Andrew Cole Announces Retirement – But Not Quietly

The record books will show that Andrew Cole was the second most prolific goalscorer the Premiership has ever seen. Those same records will show that his time at Nottingham Forest were not quite as rewarding, at least on the pitch.

He arrived on Trentside amidst a wave of euphoria following promotion and was seen as the ideal weapon to fire us onwards and upwards after our fall from grace into League 1. We were his hometown club and this would be the place where he would call a day to an illustrious career.

Unfortunately it never turned out that way and in 11 not so glorious appearances for the Reds’, he failed to score a single goal. His performances were lacklustre at best and he was often accused of not trying by the fans.

In his defence, he said from the outset that he wasn’t here for the money and wanted to play. But you have to warrant being picked and he wasn’t getting his place, due to his form.

He told The Times. “It’s not the ideal ending. It just wasn’t working out. I told them from the outset that I didn’t want to go there to sit on the bench because I didn’t want to be perceived as sitting back and making easy money. I wanted to go there and offer something, but it was a strange one from the start. I never knew what my role was. Was it to lend a hand, use my experience, or was it a PR thing, to sell a few more season tickets? I still don’t know. I felt like the manager wouldn’t have a conversation with me. I don’t know if it’s the right word, but he seemed kind of intimidated by me.’

It’s the first time we’ve heard from Cole, but if what he says is true, then you have to have some sympathy for him, even if his form was cack he deserved better treatment from the club. By his own admission he’s a moody bugger and the manner of his departure will not surprise many, but this calls into question Calderwood’s ability to handle the ‘big name players.’

Andrew Cole should have probably called it a day on leaving Burnley, where he had a successful period on loan from Sunderland last season and maybe he went on a bit too long. It’s a shame it never worked out here, but maybe there were underlying reasons for his failure.