Why Houllier is the vainest man ever to enter Anfield and Arsenal will regret missing Joe Cole

By Brian Reade

Published 23:01 23/07/10

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How ironic that as Joe Cole was reliving the worst night of his footballing life, Gerard Houllier should take the credit for it.

According to the former ­Liverpool boss, it was his team that won all those games in the 2005 ­Champions League, including the Anfield semi-final against Chelsea.

Apparently, that match left such an impression on Cole it made up his mind to join the Reds

Toulouse Le Plot has wasted no time in putting the boot into his successor Rafa Benitez, labelling him a failure and claiming his Istanbul triumph was the work of the coach who preceded him.

Oh, dear. Benitez could point out his tactics won that trophy, that he reached another Champions League final two years later, or the laughter down the phone when he tried to offload the likes of Diouf, Diao, Cheyrou and Biscan, but what’s the point?

Houllier is the vainest man ever to enter Anfield. Remember how he took credit for all the victories Phil Thompson achieved while he was in bed recovering from a heart operation? Or the press conference he demanded after negotiating his huge pay-off to enable him to rewrite history and paint himself a modern-day Shankly. Which is what he’s doing now at Benitez’s expense.

The only winner here is Roy Hodgson, whose modesty and dignity have been magnified without him having to open his mouth.

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Once again Arsene Wenger has refused to sign an Englishman even though he’s a proven international who didn’t want to leave London and was available on a free.

I know he has a legion of tricky midfield-players but come on, are you telling me Joe Cole wouldn’t have added something there? 

If Wenger doesn’t bust the bank this summer and Liverpool finish above them in the league, Gooners will have every right to ask why Cole wasn’t sitting at a press conference this week rubbing Chelsea’s noses in it by declaring Arsenal the biggest club in the land.

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