Few players through the formulative years of the English Premier League lit up the competition like Andrew “Andy” Cole. From bursting onto the scene as part of Kevin Keegan’s breathtaking Newcastle United outfit, to breaking transfer records and landing at Manchester United in a golden period under Sir Alex Ferguson, Andy Cole’s goals per game ratio stands as one of the best in the modern era.
After over 600 club appearences across 12 clubs and more than 250 goals in all competitions, Andy jumped on the phone for a look back on his career with Outside90’s Benny Jones, as part of his “Legends of the EPL” series of interviews.
Outside90: Andy Cole, great to be speaking with you for Outside90, how are you?
Andy Cole: I’m very well, thankyou. Thanks for having me.
O90: Let us go all the way back. Few would be aware you actually made your Premier League, or at that stage First Division debut for Arsenal. Tell us how that felt as a 19-year-old, coming on as a substitute against Sheffield United at the iconic Highbury Stadium (Arsenal’s former home ground)?
AC : Yeah it certainly was, because I think, when you’re at that level, everyone wants to play for the first team. So I was realising a dream I’d worked so hard for. That was my only appearence for Arsenal, in what was then the old Premiership, and it was thoroughly enjoyable and a small taste of the things I was very fortunate to go on and achieve.
I don’t remember alot about the game itself, but I’m sure I was buzzing for the little game time I had.
O90: After successful stints at Fulham and Bristol in the lower divisions, you attracted the interest of a number of Premier League clubs before you inked a deal with Newcastle in early 1993. A club who were at that stage flying towards promotion from Division One. The back end of that campaign at the Magpies, and realising a dream in achieving the big step up to the Premier league, the club must have been an exciting place to be?
AC: That’s right. I made a decision to leave Arsenal as it seemed things weren’t working out, and despite it being a step back in footballing terms sometimes those changes don’t work out, but sometimes they do. Playing at Bristol City, playing well there, and then there was the amazing opportunity to sign with Newcastle under Kevin Keegan, and that’s where things really started to take off from me there.
Not only signing at the club, but getting promoted in my first season with Newcastle, I was riding on the crest of a wave and so was the club. A great place to be.
O90: You mention the manager, to have an icon like Kevin Keegan at the helm, a man revered in footballing circles, firstly as a player, then a manager. He did some amazing things during his stint at the club. Tell us about his impact both on you as a player finding his feet amongst the big boys and the club overall?
AC: Kevin was massive. When he bought me to Newcastle, he gave me the confidence to score as many goals as possible, he bought players in just to play for me, players like Peter Beardsley and Scott Sellers. I was very fortunate in that sense that it all worked out for me, that the team complimented the way I played and allowed me to score the number of goals I was able to.
Then of course eventually that would help lead me onto bigger and better things at club level.
O90: You mentioned his name there, but one of Keegan’s first big signings was to bring in the wizardry of Peter Beardsley, and you two struck up an instant repour resulting in an incredible 41 goals that season in all competitions for you, a club record. What was the secret?
AC: Peter was just a phenomenal footballer, with a real footballer’s brain. Watching him at Everton and Liverpool as I was growing up, and then having the opportunity to run out alongside him. Wow. I remember when Kevin Keegan said he was going to buy Peter Beardsley just for me, I was playing with David Kelly up front and we were going particularly well together, but true to Kevin’s word he bought Peter in and I learnt a hell of a lot from him.
He made me become a better player, he made me look at the game a different way, and to learn from someone like him was very, very special.
O90: You actually scored Newcastle’s very first Premier League goal too, which just so happened to be against a club you would later represent with distinction, in Manchester United. What do you remember about that goal, at Old Trafford no less.
AC: It was one of those days I think where everyone at Newcastle was looking forward to going to Old Trafford, and I was certainly looking forward to it. First time I’d ever been there, everyone had always told me about the Theatre of Dreams and to play there in the club’s first away game in the top flight was an incredible experience.
