Which is Cole's best position?

Tired of reading off-field matters, let's discuss a little bit about football.
Joe Cole has been used as a winger during his time at chelski, but he's said his favorite position is playing more in the middle in a second striker position and that is one of the reasons he chose to play for us. And yes it is, but I think his main reason for coming here except our tradition was playing regular football (which he wouldn't have at spurs or arsenal). Having said that I don't think it'd be a problem for him playing wide. My questions for you are:
1. Which do you think is his best position and
2. Where would you play him in our team?

Based on our team, I'd like to see him playing on the left wing, leaving the way for Stevie to play behind Torres.

Wing.

On the right.

          Meireles    Lucas
 
Cole         Gerrard        Pacheco

               Torres

Or Kuyt in for Pacheco.

It's tough this, because for England years a go they were raving that he was the piece to the puzzle of fitting the LM position. Although he was being played week in - week out for Chelsea on the right during that time.

It's hard, because I see him as a pure attacking footballer, he could play in behind Torres, but Gerrard will end up doing his usual moan about not being played in his favoured position.

I wouldn't start Maxi again this season, stick him on the left for a bit with Kuyt coming in or Babel on the right?

it'd have to be where ever he felt comfortable playing which is second striker  how ever in the liverpool team today id rather Gerrard play centre attacking mid and  have  meireles as a sole defensive mids with Cole on the left and babel on the right cause i think if babel can prove himself he will be a great player in the future then stick kuyt and torres upfront < thatll get you goals

Has to be on the left wing,he is a great player with the ball at his feet.can pass and can run at defenders and can get a good cross in.For me its on the left.He is more attack minded and play maker then second striker.

Wing.

On the right.

          Meireles    Lucas
 
Cole         Gerrard        Pacheco

               Torres

Or Kuyt in for Pacheco.

This.

It's hard, because I see him as a pure attacking footballer, he could play in behind Torres, but Gerrard will end up doing his usual moan about not being played in his favoured position.

Did Gerrard not say his favourite position is central midfield or am I making that up?  

This.

Did Gerrard not say his favourite position is central midfield or am I making that up?   

Gerrard's fav position is in the central midfield not behind the forward

Gerrard said his favourite position is center midfield and Cole said his preffered position is in the hole..

So be prepared to see Cole out on the left and Gerrard probably playing at right back or something.
Liverpool dont play their players in their natural/preffered positions, it seems like its against our club law.

Gerrard said his favourite position is center midfield and Cole said his preffered position is in the hole..

So be prepared to see Cole out on the left and Gerrard probably playing at right back or something.
Liverpool dont play their players in their natural/preffered positions, it seems like its against our club law.

That's nonsense. You shouldn't play a player's favorite position but the one that suits him and the team best. If not we'd be playing Babel as a center forward, were he actually sucks (I know he sucks at LW too). It's just that usually a favorite player's position is the one that suits him best, like Torres lone striker role, but I really don't think we should play Cole in the hole.

Through passes and crosses are completely different things. He can cross, that doesn't mean he can makes through passes like Aqua (sigh), so I say stick him where he has played his whole F***ing career: on the wings.

We lack wingers, esp. on the left, total absence.. Therefore while he is better behind strikers, he is still a good winger, so I prefer to stick him on the left wing..

Sorry, out of topic.. why no one wants to try Jovanovic as striker or behind strikers, since this is his best in Standard Liege, moreover he proved that he is not a good winger..

it'd have to be where ever he felt comfortable playing which is second striker  how ever in the liverpool team today id rather Gerrard play centre attacking mid and  have  meireles as a sole defensive mids with Cole on the left and babel on the right cause I think if babel can prove himself he will be a great player in the future then stick kuyt and torres upfront < thatll get you goals

Babel has had one chance too many on wednesday night to prove himsrlf. he can F**k off now.(off topic i know)
Cole behind Torres with a couple of wee lay off's to our winger's to get cross's in for goal's

For the benefit of the team - it has to be on the wing, preferably left.

