Andy Cole

Lore & Background

Cole is the fifth-highest goalscorer in Premier League history with 187 goals, and used to hold the Premier League records for most goals scored in a 42-game season (34), the fastest player to score 50 goals (65 matches), and the first player to top both the Premier League's goalscoring and assist charts in the same season (1993–94). He has the distinction of having won every top-level team competition in English football at least once, as well as the UEFA Champions League. As an individual he has won the PFA Young Player of the Year award. Cole was capped 15 times for the England national team between 1995 and 2001, scoring once against Albania in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

In Their Own Story

Old Trafford, a cold February evening. The floodlights hum. The away fans are quiet, the home end a sea of red. The ball is cleared into the box, and for a half-second the midfield is a tangle of limbs. Then it drops. Just drops, to the feet of a compact, broad-shouldered figure who was never the fastest man in the world but in that moment seems to be. He takes one touch, turns, and the full-back is already a memory. The crowd noise swells from a roar to a howl. He doesn't look up. He doesn't need to. The strike is low, hard, and gone — buried in the corner before the keeper's fingers even twitch. He runs back to the centre circle, breathing hard, and the Old Trafford end is singing his name. It is not a celebration. It is a statement. And it is, as always, Andy Cole.

Reader's Guide

Cole began his career as a youth player for Arsenal on leaving school in 1988, signing professional in 1989. He made his only league appearance for Arsenal as a substitute against Sheffield United on 29 December 1990. He also made a substitute appearance against Tottenham Hotspur in the Charity Shield in 1991. He was loaned to Fulham in the Third Division, where he scored three goals in 13 matches. Cole joined Bristol City on loan in March 1992 before signing permanently for £500,000. In February 1993, Newcastle United paid £1.75 million to sign Cole. He scored 12 goals in 12 league matches as Newcastle won the Division One title. In the 1993–94 Premier League season, Cole scored 34 goals in 40 matches as Newcastle finished third. He scored 41 total goals in all competitions, breaking the club's goalscoring record. Cole was voted PFA Young Player of the Year for that season. On 10 January 1995, Cole was sold to Manchester United for £7 million (£6 million cash plus Keith Gillespie), setting a new British transfer record. He scored 12 goals in 18 Premier League matches for United in the remainder of the 1994–95 season, including five in a 9–0 win over Ipswich Town. In 1995–96, Cole collected his first Premier League title winners medal and scored in the FA Cup final victory. Before the 1996–97 season, Cole was offered to Blackburn Rovers as part-exchange for Alan Shearer, but the deal fell through. He was handed the number 9 shirt. The arrival of Ole Gunnar Solskjær and two broken legs suffered after a tackle by Neil Ruddock restricted his first-team chances, but he recovered by December 1996.

Did You Know?

• Cole scored five goals in a 9–0 Premier League win for Manchester United against Ipswich Town, the first player to score five in a Premier League match.
• He scored 34 goals in a 42-game Premier League season for Newcastle United in 1993–94, a record for a 42-game season.
• Cole is the fifth-highest goalscorer in Premier League history with 187 goals.
• He won the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 1994.
• Cole scored 68 goals in 84 matches for Newcastle United, a strike rate of 81%.