With less than a month to go until the Premier League season begins, Total Football’s Simon Wright will be looking back at the players, teams and goals that have lit up the 20 years of what is widely regarded as the world's greatest league.
The next player featured in the Premier League icon series was a regular goalscorer no matter where he went. He was much travelled but won silverware and individual recognition for simply being in the right place at the right time. This is the Premier League career of Andy Cole.
Name: Andy Cole
Clubs he played for in the Premier League: Newcastle United (1993-1995), Manchester United (1995-2001), Blackburn Rovers (2002-2004), Fulham (2004-2005), Manchester City (2005-2006), Portsmouth (2006-2007), Sunderland (2007-2008)
Honours: FA Premier League championship winner in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000 & 2001, FA Cup winner in 1996 & 1999, Champions League winner in 1999, League Cup winner in 2002, Golden Boot winner in 1994, PFA Young Player of the Year 1994
PL Appearances: 414
Goals: 189
What Premier League strikers come to your mind straightaway? Perhaps Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Wayne Rooney and Robbie Fowler are the most recognised.
However, Cole had such a deadly strike rate, scoring 189 goals in his Premier League career, which spanned 15 seasons. Only Shearer has scored more in the 20 year history so far.
Cole won five Premier League trophies during his most successful stint of his career, which was at Manchester United.
He also won the Golden Boot award in 1994 for amassing a stunning 34 goals in his first Premier League campaign as a Newcastle United player, earning the PFA Young Player of the Year in the process.
No wonder why he was given the nickname, ‘Cole the Goal.’
Loved on Tyneside
Cole started his senior career at Arsenal but failed to make the grade in North London.
Newcastle paid a club record £1.75m in February 1993 for his services from Bristol City and Cole scored 12 goals in as many games to help the Geordies back to the top flight.
His 1993-94 campaign was exceptional and one of the most impressive seasons I’ve ever seen from an individual player.
He scored the Magpies first goal in the Premier League, in a creditable 1-1 draw with double winners Manchester United and once he started scoring, he couldn’t stop taking his chances.
Two hat-tricks against Liverpool and Coventry City followed and combined with Peter Beardsley, their striking partnership became a huge hit on Tyneside. Newcastle finished third and qualified for the UEFA Cup.
Cole ended up with 34 goals in the league, 41 in all competitions and walked off with both the Golden Boot and the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
The formidable form continued initallly in 1994-95, with doubles in matches with Southampton and Chelsea. If a defender took his eye off Cole, he would steal in and take his opportunity.
His final goal for Newcastle came in a disappointing 1-1 home draw with bottom side Ipswich Town in November 1994. Overall, Cole scored 68 goals in 84 appearances for Newcastle, amassing a stunning strike rate of 81 per cent.
Shock move to United
In January 1995, it was known that Alex Ferguson was after a new striker at Manchester United, with many media outlets forecasting it was Stan Collymore of Nottingham Forest who might make the move to Old Trafford.
So, it was a huge shock to the football world when Kevin Keegan sold Cole to United for a new British transfer record fee of £7m + Keith Gillespie.
In just 18 Premier League games for United, he scored 12, including five in a single match during the 9-0 rout of Ipswich Town, which is a feat that only Shearer, Jermain Defoe and Dimitar Berbatov have equalled since.
However, he missed several golden chances in the season finale at Upton Park, as the Red Devils could only draw 1-1 and lost the title to Blackburn.
Cole was widely lambasted for his failings infront of goal that day and for the next two seasons; he struggled to find his top form and even was dropped for Paul Scholes in the closing weeks of the 1995-96 season.
An injury-hit campaign followed in 1996-97, as he was the victim of a dreadful tackle by Neil Ruddock in a reserves match at Anfield. Cole sustained two broken legs in the process and never forgave Ruddock for the challenge.
He recovered after Christmas and his comeback was complete, with crucial goals at title rivals Arsenal and Liverpool as he went onto pick up his second Premier League winners medal.
1997-98 saw him almost back to his best, as Andy netted 16 times and finished second to Dennis Bergkamp in the PFA Player of the Year battle but this time, United went through the season without collecting any silverware.
The dream partnership with Dwight
Cole’s partnership with Teddy Sheringham never clicked, as the two failed to get along at all after the latter’s move from Tottenham the previous summer.
Dwight Yorke joined in the summer of 1998 and together, they formed the most formidable and famous attacking duo in Premier League history, scoring 53 between them in all competitions as Manchester United claimed a historic treble in season 1998-99.
There was also redemption of some degree for Cole, when he scored the crucial goal on the last day, to defeat Tottenham and seal a fifth Premier League title for United, making up for the Upton Park nightmare of four years earlier.
Cole and Yorke formed a telepathic understanding, which continued into the 1999-00 season, as Ferguson’s side took another title.
19 goals in the league was Cole’s best in his career at Old Trafford and by now, he’d easily amassed over 100 in the Premier League, which was achieved in a 1-1 draw with Arsenal in February 1999.
Injury the following season restricted his playing time but another title winning triumph followed in 2000-01, becoming United’s record goalscorer in the European Cup in the process.
The arrival of Ruud van Nistlerooy in the summer of 2001 meant Cole spent most of the first half of the 2001-02 campaign, warming the bench at Old Trafford.
Three days before 2001 concluded, he was sold to Blackburn Rovers for £8m.
Travelling around
The goals continued at Blackburn, with 13 strikes in 20 appearances after his move, which included scoring the decisive goal in the League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur.
Seven months after his move, best friend and striking partner Yorke also arrived at Ewood Park and the pair helped shoot Blackburn to UEFA Cup football for finishing sixth.
After reporting manager Graeme Souness to the PFA for unfair treatment in 2004, Cole was sold to Fulham on a one-year deal.
A brace followed at home to Bolton on the Cottagers return to Craven Cottage following ground redevelopment and he ended as top goalscorer under Chris Coleman’s reign.
Family issues saw him only spend one season in West London and next stop was Manchester City. There were more moments of brilliance, with nine goals, which included doubles at home to West Ham and away in a 5-2 success at Charlton.
Injury ended his 2005-06 season early at Eastlands and on deadline day 2006, Cole moved to Portsmouth for an undisclosed fee.
Now 35, he struggled to be a regular starter under Harry Redknapp and was loaned out to Championship side Birmingham City by the season’s end.
Seven games at Sunderland weren’t a success in 2007-08 and nor was a loan spell at Burnley and a final 11 game flourish with Nottingham Forest.
Andy Cole retired from professional football in November 2008 and has since done some charity work, as well as doing his coaching badges at Manchester United.
Cole also released a UK single in 1998. The track was called ‘Outstanding’ but was absolutely dreadful, so it’s a good thing he stuck to the football rather than a diabolical music career!
He was a top marksman and although fiery at times, had a great career in the Premier League. Andy Cole had a real knack, for finding the back of the net.
NEXT TIME ON PREMIER LEAGUE ICONS: The Premier League’s most prolific goalscorer of all-time, Alan Shearer
By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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