Liverpool move was no-brainer, says Cole
LIVERPOOL’S newest recruit Joe Cole insists he has not moved to Anfield for the money, but because they are “the biggest club in the country”.
Cole yesterday rubber-stamped a four-year deal thought to be worth £80,000 a week after passing a medical at the club’s pre-season training camp in Switzerland.
The England midfielder has swapped a team that has just won the double and will play in next season’s Champions League for a side that limped home a disappointing seventh and face a qualifying round just to reach the Europa League.
But he said: “This is a massive club. I tried to take everything out of the equation, take the financial and location side out and just thought in football terms.
“I thought about the semi-final of the Champions League in 2005 when I ran onto the field and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I was thinking about playing in that atmosphere every week and that swung it for me.
“I know I have made the right decision and I am looking forward to the challenge.
“I have played in London all my life. I could have stayed at Chelsea because the fans loved me and I won things, but I wanted to challenge myself and when I knew Liverpool were interested it was a no-brainer because they are the biggest club in the country.”
Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson, whose side were held 0-0 by Grasshoppers in his first game in charge last night, admitted Cole’s signing would not single-handedly reverse the club’s recent decline.
“It’s not going to be an overnight thing,” said the former Fulham manager. “Last season was a very disappointing season for the club in every respect, culminating in a popular manager leaving. You don’t change doom and gloom or disenchantment with a signing or two. There’s a lot more work to do, a lot more players are needed.”