Source: Daily_Mail
Carlton Cole becomes a contender as he starts punching his weight at last
Claudio Ranieri called him 'My Tyson' and little wonder. His young striker Carlton Cole had just laid out a senior professional on the training ground and there were no regrets.Jesper Gronkjaer had been getting on Cole's nerves during a practice session, nipping the young cub's ankles so often that he snapped and punched the Chelsea[LNB]winger in the face.'It might have looked vicious and some of the lads said it looked like I was going to "do" him but, hand on heart, it wasn't like that,' Cole, just 20, said at the time. [LNB] Too much too young: Carlton Cole celebrates scoring for Chelsea but he didn't fulfil his potential at the west London club[LNB]'Everyone was gearing up for the West Bromwich[LNB]game and things got pretty heated among the players.'Five years on, Cole was yesterday training with England for the first time and preparing for tomorrow's friendly against Spain in Seville. The West Ham[LNB]striker has come a long way since his days at Chelsea, when he was headstrong and behind Gianfranco Zola, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for a place in the team. As a first-year professional, he struggled to get out of bed in Brentford to make the five-mile drive to Chelsea's old training ground in Harlington. He was frequently late, fined for snoozing by a manager who still regarded him as the best young striker he had worked with.'I've never coached a young player as good as Carlton,' claimed Ranieri at the time.'He's fantastic and he has a very big future at Chelsea.' [LNB] Big fan: Claudio Ranieri rated Cole as one of the best youngsters he had ever coached[LNB]That was in 2002. Not long after, Cole would play on a Wednesday for Chelsea reserves at Aldershot and then turn out for his uncle Duncan's Sunday League side in Greenford. He was jeopardising his career, but Cole is anything but a conformist.'The penny has finally dropped but it has taken a long time,' said Alan Curbishley, who managed the striker at both Charlton (where he was on loan) and West Ham. 'He has everything you want in a modern striker. He is strong, he has pace and he is difficult to mark but the one area of his game he needs to improve is his goalscoring.'Cole was the recipient of the Golden Boot when he was in Chelsea's youth team, an in-house award given to the club's leading scorer, and his career was expected to blossom. After he made his debut as a substitute against Everton[LNB]in April 2002, Ranieri put him in the same bracket as reserves team-mate and future England captain John Terry. [LNB] Real potential: Cole scored six times in 19 appearances for England's Under 21s and is hoping for his first senior cap on Wednesday[LNB]But Cole took it too easy, buying a Mercedes 4x4 with his first pay packet and backchatting opposition defenders with some west London bravado during his frequent run-outs with the reserves.By then he had a taste of first-team action and believed he was good enough for a place in a side challenging for Champions League qualification without putting in the hard graft with the second string.Eventually, he was loaned to Charlton, then Wolves and Aston Villa[LNB], before eventually signing for West Ham. Trouble with a long-standing knee complaint allowed the then Upton Park manager Alan Pardew to negotiate an attractive performance-related arrangement with Chelsea, highlighting why clubs prefer the details of such deals to stay 'undisclosed'. Off the field, Cole sometimes struggles with the complexities of day-to-day life, shrugging off a visit from the bailiffs to West Ham's training ground in 2007 when they were chasing him over unpaid congestion charges. He claimed his friends were driving his car through central London, failing to pay the £8 toll, but he eventually forked out for the heavy fine. [LNB] Great goal: Cole celebrates his super strike against Newcastle last month[LNB]Cole's performances on the field have improved this season. He scored a notable goal at Newcastle[LNB]when he controlled the ball with the outside of his boot before lashing it beyond Shay Given.His lifestyle remains an area of concern. He was arrested for drink-driving late last year, but believes he is on the straight and narrow under the pastoral care of Zola. individual. [LNB]Great form: Cole has scored six goals in West Ham's last nine games[LNB] It helps that he held the former Italy forward in such high esteem when they were together at Chelsea, listening to Zola's guidance and becoming a more rounded'He doesn't have to be nasty to be a very good player,' insisted Zola last week.Cole's form has elevated him into the England squad, a reward for the hard work that he has put in this season. Now 25, Cole is a 6ft 4in mountain of muscle, something Manchester United[LNB]'s Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand will readily testify to after he roughed up the best central defensive pairing in the Barclays Premier League at Upton Park on Sunday. 'He has grown in stature, but that's because he is working for a manager who understands him,' said Ferdinand. 'He is appreciated and working in an environment that suits him. He is a young player, he wants to learn and he is better for it.' Not only that, he is finally letting his feet do the talking. In-form Cole waiting in the wings as Heskey looks set to miss Spain clash [LNB]Capello tips Cole for big future after giving West Ham striker a place in England squad[LNB]Hammer time - Capello ready to call on West Ham hot shot Carlton Cole to face Spain[LNB]Wily Clarke is the power behind the throne as Zola's Hammers go forward[LNB]WEST HAM UNITED FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE NET[LNB][LNB] [LNB]
