scorers|Premier League top scorer]]|before=[[Teddy Sheringham]]|after=[[Alan Shearer]]|years=1993-94}}
{{end box}}

{{Portsmouth F.C. squad}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Andy}}
[[Category:1971 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Arsenal F.C. players]]
[[Category:Blackburn Rovers F.C. players]]
[[Category:Bristol City F.C. players]]
[[Category:English footballers]]
[[Category:England international footballers]]
[[Category:Premier League players]]
[[Category:England B international footballers]]
[[Category:FA Premier League top scorers]]
[[Category:Fulham F.C. players]]
[[Category:Manchester City F.C. players]]
[[Category:Manchester United F.C. players]]
[[Category:People from Nottingham]]
[[Category:Newcastle United F.C. players]]
[[Category:People of Jamaican descent]]
[[Category:Football (soccer) strikers]]
[[Category:Portsmouth F.C. players]]
[[Category:Birmingham City F.C. players]]
[[Category:Jamaican-English people]]

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[[fr:Andy Cole]]
[[it:Andy Cole]]
[[ja:アンディ・コール]]
[[no:Andy Cole]]
[[pl:Andrew Cole]]
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[[vi:Andy Cole]]
[[zh:安迪·科尔]]

Revision as of 10:38, 23 July 2007

Andy Cole
Personal information
Full name Andrew Alexander Cole
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Portsmouth
Number 8
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:38, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

Andrew Alexander "Andy" Cole (born 15 October 1971 in Nottingham) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premiership side Portsmouth, and is one of the highest scoring players in the game's history. He is most well known by the name Andy Cole (which he was universally known as in the 1990s) but in 2000 he asked to be known as Andrew Cole.[1]

Although ranked second in the all time scoring charts of the FA Premier League, in his career Cole has scored a total of 188 Premier League goals, 2nd behind Alan Shearer who has 260 goals, Cole is currently the highest goalscorer still playing in the Premiership. Cole currently plays for Portsmouth F.C. having joined them from Manchester City on transfer deadline day at the start of the 2006-07 season. Cole has the distinction of being one of the few players in England to have swept all possible honours in the English game, including the PFA Young Player of the Year award, as well as the coveted UEFA Champions League title. Cole was also capped fifteen times for England between 1995 and 2001, scoring once.

Arsenal, Fulham and Bristol City

Cole started his career as a youth player for Arsenal. He made his only league appearance for Arsenal, aged 19, as a substitute against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane during a First Division game on December 29 1990; Arsenal won 4-1 but Cole did not score.

The following season he was loaned to Fulham in the Third Division, where he scored 3 goals in 13 games, before being sold to Second Division Bristol City in a £500,000 deal - at the time he was the Ashton Gate club's most expensively signed player.

Newcastle United

Having proved himself as a competent young goalscorer with Bristol City, Cole was quickly one of the hottest prospects in England and his name was regularly linked with Premiership clubs throughout the 1992-93 season.

In February 1993, Division One leaders Newcastle United splashed out a then club record £1.75 million for his services. He then scored 12 goals in as many league games to confirm Newcastle as Division One champions, although 25-goal David Kelly was the club's top scorer.

After Kelly was sold to Wolverhampton Wanderers, manager Kevin Keegan brought in Peter Beardsley as Cole's strike-partner for the 1993-94 Premiership campaign. The red-hot Cole scored 34 goals in 40 games during Newcastle's first Premiership season as they finished third and qualified for the UEFA Cup. Cole scored a total of 41 goals in all competitions - breaking the club's goalscoring record which had been set by Hughie Gallacher nearly 70 years earlier. The PFA voted 22-year-old Cole as Young Player of the Year for that season.

Cole then scored 9 Premiership goals in 18 games for Newcastle after the start of the 1994-95 season, and also scored a hat-trick against Royal Antwerp in the UEFA Cup.