To get the goal, well its every boys dream isn’t it? I remember getting slipped in and poking it under Peter Schmeichel (Manchester United goalkeeper) to level it up at 1-1, and like I said that season was a dream debut season, not just for me but for the entire Newcastle Football Club.
O90: In terms of your time at the Magpies, it seemed relatively short but was certainly sweet, goals aplenty and being part of a Newcastle squad which at that time was looked upon as one of the most exciting and attacking in world football.
AC: Well that team I played in was dubbed as “The Entertainers”, because I’ve got to be brutally honest, attack wise, we could attack well and score goals in abundance, but defensivly we were never the strongest. So while we could win a game 5-2, on the same note we could lose 4-3. But we would always entertain.
Thats the way Kevin wanted us to play at Newcastle, thats what the fans really enjoyed coming to see, and if you ever speak to anyone in the Premiership about the way Newcastle United played their football in those early years I’m sure they always say it was exciting and fun to watch.
O90: The move to Manchester United for a then record £7 million fee. What must have been a whirlwind at the time for you, but no doubt very exciting. Was it at all daunting the realisation that you were joining at that stage the biggest club in English football, and soon to be global powerhouse Or something you felt was the obvious next step in your career?
AC: It was a great experience. It’s an experience I’ll never forget, because as you touched on with the size of Manchester United, it’s the biggest club in the world for that reason. You know you go there, and you don’t appreciate it at the time just how big the football club is. So to leave Newcatsle United and then arrive at Manchester United is totally, totally different. It took me abit of time to adjust to it, but learning day by day and learning from some of the incredible players at the club when I arrived, bit by bit I grew into it and went on from strength to strength.
I achieved a hell of a lot at that football club, and am still very heavily involved so it remains very close to my heart, and the football club is and always be very special to me.
O90: To walk into a dressing room containing names like Mark Hughes, Eric Cantona, Paul Ince and Paul Scholes, just to name a few, must have been a mixture of amazing and daunting we imagine?
It was. Surreal really. Because before I signed for United, I think it might have been the Tuesday, I was watching them play Sheffield United in the FA Cup believe it or not, and when the phone call came through explaining to me that I’d be signing at Manchester United, I sat there thinking, wow, I’m going to be playing with these guys in the next couple of days.
So talk about surreal, from watching them on TV to joining them a day or two later, phenomenal.
O90: On to Sir Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager in British football. Your relationship with him, the influence he had on you as a person and a footballer, the impact on your career and the good times you had working with him. There was always the stubborn, bullish persona in the public eye, but what was he like behind closed doors?
AC: Yeah I always had a great relationship with Sir Alex, by far the best manager I ever worked for. An understanding manager who always got the best out of his players. Thats why he was so special. His players wanted to play for him.
I know not all the reports were always glowing and he got off side with a few players in his time, but they were by far the minority. So it’s a great testament to him, and why he will go down as the greatest manager of all time, not only for the titles and trophies won but the calibre of players he produced and improved.
O90: 95-96 was a bit of a mixed bag, while at times through that campaign you struggled a bit with form, you came good when it mattered most, scoring some important goals in the run home and through the later stages of a successful FA Cup run. To win the double, and more specifically your first ever EPL title, what were those emotions like there?
AC: Yeah look you go to a club like Manchester United to win things, and my first season, or half a season as it were after leaving Newcastle and losing out on the League on the last day of the season the year before, to win the double pretty much straight up, then go on to achieve what we were able to achieve in that 4-5 year period was incredible.
We all worked incredibly hard as a club, as players, coaches and manager to become etched as a part of the clubs history so that in itself is something very special and something I’m extremely proud of looking back. Playing a great part in Manchester United’s history, something I’ll never take for granted or soon forget.
Also to do it alongside some of the greatest players to ever pull on a Manchester United shirt is a great honour and something I’ll always cherish.
O90: Now we know football as a contact sport has its fair share of injuries, but having both your legs broken in the one tackle in a reserves game against Liverpool, that is next level kind of stuff.
While its a memory I’m sure you’d rather forget tell us how tough it was to get through that period, and no doubt the anger following what was by all reports a very poor challenge which resulted in your injuries?
