End of the West Ham road for this fan favourite?

With Joe Cole’s contract at West Ham ending in the summer, it would appear that the academy product’s days back at Upton Park are numbered. There has been nothing from the club to indicate that a new deal will be offered, and this coupled with the fact that Cole has had very little game time in recent matches, means the writing is probably on the wall. Rumours are also rife of a possible move to the MLS in the summer.

As much as it would be nice to keep Cole, I personally do not think its worth the high wages he would demand, bearing in mind Cole’s fitness and injury troubles in recent years.

After re-signing for his boyhood club in January 2013, Cole has had a pretty decent record in the games he has played in. In the 25 appearances he has managed since that time (12 of which have been as a sub) the former England international has scored five goals, which is not bad when you consider he hasn’t been playing in the most prolific team in terms of goals scored. He also had a memorable debut in his first return to the famous claret and blue colours, setting up both the goals in a 2-2 draw against Manchester United in the third-round of the FA Cup.

In many of the games he has played for West Ham, Cole has shown he can make the difference quality wise in front of goal, able to supply a finish that many of his team-mates would not be capable of. The problem is that the games he has been able to play in have been far too few and far between. The telling stat is that he has only started in 13 games out of a possible 45 since his return.

Even when free of injury, it seemed as though he wasn’t able to participate in much more than one match a fortnight, frequently having to sit out a fixture every other game – presumably because his body couldn’t handle it.

Then he has been injured on quite a few occasions, causing him to miss out on large chunks of this season in particular. Whilst the same could be said for several other members of the Hammers squad, you get a sense with Joe Cole that a full recovery and return to full fitness will never be made. Indeed, in the games he played during this campaign, it appeared as though he was physically tiring far too early in the game, and his pace almost non-existent. It seems as though age and the injury problems Cole has suffered in the past few years have caught up on the midfielder.

I’m hopeful he may be able to make some sort of contribution for the rest of this season, most probably from the subs bench, as he has shown he still has that bit of quality to his game that can make a difference.

Overall, It has been great to see Joe Cole back at his spiritual home, after so long away. Indeed I’m old enough to remember his debut for the club, at the age of 16 in 1999, coming on as a substitute at Old Trafford of all places! But I think he has given all he has left to offer now, and it’s time for Cole to move onto pastures new after this season.

Let me know your thoughts.