Manchester United

On 10 January 1995, Cole was suddenly sold to Manchester United for a deal worth £7 million - with £6 million cash plus £1 million-rated Keith Gillespie going in the opposite direction. He scored 12 goals in his first 18 Premiership games for United, including 5 in one game in the 9-0 rout of Ipswich Town, a Premiership record, and 2 vital goals in United's 3-2 victory away at Coventry City. But he was frustrated by a supurb goalkeeping performance by Miklosko at West Ham United F.C. on the final day of the season. Victory would have kept the Premiership trophy at Old Trafford - it went to Blackburn Rovers instead.

He was cup-tied for the FA Cup final a week later. Without him United lost to Everton 1-0.

During a difficult first full season in Manchester, Cole was slated by even some of United's own fans throughout the 1995-96 season, although he did score in four successive games during the winter, including an important and spectacular opening goal in United's 2-0 defeat of title rivals Newcastle United on the 27th of December, and was in the first 11 for most first-team games. At one point, some fans were even calling for 21-year-old Paul Scholes to replace Cole as Éric Cantona's regular strike-partner. But Cole kept his place, collecting a Premiership title winners medal and scoring the second goal in United's 3-0 defeat of Middlesbrough on the final day of the season which won United the Premiership title, and played in their FA Cup final victory to become part of England's first ever side to win the double twice.

The arrival of Ole Gunnar Solskjær - and two broken legs suffered in a reserve game - restricted Cole's first-team chances in 1996-97, but he still played in 20 Premiership games (10 as a substitute) and qualified for another Premiership title medal. Before the season began, he had been offered to Blackburn Rovers as part-exchange in a £12,000,000 deal which would have brought Alan Shearer to Old Trafford. But Shearer opted for Newcastle instead.

Cole was the joint top goalscorer in the Premiership during the 1997-98 season with 18 goals, but United finished trophyless for only the second time in 9 seasons. Despite his high goals-per-game and chances-per-goal ratios, which were superior to many of the players deemed better than him, some United fans still criticised his performances. Cole scored his first European hat-trick for the club in an away match at Feyenoord. Cole ended the season runner up in the PFA Players' Player of the Year award to Arsenal's Dennis Bergkamp. But despite this and being the leading goalscorer in all competitions that season with 25, Cole was controversially omitted from the England World Cup squad by then-manager Glenn Hoddle.

Cole faced competition from Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær during the 1998-99 season but played a key role in their unique treble of the Premiership title, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League. Cole scored the vital winning goal in United's final Premiership game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur, a result which meant United finished 1 point ahead of rivals Arsenal to win the Premiership title. He also scored United's third and winning goal in their Champions League semi-final 2nd leg against Juventus, sealing their place in the final for the first time in over 30 years. His striking partnership with Yorke proved to be crucial to United's success that season as the pair contributed 53 goals between them and struck up an almost telepathic understanding on the pitch, most notably in a Champions League match away against FC Barcelona, the match ending 3-3 with Yorke scoring 2 and Cole scoring a memorable goal after linking up with Yorke. Also in this season Cole scored his 100th Premiership goal in a top of the table clash against Arsenal at Old Trafford on 17 February. The match ended 1-1.

He was United's top scorer again in 1999-00 with 19 goals in 28 Premiership games. He collected his fourth Premiership title medal in five seasons, and scored over 20 goals in all competitions for the third successive season. Cole scored many vital goals for United including the only goal of the game in their top of the table clash against their closest rivals Leeds United. He also joined an elite group during this season by scoring his 100th goal for the club in a 2-2 draw against Wimbledon F.C.. Injury just prior to Euro 2000 led to Cole missing out on another major competition for his country.

Another title followed in 2000-01 when, despite suffering from an injury that restricted his appearances, Cole scored 13 goals in all competitions, including 4 in the European Cup allowing him at the time to become Manchester United's record goal scorer in the competition.

He played made one last appearance for Manchester United on 13th March 2007, coming on at half time for a friendly game between Manchester United and European XI in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the European Community and 50 years of Manchester United in the European Cup.

