Why Joe Cole is right: Liverpool are bigger than Chelsea - and here's the proof

By Martin Lipton in Laptop with Martin Lipton

Published 12:00 22/07/10

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Talk about stirring up a hornet's nest.

And if Joe Cole was not aware of the repercussions of his explanations for choosing to join Liverpool, he must know now.

Cole's insistence that Liverpool remain the biggest club in the country, despite a 20-year wait for their next title, will certainly strike a chord with the Anfield fans and wind up his former supporters at Chelsea as well as those at Manchester United.

Maybe it was justification of his decision to snub offers from north London, perhaps the England man simply sensed his chance to have a pop back at the Chelsea hierarchy he believes left him with no option other than to quit the club.

Whatever the motivation, Cole has succeeded in polarising views, and while the recent record of the respective clubs suggests otherwise, it is hard to argue he does not have a case.

In terms of recent domestic success, of course, Liverpool do not compare.

Even in this decade, while the Liverpool fans will always have Istanbul, and indeed two FA Cup and League Cup triumphs as well as the UEFA Cup victory in 2001, the club's feats are paltry in comparison with their biggest rivals.

United can boast six titles since the turn of the century, the World Club crown and Champions League and match Liverpool's four domestic cup triumphs, while Chelsea have three Premier League successes and six domestic knock-out wins.

And Arsenal, without a trophy since 2005, can still point to two titles, including the "Invincibles" season and three FA Cup successes.

All of that makes Cole's claim seem ridiculous.

But of course there is more to a football club than the moment. History is greater than the day to day and in that regard Liverpool are bigger than Chelsea, certainly, if not United.

For proof, look at the two clubs' respective plans for the future.

Once Liverpool get proper owners - and it is surely a matter of time before Gillett and Hicks clear off and leave the club in the hands of people who actually want to run it the right way - the plans for a new home for the club in Stanley Park will be progressed.

That will see a 60,000 home for the club, not as big as Old Trafford but the same size as The Emirates, guaranteeing a bigger income stream.

Liverpool can make such plans because they know they can fill the ground, as can Spurs expect to sell out at their proposed new 55,000 home to be built adjacent to White Hart Lane.

But Chelsea have scrapped all plans to relocate from Stamford Bridge - finding a suitable site in the area was an onerous and in the end impossible task - and have also decided against upgrading their home since the club was formed in 1905.

The reason is simple. The Bridge might have a capacity of only just over 41,000 but there simply are not enough Chelsea fans to justify anything bigger.

For all the successes brought to the club since the advent of the Roman Abramovich era, their financial growth cannot change the underlying fact that Chelsea are only the third-biggest club in London, behind both Arsenal and Spurs.

By those standards, they are dwarfed by United and Liverpool - whose worldwide fan base is huge, despite their two decades of top flight under-achievement which should be a badge of shame for all those involved in the stewardship of the club since 1990 - probably Newcastle too, while they are certainly no bigger than Aston Villa.

Of course, Cole's comments will inflame the Chelsea supporters who were regretting his departure, although by opting to move to Liverpool he has already burned some of his Stamford Bridges.

Many Chelsea supporters feel more antagonism to the Anfield club than towards their other more obvious rivals, in much the same way as the vestigial hatred between the Blues and Leeds in the 70s lives on to this day.

Cole, surely, knew what he was saying, will have recognised he has risked becoming the target for the vitriol of the Chelsea fans when the Blues visit Anfield in November, and even more so when the reverse fixture comes around and he returns to SW6 in a red shirt at the start of February.

But having shown bravery in leaving the comfort zone of London - after having, it seemed, made Harry Redknapp believe he was destined for N17 - Cole has now demonstrated a different sort of courage, the willingness to nail his colours to a new mast.

Now, of course, he has to prove he made the right decision and that Liverpool is the right place for him to flower. But, without question, he does have history on his side.

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