How to Be an Ex-Footballer

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However How to be an Ex Footballer as well as having its expected fill of funny anecdotes also has a darker side. In November 2009, Cole was caught driving his Audi A4 at 105 mph on a 70 mph section of dual carriageway in Claygate, Surrey. The final appearance in his loan with Lille came in their 4–1 final day victory over Nancy, he provided an assist for one of Eden Hazard's three goals and was later substituted off in the 64th minute by Nolan Roux. He scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool in a 2–1 win against Bolton Wanderers on 1 January 2011. Cole played in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final, which Chelsea lost on penalties to Manchester United; he was substituted in extra time for Nicolas Anelka, who missed Chelsea's crucial penalty.

In the match, Cole scored the team's second goal in the 40th minute, which turned out to be decisive in a 3–1 win.

He left Chelsea on a free transfer in July 2010 to join Liverpool, who a year later loaned him to Lille.

He then scored England's two goals in the next fixture after coming on as a second-half substitute in the 2–0 defeat of Andorra in the opening match for 2010 World Cup qualifying. His form saw him hit a run of goals towards the end of the season, and he scored a goal on 9 March against Norwich City blasted in from 20 yards off his weaker left foot [22] Cole scored ten goals for Chelsea in 2004–05 and ended the season with a Premier League champions' medal. By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file.

Similar to his previous two books, and in his typical comedic charm style, Peter provides anecdotes from his playing days to shed light on some of the characters he has encountered behind the scenes of some of English football’s biggest clubs. I felt this bisected his previous books in that it wasn’t quite as good as his first, but on a par or slightly better than his second. He spent seven seasons at Chelsea, playing over 280 games in all competitions and winning seven trophies, including three Premier League titles, two FA Cups and a League Cup. It is a cautionary tale of the pitfalls of life after the final whistle when the ridiculous amounts of money disappear as quickly as the chants from the adoring crowds. In conclusion I found this to once again be a funny, warm hearted, easily read book delivered with typical Peter Crouch style, which broaches the subject of footballers in their post-retirement life.

As someone who’s more interested in the business of football than the physical game itself, I really enjoyed this book and think it might be the best of Crouch’s trilogy.Otherwise, it’s a really interesting look into a number of other peoples post-football careers and pretty touching at times too. Manager Claudio Ranieri saw Cole as the perfect replacement for Gianfranco Zola, whom the club had released earlier that year, and West Ham declared that the transfer was enough for them not to sell any more players that summer.

Across 16 Chapters and 275 Pages, Peter Crouch builds the reader a picture of the character that he has come to know through tales from throughout his career, or his perception and experience from afar for others, during their “main and more famous career” of being a footballer. So what do these Peter Pans, whose careers end just as most people's are getting going, do with the rest of their lives? In all, Cole made 22 league appearances for the Sky Blues, scoring twice, both from long-range free kicks. He then scored his first competitive goal for the club against Steaua București in a Europa League group stage match at Anfield on 16 September 2010, converting just 27 seconds into the game.Often recruited before they've worn long trousers, today's footballers become superstars who earn huge amounts without ever learning much about the world beyond the training ground. This was a decent book and certainly there were some touching moments as well as laugh out loud moments.