AC: It was very tough, but I’ll be honest with you, I feel that injury made me, as a person, as a footballer in the long run. The gentleman who decided to put that challenge in at the time claimed he believed it to be a fair challenge, then years later he came out an mentioned he did it on purpose.
But to be fair I’m glad he did it, as that turned me into the person I am today and pushed me to strive to achieve great things. I said to myself, right, a decision has to made now, Ive had a few injuries, what direction do i want to take?
I came out the other side with flying colours. So to the chap who made the challenge I say thankyou because it spurred me onto greater things than I may have felt I wasn’t capable of at the time before that incident.
O90: Have you two (the man responsible for the injury in Liverpool’s Neil Ruddock and Cole) ever crossed paths or spoken about that incident?
AC: To be fair things like that I look at now and laugh at, because like I said it made me as a person and as a player. Neil Ruddock claimed it was on purpose, and if that how he felt about it well good luck to him.
But things that go around come around again full circle, but it turned my career around so I’ve got no complaints whatsoever. In that sense I felt like i had the last laugh.
O90: Which brings us to the 1998/99 campaign, which had so many high points we are not sure where to start. Scoring your 100th EPL goal, the winner against Spurs to secure yet another Premiership title.
Scoring so many crucial goals through “THAT” memorable Champions League campaign, but to win the historic treble, do you still pinch yourself at times, especially considering the fairytale circumstances in which you guys won the final in added time?
AC: Yeah we always look back on it, theres always footage being shown of that season, particularly the Champions League Final and I try catch up with some of the lads that were a part of that season as often as we possibly can.
But it seems like every year now you get a team that goes close or is touted as the next English side to achieve that feat, and have a strong run in all competitions and our names get bought up again, so to look back and reminisce, and say wow, we had a little bit of luck along the way no doubt but the team spirit was absoloutley incredible and we got what we deserved out of the hard work we all put in.
As individuals, as teammates, we all got along really well, and thats what its all about you know. Striving for the best out of each other, working for each other and the results will generally take care of themselves.
O90: The partnership with Dwight Yorke up front for Manchester United, you two were simply dynamite. What was the key to your connection there?
I gotta be honest, in that you’re always getting judged on what you produce on the football pitch as far as strike partnerships are concerned, everyones always going to talk about them in terms of goals scored. But having a relationship off the pitch helps in that, and I think that was the key for us.
I learned a hell of a lot off Dwight, and I’d like to think in turn he did the same with me, we got along brilliantly on and off field, so for me, to play with players the calibre of Dwight and Peter (Beardsley) bought out the very best in me and I’m very grateful for that. You look back on the end of your career and say, you know, wow, I played alongside two wonderful players who helped me out so much in my time in football, and thats a highlight for sure.
O90: On a international front, you have recorded 15 caps for the Three Lions, which is nothing to be sneezed at by any means. But do you feel a little short changed in the lack of opportunities given to you to represent the country, particularly in those big tournaments like European Championships and World Cups?
AC: Yeah you look back a little, but even then I feel I dont look back with any regret if I’m being totally honest. I think alot of football, particularly at that level is politics, and when I was playing there was a hell of a lot of that going on.
But I don’t sit at home or struggle to sleep at night worrying about not playing for England a few more times, it is what it is and hey, thats simply the way it was. If there had been less politics involved I’ve no doubt I’d have played for England a few more times but such is life.
Theres no point me kicking and screaming about it now anyway, but I know exactly the reasons why I didnt play more games for England, but I achieved plenty in my career, won a little bit of silverware along the way so I’m content with that.
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O90: You have a legion of Australian admirers back here Andy who loved your work at Newcastle and United in particular, we know you visited as a Manchester player in a pre-season tour back in 1999, what are your memories of that and have you been back since?
Yeah I thoroughly enjoyed my first trip to Australia as you touched on in 1999, and I came back I think it was a couple of years ago, again with Manchester United on a pre-season tour under David Moyes as a club ambassador.
