It is a signing which not only puts Liverpool firmly back on the
Premier League map but establishes Roy Hodgson as a manager with
serious intent and pulling power at Anfield.
On the move: Cole chose Liverpool over Spurs and
Arsenal
Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres take note. Free agent Joe
Cole's decision to turn his back on Arsenal and Tottenham is about
more than money.
Those two London clubs, both Champions League qualifiers, are
working within the same wage budget as the Merseyside club, who
will become the first English team to kick off their season when
they start their Europa Cup campaign against minnows from Macedonia
or Armenia next week.
Having agreed an £80,000-a-week deal, with lucrative top-up
bonuses, Cole's mind was made up by the fact that he was virtually
guaranteed regular first-team football at Anfield.
As if to emphasise the point, the 28-year-old Londoner has been
handed Liverpool's coveted No 7 shirt, which has the same aura as
the No 10 of Brazil or No 9 at St James's Park.
Worn with distinction by title and European Cup winners Kevin
Keegan and Kenny Dalglish in the 70s and 80s, it has been known to
make or break lesser mortals since.
For every Steve McManaman, Nigel Clough or Peter Beardsley,
there is a Robbie Keane, Harry Kewell or Vladimir Smicer.
Boy in claret and blue: Cole the 13-year-old
Hammer
Moving days: Cole (above) signs West Ham pro forms
in 1998 and (below) Joins Claudio Ranieri and Juan Sebastian Veron
at Chelsea in 2003
Glory boy: Cole backheels a crucial goal against
Manchester United in a 2-1 win at Old Trafford before lifting the
Premier League trophy at the end of last season
As a football fan who knows his history, Cole will be well aware
of the significance of Hodgson's act, even though he was nine when
Liverpool last won the league title.
Former striker Ian Rush, the man who partnered Dalglish,
believes Cole's signing sends out a positive message to Liverpool
supporters, just when they needed it most and is also proof that
Hodgson has quickly started to erase the memory of Rafael
Benitez.
He can now be taken seriously as a Liverpool manager who will
entice internationals to his club as well as persuade the existing
ones to stay.
Joe cole by numbers
Rush said: 'Roy Hodgson knows what he wants, and he can talk
these players into signing. To get Joe to come out of London is a
coup for Hodgson. A lot of people were expecting him to stay in
London.
'This is the signing supporters wanted and it's a big boost for
them. You look at last season when we went into it not hoping but
thinking we were going to win the league. 'This season people are
thinking, "Are we going to finish in the top four?" I think this
sends a sign out to Liverpool supporters that the club do mean
business.
'Joe could play just behind Torres. People don't know his
position because he can play on the left, right and just off the
striker, and I think it's a wonderful signing. Skill wise, he is
the best in England, and maybe getting regular football is a reason
why he has come to Liverpool.'
He has joined the five-time European champions after Yossi
Benayoun headed in the opposite direction to Stamford Bridge.
The Israel midfielder was also regarded with affectionate by
Liverpool fans, but former assistant boss Phil Thompson believes
the club have the better end of the deal. And, after clinching the
£1.7million signing of Charlton's Jonjo Shelvey before Benitez's
departure, Liverpool's addition of Cole continues a much-needed
policy of acquiring English talent, says Thompson.
He said: 'I would have liked Benayoun to have stayed. He was a
really good player and I'm shocked he went for £5million. But I'd
have Cole every time of the day.
'It's something I've been stressing with Roy Hodgson that we
should start heading back to signing British players. Cole is the
one who can ignite it and can show the right players will come to
Anfield despite not having Champions League football.
'The arrival of Joe Cole will show all is not lost and Liverpool
are still a good football club.'
Now Cole has to show he is the player everyone thought he could
be.