Description
‘I want to tell you about how football – English football – felt different for me. For much of
my life it felt like I was in the wrong place, trying to play a different tune.’
One of the best players of his era, Joe Cole grew up playing football in North London’s
estates, and his ability, grit and hard work took him to the very top. But Joe was often
mistrusted by managers and out of step with the style of English football in the 2000s. The
game was suspicious of creative footballers it considered luxury players – the kind it could
regard as an indulgence.
With honesty and an eye for the absurdities of football, Joe takes us inside the dressing
room to reveal it all. From his days at the prestigious Lilleshall School of Excellence and
rising through the ranks as a teenage prodigy at West Ham, to signing for Roman
Abramovich’s Chelsea and winning it all under José Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti, before
being discarded by his boyhood club after a remarkable 7-year spell.
He offers an insider account of a fascinating era in modern football, playing alongside the
likes of Lampard and Drogba, Beckham and Rooney, Gerrard and Di Canio. He talks
about his experiences playing for England’s so-called Golden Generation, his
extraordinary goal against Sweden at the 2006 World Cup, and the reality of being
managed by Sven-Göran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
