Source: Daily_Mail
Carlton Cole: I realised I couldn't waste my life with parties and women
Carlton Cole has always attracted his fair share of headlines, most of them for all the wrong reasons. [LNB]He was accused of rape when he was just 19 after an infamous partyat the Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair, a case which made forsensational coverage on front pages until all potential charges wereeventually dropped.[LNB] Respected: West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola (right) has taken Carlton Cole under his wing[LNB] WEST HAM UTD FC: All the latest news from across the webMatthew Etherington calls old West Ham pal James Collins to extol the delights of Stoke CityWest Ham defender Davenport stabbed in both legs during late-night attack at homeLess than a year ago, he had to apologise after being arrested for drink driving in the early hours of the morning. [LNB]Yet back in February something extraordinary happened to the man whose career had seemed to be in decline since being a one-time teenage prodigy at Chelsea: Fabio Capello, the arch disciplinarian of English football, gave him his England debut. [LNB]'At that the time, when I made my England debut, I thought, "I can kick on from here because I've been given a second chance",' said Cole, who takes on Tottenham today for West Ham. [LNB]'I wouldn't be at this level now if I hadn't realised what I was doing was wrong. I would be just another average player trying to make a living.' [LNB]Lean, tall, athletic and quick, Cole is ideally suited to the centre-forward's role in the modern game, but then it was rarely his potential ability that was questioned, just his attitude. [LNB]And his current manager Gianfranco Zola, a former team-mate at Chelsea, and his assistant Steve Clarke, Cole's former youth team manager at Stamford Bridge, were the men who helped him make the necessary changes. [LNB]'Obviously when Gianfranco came on board, he and Steve Clarke already knew what I could do from when I was in the youth team over there. They were just saying, "What the hell's happening?" I already knew I had a talent and it was just that I wasn't utilising it in the right way. [LNB]Party is over: Cole is knuckling down[LNB]'Obviously when things off the pitch and in your personal life aren't going too well, sometimes it creates stress in your work life. You have to have a nice balance in life. In general there has to be a happy medium. [LNB]'I've been given a great opportunity in my life and I've realised there are a lot of things other than going out and enjoying yourself and a load of women you know. [LNB]'Everyone likes that. But you have to be professional and take your life seriously. I'm over that hill with the partying now. [LNB]'I want to get as good as I can get. I've always loved football and I wouldn't want that taken away from me over something off the field that will hamper my progress, and that's what was happening before.' [LNB]Cole acknowledges his finishing can improve but a 10-goal Premier League return last season indicates progress and he now has a realistic prospect of leading the line for England in the World Cup finals next year. [LNB]Without Zola and Clarke, though, it probably would not be even a remote possibility.[LNB] 'I'm happy to be under a manager like Gianfranco who respects me and wants me to do well and is happy for me to lead the line,' he said. 'And Steve definitely knows what I can do. Now I think I can get even better. I've come a long way from 18 months ago. [LNB]'If you look at my career before then it wasn't really bright, but now it's kicking off and I'm just happy to be involved in the England stuff.' [LNB]Today he comes up against a friend and England team-mate in Tottenham's Jermain Defoe, with whom he led the line in the friendly international against Holland earlier this month. [LNB]They both came on as second-half substitutes and salvaged a 2-2 draw from two down. [LNB]'He's a brilliant player, obviously,' says Cole. 'I know the threat that he's going to pose, so we need to contain him and have to make sure he doesn't wriggle free to get a goal as he's on fire at the moment. [LNB]'For England, I'm the big striker and he's the small striker. He wants to get in the box and doesn't want to get involved in the physical side of stuff up front. [LNB]'He just wants to be the goal predator and that's what he does well. We do complement each other well. He has a bright future ahead of him in the England team and I just hope I can follow in his footsteps.' [LNB]As well he might. West Ham strikers playing for England in World Cup finals have a happy record, after all. [LNB]Can we expect a hat-trick in Johannesburg on July 11? [LNB]'Let's keep it realistic for now,' says Cole. 'We're working towards South Africa so I need to do the business for West Ham then hopefully I'll be in South Africa.'[LNB] WEST HAM UTD FC: All the latest news from across the webMatthew Etherington calls old West Ham pal James Collins to extol the delights of Stoke CityWest Ham defender Davenport stabbed in both legs during late-night attack at home[LNB] [LNB] Explore more:People:Fabio Capello, Jermain Defoe, Gianfranco ZolaPlaces:South Africa, The Netherlands, United Kingdom
