Carlton Michael Cole Okirie (born 12 November 1983) is an English international footballer who plays for West Ham United as a striker in the Premier League.

Cole began his career at Chelsea in 2001, spending spells out on loan at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic and Aston Villa before being transferred to West Ham United in 2006. He made 19 England U21 appearances (scoring six goals), and made his full international debut for the England national football team on 11 February 2009 in a friendly match against Spain.Club career

Chelsea

2001-02

Cole was born in Croydon, London and began his career as a trainee with Chelsea in 2001 making his debut in April 2002 as a substitute for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in a 3–0 victory against Everton.[4] He made his first senior start three weeks later, scoring a goal as Chelsea beat Middlesbrough at the Riverside.[5] He made one more appearance for Chelsea in the 2001–02 season, in a 3–1 home defeat against Aston Villa in May 2002.[6]

2002-03

Cole started the 2002–03 season in the Chelsea first team squad, scoring a goal and making another in the opening game of the season in a 3–2 win over Charlton after coming on as a substitute for Zola.[7] He suffered a hairline fracture in his leg in August but returned to action in a League Cup tie against Gillingham in November, scoring two goals.[8] Claudio Ranieri, the then manager of Chelsea, described Cole as being the best young player that he had ever coached, saying, "I've never coached a young player like Carlton. He's fantastic even though he hasn't really started his career yet. He has a very long contract, and, in my opinion, a very big future at Chelsea."[9] However, with Eiður Guðjohnsen, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Gianfranco Zola available for selection, Cole's first team opportunities were limited and he was loaned to Wolverhampton Wanderers in November 2002 for one month,[10] later extended to two months.[11]

Having made seven appearances for Wolves, scoring one goal against Norwich City,[6][12] his loan spell was cut short as Chelsea, needing cover, recalled him early in January 2003.[13] Cole made a further twelve league and cup appearances for Chelsea in the 2002–03 season, in addition to the four that he made before going on loan to Wolves.[6] He scored six goals in all for Chelsea that season,[6] including a spectacular, long-range left-footed strike against Sunderland,[14] and the winner against Bolton Wanderers in April 2003 as Chelsea pressed for a place in the UEFA Champions League.[15]

2003-05

Cole signed a new six-year contract with Chelsea in the summer of 2003,[16] but with Mutu, Gudjohnsen, Hasselbaink and Forssell also battling for a place in the starting lineup for Chelsea, he joined Charlton Athletic on a season-long loan in August 2003,[17] where he scored five goals in 22 league and cup appearances,[6] helping Charlton to finish the 2003–04 season in seventh place in the Premier League. Despite Charlton being keen to retain Cole's services for the 2004–05 season,[18] Cole joined Aston Villa on another season-long loan.[19] This move sparked off a dispute as Charlton were expecting Cole to return to the club as part of the deal that took Scott Parker from Charlton to Chelsea.[20] The dispute was later resolved when the two clubs reached a settlement.[21] Cole scored three goals in 30 league and cup appearances for Aston Villa,[6] including a goal on his debut in a 2–0 win over Southampton in August 2004,[22] in a season which was interrupted by a knee injury picked up in an England under-21 match against the Netherlands under-21 in February 2005.[23]

2005-06

He returned to Chelsea in the summer of 2005 where he appeared in pre-season friendlies.[24] However, first team opportunities were limited by the presence of Didier Drogba and Hernán Crespo,[25] and Cole made only 12 league and cup appearances for Chelsea in the 2005–06 season, scoring one goal in an FA Cup win over Huddersfield Town.[6] He joined West Ham United in July 2006,[26] having made a total of 31 league and cup appearances for Chelsea, scoring eight goals.[6]

West Ham United

2006-07

Cole joined West Ham United in July 2006 for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-year contract.[26] He scored seconds into his competitive debut for West Ham United after coming on as a substitute in injury time to seal a 3–1 home win against Charlton Athletic in August 2006.[27] However, in a season of turmoil at West Ham in which the club only secured their place in the Premier League on the final day of the season, Cole was unable to establish himself in the first team, making 23 league and cup appearances, 15 of which were as substitute, and scoring three goals.[6]

2007-08

Into 2007/08 and Cole began to repay the faith shown in him by the Hammers, scoring six goals and making an important contribution in the absence of the injured Ashton. Cole also ended the Barclays Premier League season with nine assists, illustrating his influential role in the side.

2008-09

It was the 2008/09 season, however, that saw Cole finally come of age. He scored twelve goals in all competitions, as well as picking up a further four assists. He started the 2008–09 season in good form, scoring four goals in his first eight games. On 26 October, Cole received his first red card of his West Ham career against Arsenal, with a foul on Alexandre Song at Upton Park.[28] Cole's form earned him a new five-year contract, which he signed in November 2008, before England head coach Fabio Capello handed him a senior international debut in the friendly defeat in Spain in 2009.

2009-10

He continued the good form in 2009–10 season, made 30 Premier League appearances, starting 26 of them. He scored ten Premier League goals, including one penalty in the 5-3 home win over Burnley on 28 November. After netting six goals in his first ten Premier League matches, he missed the period between 28 November and 26 February with a knee injury. He also made two League Cup appearances, starting the home second-round win over Millwall. He was booked four times over the course of the season.[29]

2010-11

This article or section may be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective. (July 2010)

Carlton Cole signing autographs Upton Park

Cole started the 2010-11 pre-season brightly after scoring two goals from two matches - a 2-1 win over Peterborough United on 14 July 2010 and a 2-0 win against Borussia Monchengladbach on 17 July 2010.[30] He started the season as the club's new number 9 in a change from the number 12 shirt previously worn since his arrival in July 2006.[31] On 28 July 2010, Cole was on target again with a second-half goal - his third in four games - as West Ham United made it four wins from four pre-season friendly matches with a 2-0 victory at MK Dons.[32] On 31 July 2010, he made it 4 goals in 5 games after scoring in a 1-0 win against Ipswich Town.[33]

International career

Cole is of Nigerian and Sierra Leonean descent through his parents, but rejected the chance to play for either of the national sides of these countries.[34][35] He was a regular member of the England under-21 side, scoring six goals in 19 appearances,[36] including two goals in the 3–1 win over Ukraine under-21 team in August 2004.[37] Peter Taylor, then England under-21 manager, claimed that Cole had "...the potential to break into the full England squad...".[38] In August 2008, Nigeria coach Shaibu Amodu called Cole into camp ahead of Nigeria's World Cup Qualifier against South Africa.[39] However, it was later reported that Cole was ineligible to play for Nigeria as he was then too old to switch from one country to another.[2][40] Cole received his first senior England call up and cap on 11 February 2009 for a friendly against Spain. He entered the action as a 75th minute substitution in the place of Aston Villa forward Gabriel Agbonlahor. England lost the match 2–0.[41] Cole was again named in the England squad for the games against Slovakia and Ukraine in the Spring of 2009.[42]