They say ‘when it rains, it pours!’. That is exactly what happened to Joe Cole this week. It started off with him being wrongfully sent off against Arsenal on Sunday and then he was found guilty of speeding on Wednesday and now last night he goes on to miss a penalty infront of the Kop in Liverpools’s 1-0 win over Trabzonspor in the Europa League Qualifier.
What I did not know is that Joe Cole had NEVER taken a penalty before in his 12 year professional career. I guess the writing was on the wall for him to score his first goal for Liverpool last night and what better a chance than to do so from the spot. But his tamely taken spot kick was easily saved by the Trabzonspor goal keeper.
But credit to Cole for setting up Ryan Babel with the one and only goal of the game that gives us a slender lead going into the return leg next week.
I have no doubt that Joe Cole will bounce back from this ‘horror’ week and will have an excellent season for us. He will miss the game on Monday night against Manchester City as he starts to serve his 3 match ban for his red card. It will be interesting to see how Roy deploys the troops on Monday night without Joe Cole. Will Gerrard now go back to play behind the striker or will he maintain his role in central midfield?