Blackburn Rovers

The arrival of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Juan Sebastián Verón counted against Cole's first-team chances in the 2001-02 season, and just before the end of 2001 he was sold to Blackburn Rovers for £7million. Within two months of arriving he had collected a League Cup winners medal, scoring the winning goal for Blackburn in the final against Tottenham Hotspur who were managed by the former England manager and open critic of Cole, Glenn Hoddle. This victory meant that, in the space of seven seasons, Cole had won all three domestic trophies plus a European trophy. Cole ended the season with a total of 18 goals in all competitions, 5 for Manchester United and 13 for Blackburn.

There were no trophies the following season but he was still able to help Blackburn achieve automatic UEFA Cup qualification, being helped by his old United strike-partner Dwight Yorke who had joined the club in July 2002.

Cole had a frustrating season in 2003-04 as Rovers slid into the bottom half of the Premiership when they had been expected to feature in the race for European qualification (by their fans and the media).

Fulham

13 years after spending three months on loan at Fulham, Cole returned to Craven Cottage for the 2004-05 season joining them on a one-year contract. He was the club's top scorer and scored one of the goals of the season against Liverpool. Despite this successful period at Fulham he decided to leave the club after only one season as his family wanted to return to the north west.

Manchester City

Cole signed for Manchester City at the beginning of the 2005-06 season. His arrival was a controversial one, with some City fans struggling to take to a player who had been so successful with their rivals, but a good start to his career at Eastlands won over most doubters. Stuart Pearce's side's spent most of the season in the top half of the table. However Cole's season was ended by injury in March. Without him, City suffered a slump in form that resulted in a lower placed finish than expected.

Portsmouth

Despite signing a new contract with Manchester City only months earlier[2] and leaving Fulham in 2005 to return to the north, Cole signed for Portsmouth on transfer deadline day (31 August 2006) for a fee of around £500,000 with that rising to £1m depending on appearances. Cole stated that: It's an opportunity for me to play for another two years and I hope to do my best for Portsmouth, score a few goals and get the club into the top 10 which is what they're aiming to do this season. The Portsmouth fans are electric and I know Jamo (David James), I know Sol (Sol Campbell) and I've played with David Thompson as well, which is always important when you come to a new club because you can fit in straightaway.[3] He scored his first league goal for his new club in the 2-0 win at home to West Ham on 14 October 2006.[4]


Birmingham City loan deal

On March 21, 2007, Cole signed on loan for Birmingham City of the Championship until the end of the season.[5] He was expected to make his debut against Coventry City F.C. on April Fools Day 2007 but had to withdraw thanks to a hamstring injury. Because of his hamstring injury Cole was absent again in the next Birmingham squad. He made his début on 14th April against Southampton F.C. and set up Nicklas Bendtner for Birmingham's 2nd goal. His first goal finally came against Birmingham City's big rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers, in which they won 3-2 at Molineux on 22 April 2007.

England

Despite first being capped for England in 1995, he had earned only 15 caps by the time he announced his retirement from international football after failing to be selected for the 2002 FIFA World Cup squad. He scored one goal for England, in a World Cup qualifying match against Albania in March 2001. He also scored in his single appearance for the England B team.

Honours

References

  1. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/904641.stm
  2. ^ Cole Signs Citizens Deal - football.co.uk, 08/06/2006
  3. ^ Portsmouth wrap up Cole signing - Teamtalk.com, 31/08/2006
  4. ^ Portsmouth 2 West Ham Utd 0: Harry casts Hammers further into the Cole furnace - The Independent, 15/10/2006
  5. ^ "Birmingham sign Cole in loan deal". BBC Sport. 2007-03-21. Retrieved 2007-03-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)



Template:S-awards
Preceded by PFA Young Player of the Year
1994 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Premier League top scorer
1993-94 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andy_Cole&oldid=146502982"