I still think his best position is in the hole. All his games starting there, he excelled. He started on the left against Man United and couldn't do much but it was his pass when he was in the centre which led to the penalty. It was his pass from the centre that led Babel through on goal against Trabzonspor.

The Steven Gerrard-Fernando Torres partnership doesn't work anymore. Steven Gerrard's favourite position is central midfield but he was deployed in the hole in Torres' first two seasons and that worked extremely well because they had a certain Xabi Alonso behind them to be the playmaker. Now, with Alonso gone, Gerrard has to be the playmaker and he shouldn't be doing that from the hole, but in midfield. When Gerrard is in the hole, he has to make runs into the box when the ball is played in whereas if he's central, he sits around the edge of the area and he's very dangerous from that distance. Let Cole make the runs into the box.

However, if Gerrard is to play in the hole, that automatically means Cole on the left. Unless Meireles is then played alongside either Lucas or Poulsen, we'd be negative again because in my honest opinion, the Gerrard and Torres will be isolated and will struggle to make an impact.

Adryan.. I agreed what you have said.. but our left, will be left open and incompetent.. I really want to try Jovanovic in the hole.. or upfront, with Gerrard in the central midfield..

In my opinion given the players we have at our disposal I'd really love Roy to line up 4-4-2 diamond formation with Cole on the left of it.


                                          Reina

 Johnson            Carra/Skrtel           Agger          Aurelio/Konchesky

                                          Lucas

 Gerrarrd                                                             Cole

                                         Meireles

                    Torres                                 Kuyt

My reason for this being we are struggling to score goals in our current formation with Torres looking isolated and a forelong figure up top, so with Kuyt along side him it shares the burden of getting goals and gives defenders something else to think about.

Cole is not a wide man and has never been in his career to see the best of Cole you have to give him a more central role, I'd have him behind Torres every time. That is where you'll see the best of him. If he is played on the left or right for Liverpool he will not be a success.

Cole is not a wide man and has never been in his career to see the best of Cole you have to give him a more central role, I'd have him behind Torres every time. That is where you'll see the best of him. If he is played on the left or right for Liverpool he will not be a success.

Personally mate I think he'd be more of a success than both Jova and Babel there thats why I'd like to see him there, I'm not impressed by both Jova and Babel, I really don't think either of them offer us anything from the left.

Ya Redblood but the question is what his best position is, left midfield is defo not his best position, when Cole has been a his best it has been in a more central role.

Can't understand why we can't play players in there natural position Meirles and Gerrard in midfield and Cole behind Torres.

Well I agree mate his best position is centrally, but in the same breath I also think our wide players have been nothing short of dissapointing this season, when you look at the impact Nani, Giggs and Adam Johnson had against us when playing City and United, it shows just how much wide play can effect the game.

Using that to form my opinion I honestly believe both Cole & Gerrard could be the answer to our prayers given the form of Maxi/Kuyt Babbel and Jova.

I just want us to start picking up points and if that means a shake up to achieve it, then so be it.

Keeping it tight in the hole. . . On a saturday night! Giggidy

If we played Meirles and Gerrard in midfield with Cole behind Torres you'd have the perfect triangle and would see attacking football but then that is not what Hodgson wants.

If we played Meirles and Gerrard in midfield with Cole behind Torres you'd have the perfect triangle and would see attacking football but then that is not what Hodgson wants.

I agree with the triangle mate, but we'd still be ineffective with our wide play, unless of course the wide players find some consistent form, to be honest mate , I'm not impressed with Jova at all, he's a headless chicken.

He recieves the ball, puts his head down sets off at pace loses the ball and teh cycle just repeats itself, I can not really think of any crosses he's whipped in at all from the left hand side in all his appearances to date.

For Joe, I think his best position would be behind Torres, in a fairly free role in which I am sure he would be capable of creating plenty of chances for the Spaniard as well as knocking them in himself.

However, with Gerrard fairly certain to be playing in this position, Cole would have to be playing out wide, and Meireles in central midfield (with Lucas).

