Joe Cole’s return to Upton Park was written in the stars. A product of their youth academy and once cited as the most exciting young talents in England, Cole’s stuttering career has never reached the heights predicted during his time in the claret and blue of the East London club.

By marking his return with a 18-month contract, the 31-year-old is rolling back the years; the Hammers’ faithful doubtless have fond memories of their young starlet weaving across the Boleyn Ground turf and bouncing off challenges: all these years on, Cole still has a lot to live up to.

Having departed Upton Park in 2003 for a fee of over £6 million, Cole has struggled to sustain form and fitness. There have been moments of genius, flashes of his talent that perhaps reached a crescendo with a true world-class strike for England in 2006 against Sweden. On the domestic front, however, Cole has never really lived up to his billing that once led to talk of Old Trafford scouts and a £10 million bid.

Seven seasons at Stamford Bridge brought contrasting fortunes, with cruelly timed injuries blighting his progress. In his final two seasons with the Blues, Cole’s opportunities were limited before eventually being released as a free agent to be picked up by Liverpool in 2010 in what, at the time, was seen as a coup by Roy Hodgson. Famously sent off just on his league debut for the Anfield club against Arsenal, Cole’s performances at Liverpool failed to convince and, in 2011, he departed for a season-long loan to French club Lille.

Having enjoyed a renaissance playing alongside Eden Hazard in Ligue 1, Cole returned with the determination to revive his Liverpool career but again, even under the stewardship of Brendan Rodgers, a manager whose methods could perhaps extract the best from Cole’s creativity, he failed to convince. Now he arrives back at Upton Park, looking to add craft and guile to a Sam Allardyce side that has so far held their own back in the top flight through a combination of muscular effort, tireless workrate and a limited supply of goals from Kevin Nolan.

Whilst Cole faces a task to find his place in this West Ham side, not surprisingly, the player himself was delighted to conclude his return, whilst suggesting it will take time for him to regain his sharpness…

“Coming back here brings back all the memories of the pitches I learnt how to play on. This is where I learnt my trade and I’m happy to have another chance to be here. I’ve always loved West Ham and I hope I can give the club a few memorable seasons… I’m going to need games to get back to my best, but I want to play football and come here and help the team to make an impact.”

Fantasy managers will now be wondering if Cole can provide that impact, whether he can possibly rekindle form that once threatened double figure goal returns. Certainly, his second debut for the Hammers gave room for optimism, with his showing in yesterday’s FA Cup tie with Man United immediately demonstrating Cole’s creativity as he set up both goals in the 2-2 draw. Not surprisingly, Allardyce was quick to back Cole’s talents, post-match

“He is a top international player for England and he played for the top team in the country at Chelsea. He had a move that went wrong to Liverpool so you could relate it to Steven Pienaar, who went from Everton to Tottenham and it didn’t work, then he has gone back and it’s gone well. Joe is still in his early thirties and, as long as he stays fit for me – we’ll work hard at doing that – then he will be a great asset.”

The Statistics

Cole’s best campaign in the top flight came a year after his arrival at Chelsea. In just 19 starts, he produced eight league goals, and went on to match that total the season after, off the back of 26 league starts. Having suffered a stress fracture in his foot in the following campaign, Cole’s career was derailed somewhat but he returned to make 28 starts for Chelsea in 2007/08, firing another seven league goals and providing six assists.

From those heights, Cole was gradually squeezed out of the Chelsea starting XI, scoring just four goals in 28 league starts over the next two seasons. Limited returns in just nine league starts for Liverpool in 2010/11 saw him move to Lille where fortunes were somewhat revived. Cole proved his talent in Ligue 1, returning four goals and three assists in 20 league starts, before returning to Liverpool at the start of this season.

The Prospects

The decision to snap up Joe Cole is an interesting one for Allardyce. Creativity from the West Ham midfield has been limited, with the approach relying more on the combative talents of Mark Noble and Mo Diame, providing a platform for Kevin Nolan to push up behind a lone striker to provide goals via his timely raids into the box. It’s not clear where Cole will fit into this equation, although Saturday’s FA Cup tie with Man United gave us some indication.

With Jack Collison’s return crowding the central midfield options, Cole will most likely continue to flank the lone striker as part of a 4-3-3 system. Matt Jarvis and Ricardo Vaz Te are also available to play flanking roles, with Cole most likely to take up the position on the right, working with Carlton Cole, Marouane Chamakh or Andy Carroll as the lone striker.

Cole’s impact in Saturday’s tie, which saw him register both assists for James Collins’ two goals, will have raised eyebrows. At just 5.6 in the Fantasy Premier League game, Cole could yet be a temptation if he is to remain in an advanced role and Allardyce can exploit his undoubted talents to the full. Should tactics, form and luck with injuries align, then, Joe Cole could yet rekindle past glories and deliver some new memories to the Upton Park faithful.

With a double Gameweek beckoning, Cole presents an immediate and convenient half-way option. Sitting between Mark Noble and Kevin Nolan in the FPL price brackets, Cole has already attracted more “transfers in” than the latter this week. West Ham have taken a gamble to bring their former favourite back to the club, Fantasy managers would have to show a similar leap of faith in order to back Cole but the early signs are at least encouraging.

Further Reference

Joe Cole Wikipedia
Joe Cole – Lille Highlights
Joe Cole Statistics