‘I want to tell you about how football – English football – felt different for me. For much of
\nmy life it felt like I was in the wrong place, trying to play a different tune.’
\nOne of the best players of his era, Joe Cole grew up playing football in North London’s
\nestates, and his ability, grit and hard work took him to the very top. But Joe was often
\nmistrusted by managers and out of step with the style of English football in the 2000s. The
\ngame was suspicious of creative footballers it considered luxury players – the kind it could
\nregard as an indulgence.
\nWith honesty and an eye for the absurdities of football, Joe takes us inside the dressing
\nroom to reveal it all. From his days at the prestigious Lilleshall School of Excellence and
\nrising through the ranks as a teenage prodigy at West Ham, to signing for Roman
\nAbramovich’s Chelsea and winning it all under Jos\u00e9 Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti, before
\nbeing discarded by his boyhood club after a remarkable 7-year spell.
\nHe offers an insider account of a fascinating era in modern football, playing alongside the
\nlikes of Lampard and Drogba, Beckham and Rooney, Gerrard and Di Canio. He talks
\nabout his experiences playing for England’s so-called Golden Generation, his
\nextraordinary goal against Sweden at the 2006 World Cup, and the reality of being
\nmanaged by Sven-G\u00f6ran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PRE ORDER SIGNED COPY – Publishes 6th November 2025\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n ‘I want to tell you about how football – English football – felt different for me. For much of
\nmy life it felt like I was in the wrong place, trying to play a different tune.’
\nOne of the best players of his era, Joe Cole grew up playing football in North London’s
\nestates, and his ability, grit and hard work took him to the very top. But Joe was often
\nmistrusted by managers and out of step with the style of English football in the 2000s. The
\ngame was suspicious of creative footballers it considered luxury players – the kind it could
\nregard as an indulgence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":111387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[26102,16450],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-111386","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-signed-and-special-editions","7":"product_cat-website-home-page-carousel","9":"first","10":"instock","11":"taxable","12":"shipping-taxable","13":"purchasable","14":"product-type-simple"},"yoast_head":"\n