But Ive always enjoyed coming out there, its a long trip, but the people are always so very nice and we had a great time out there.
O90: We love having the big clubs out to visit, and in recent times have been spoiled with a number of European heavyweights on our shores, but from a players perspective, at this stage of your preparation for a new campaign, is it a trip they would look forward to or is considered a bit more of a chore and somewhat arduaos with the travel and time away from home involved?
AC: Well look, football’s such a global game now, so that has to be taken into account, and let’s not forget, Australia has alot of Manchester United fans, many i’m sure who have gone to the effort to save money and travel a long way to see them play at Old Trafford.
So it’s a little about repaying the favour and for us to give something back to our fans, even if it involves a few hours on the plane and a few extra weeks away from home, thats the way it should be. You just have to keep in touch with your fans, they are the lifeblood of what we do. Dont forget once the players get off the plane and get there, they really enjoy it, especially the support from the fans.
I can only speak personally from my last visit but the way we were recieved was amazing, and the opportunity to see different things, watch abit of your rugby was something we don’t often get the time to do back home so that was great.
O90: And where does Andy Cole find himself dedicating most of his time these days?
AC: Being ambassador for such a big club like Manchester United is time consuming but again, allows me to visit such incredible parts of the world like Australia, not playing anymore its a great way to stay in touch with supporters and have that involvement with the club. When I was playing it was mostly training ground, to hotels, to matches, back to hotels so this role allows me a little more time to explore and see new things.
I also get to see how the other side of football works as well, the business side, the corporate side. It’s alot of hard work. I enjoy it, to sit down and talk with the people who want to invest in the game, invest in the club. Problem is, when we do talk, theyre more interested in talking football, whereas I’m really keen to find out about their job, but it’s a brilliant combination. Thats been a differnt mindset and enjoyable experience, and to be involved in that capacity is a huge privilidge and I hope I can be in that role for many years to come.
O90: And finally just a quick couple of thoughts on the upcoming EPL season, only two days away now. Chelsea the holders, but your old mob United have not been shy in producing the chequebook to bring in some real talent, do you think they can seriously contend this season?
AC: I think in all honesty Chelsea definitely deserve to be favourites again this season, they’ve got a very strong outfit, good group of talented, world class players and Jose Mourinho has his system and no doubt will stick by that again. Manchester United, look, I see them pushing for a Champions League spot again, and if some luck goes there way maybe contending, but it will be tough.
I think Arsenal will push up, Manchester City, I don’t know what to make of them. They are very inconsistent, no matter how much money they spend, and I’m not sure on their dressing room dynamic. You need good spirit around the dressing room when things get abit tough, or get abit sticky. Look at the way they surrendered the crown last season, it suggests theres abit of a problem.
But I think whoever finishes above Chelsea, wins the title, it’s almost that simple.
O90: The club that helped shoot you to stardom in Newcastle have been bitterly disappointing for a long time now, it seems there is a disconnect between the fans and the board which I imagine must be frustrating to watch from afar, but hopefully they can get that right and one day return to the good times of the mid 90’s you were such an integral part of?
AC: No you’re right, I do always keep an eye out on their results, I really do. They gave me a huge opportunity to play in the Premier League and the fans were amazing to me so it would be a lie if I said I never took an interest in how they go each weekend.
They definately need to sort out the off field problems before they can start to make progress on field, they’re a football club with fans who just want to get behind their team, support their team, and see their players give 100%.
Finally a chairman who says I’ll spend the money to get the right players, get them playing nice football and achieving things. But if you dont want to do that, sell the club, and get someone in who’s got it’s best interests at heart.
Thats all the fans want, a team that plays exciting football, is competitive in the Premier League and can have deep runs in the cups campaigns, FA Cup and League Cup, which are their realistic chances of winning something. Newcastle fans know their team will never win a Premier League, but a run to a cup final, and better still winning one of them, would be like them winning the Premier League, or Champions League.
O90: Andy, thanks for taking a look back on your stunning career, congratulations on all you’ve achieved and continued success moving forward!
AC: My pleasure, thankyou very much.
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