Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson believes that Joe Cole will fit in at Anfield well and improve the team.
Cole joined Liverpool on a four-year deal on Monday, with the Merseysiders fighting off interest from Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur to snare the player, a free agent after being released by Chelsea earlier in the summer.
Lawrenson feels that the England international will reinvigorate some of the other star names at the club and make Roy Hodgson's team a much more effective attacking unit.
"Joe Cole and Liverpool are a perfect fit - a really good move for player and club," the pundit told The Daily Mirror.
"Assuming his knee is okay - and he trained and played for England at the World Cup - then you’ve got a fit player with miles on the clock.
"A player who is extremely fresh and just wants to play, he has come into the club under a new manager and he is that manager’s choice.
"The sums also make sense as Yossi Benayoun had two years left on his contract and went for £5million."
"If things don’t work out for Joe at Anfield then he can simply move on and the club would get a decent transfer fee for him.
But to be honest the fans will love him. And if you’re Fernando Torres or Steven Gerrard and you were thinking of leaving, you’d maybe think: ‘Hang on a minute. The club is showing a bit of ambition here’."
Cole's presence in the squad also gives Hodgson options in attack, with Lawrenson feeling that the England international should play wide with Steven Gerrard lining up just off the striker.
"But Joe will now give Roy Hodgson options at Liverpool. He can play right side, left side or off the forward," the former defender added.
"As things stand now - assuming the players stay - I see them lining up in a 4-2-3-1 with Cole right side in a three behind the striker, Gerrard playing off Torres and Milan Jovanovic on the left."
Meanwhile, Lawrenson also feels that Javier Mascherano's lack of contact with Hodgson shows a lack of respect from the player towards his new manager.
"We live in such a technological age that there’s no other conclusion to draw than a sign of disrespect," he said.
"The thing is, this is where Mascherano could have used his agent to get on the phone and just be honest with Roy and say: 'I want to leave.'
"Roy has been around the block. He’d know how to handle things the right way. He’d have the time to get a replacement in and all this could have been avoided.
"Let’s hope there can yet be a conclusion to this that suits all parties."
No comments:
Post a Comment