Andy Cole was one of the hottest properties in English football at the time and in one of his first national interviews, he spoke about a range of different topics like his relationship with Arsenal manager George Graham, growing up in a difficult financial situation, being proud of what fellow black footballers had achieved in the game and Kevin Keegan’s influence on him.
Here we shall cover the first two parts of that interview.
On his time at Arsenal and relationship with manager George Graham
Andy Cole said “My time under George Graham was so miserable that I nearly turned my back on the game and instead of being talked about as a future England striker I’d have been just another statistic. George must have thought I was a right waster when I was at Arsenal. He drove me to such depths of despair that I was going to jack the game in. Looking back I have to admit that George was probably right, I was going nowhere, desperate to get away from Arsenal.”
On financial stability that comes with playing football at the highest level
Andy Cole said “Now for the first time I am beginning to accept that I should have paid more attention at school. But its getting better, I’ve got a couple of cars and I’ve just bought a lovely house here (Newcastle). I’ve even got an ensuite bathroom and though that’s not uncommon thiese days, when you’ve grown up with six sisters that really is luxury.”