So I'd have Cole on one of the wings.

Since our other wingers have been far from exceptional so far this season, I'd put Jovanovic, Maxi and Kuyt all in a big bag, shake it up a bit, and pick out one of their names randomly every week to play on the other wing.

Or drop the lot of them and play Pacheco.

And don't think I haven't forgotten Babel. I put him in another bag, sealed it, and chucked it in the Mersey.

I don't think Cole has the game to play just behind the striker.

I think he is going to be of more use for us on the wing. Probably the left.

Cole is not a wide man

He isn't a traditional winger, but since when have Liverpool played wide men on the wings?

He could probably do a similar job that Kuyt does on the right, but possibly better going forward, bringing the ball in to the middle and corner of the box and hopefully having the option of an advanced Gerrard or Torres to set up.

That's nonsense. You shouldn't play a player's favorite position but the one that suits him and the team best.

Seems like its working a charm for us at the moment.. Oh wait  
Btw I said natural position first

Cole has never been a natural winger, hes been shipped out their by his previous managers to accomodate him in the team, having to cut inside every time he gets the ball to create chances.

I agree he would be more useful out their than Babel/Jovanvic, because lets face it, their hopeless. But for the sake of seeing the best of him (Plus getting the bet out of Nando) in my mind you have to play him behind Torres with Gerrard/Merelies in midfield for me.

If we actually had some wingers who knew how to get to the byline/take players then cross the ball..
My God, what a side we would be!
Until our wide players get rid of that allergy they seem to have though I doubt it will happen.

to play Cole as a winger or socalled wide man is utterly moronic. He is about flicks and vision in a semi congested area. And he doesnt have the "leave the fullback for dead" pace.
He's clearly a linkman ie 2nd striker type player.

Altho I'd have preferred Torres and Gerrard with Aq just behind. These are 3 signigicantly better players. Either way, selling Aq was pathetic.

I'd say central attacking or left attacking, allowing him to cut inside.

I don't think Gerrard has played well behind Torres in well over a year now, I think teams have cottoned onto it and just starve them of possession, can't remember the last time Gerrard played well there.

 It wasn't this season or last even. It was the season before. Gerrard is an absolute waste behind Torres. We only started playing well against Utd when Gerrard went back into midfield.

I agree with the triangle mate, but we'd still be ineffective with our wide play, unless of course the wide players find some consistent form, to be honest mate , I'm not impressed with Jova at all, he's a headless chicken.

He recieves the ball, puts his head down sets off at pace loses the ball and teh cycle just repeats itself, I can not really think of any crosses he's whipped in at all from the left hand side in all his appearances to date.

Tell me who's been waiting in the middle for the whipped ball in??.. On average 1 player waiting to receive the ball this season.. This suggests to me that the manager hasn't set up the team to play with width..
I'm not buying this Jova is a headless chicken thing.. If our wingers were supposed to provide width and whip in balls they would do (with varied quality of course).. I refuse to believe that all the wingers we have are that sh*te they can only cut in.. They're probably playing to a system which focuses on narrower attacks or they just know that were gonna be out numbered in the box with the early ball..

I don't think Gerrard has played well behind Torres in well over a year now, I think teams have cottoned onto it and just starve them of possession, can't remember the last time Gerrard played well there.

 It wasn't this season or last even. It was the season before. Gerrard is an absolute waste behind Torres. We only started playing well against Utd when Gerrard went back into midfield.

That's a good point that.. It really was two seasons ago when the partnership was phenomenal. Its true, its doesn't work no more but we still bang on like its an option..

If you think Torres-Gerrard partnership doesn't work anymore, we've another option with 4-3-3:
                   Lucas
       
        Gerrard           Meireles
   
Kuyt --->                     <--- Cole
                   Torres

Torres

y    Cole          x

     Gerrard
         Meireles

At the minute I would put Cole out on the wing, since Maxi looks out of his dept there, and Babel is very hit and miss also. Play Pacheco in the hole.

wide left