Andy Cole hits back at Darwin Nunez comparison.
Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole has strongly defended himself after comparisons were made between himself and Darwin Nunez.
Liverpool striker Nunez has had an indifferent start to his Anfield career, and was on the receiving end of criticism for some missed chances in Thursday night’s Carabao Cup defeat to Manchester City.
Andy Cole v Darwin Nunez.
This prompted a Twitter account going by the name of @DaveOCKOP to compare the Uruguayan’s struggles with those of Cole, when the ex-England striker first made the move to Old Trafford in 1995.
This led to several more Twitter users to make comparisons between the pair, but what wasn’t expected was for Cole to come out fighting in defence of his record.
“Cole .., Nunez… not sure we’re this nonsense started!,” he tweeted. “But it’s Christmas, the festival season… I am happily retired… 5.PL, 2 FA cups, 1 league cup, 1 champion league, golden boot, YPOTY. 187 premier league goals . 1 pen. Life is what you make it.”
PL record.
With only Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane sitting ahead of Cole in the list of all-time Premier League scorers, he has every right to defend his record against those criticising him.
Of his 187 top flight goals, none came from the penalty spot – despite Cole saying that one did – which makes his goalscoring exploits all the more impressive.
As he stated, the move to United also boosted his medal collection, as he played a significant role in the dominant Alex Ferguson side of the late-1990s and early-2000s.
A Treble winner in 1999, Cole’s haul of five Premier League medals places him alongside the likes of Peter Schmeichel, John Terry and the aforementioned Rooney and Aguero, and his form in the 1999/2000 season earned him a spot in the PFA Team of the Year.
In fairness to the original poster, he went on to clarify that his intention was to back Nunez and not to criticise Cole.
Sorry Dave worded wrongly or rightly…. People need to stop disrespecting my name… because I don’t play the game , just a quiet guy getting on with life people think they can disrespect me 🤷🏾♂️…. Look at the numbers and compare them to anyone else …
— Andrew Cole (@vancole9) December 24, 2022
“A top player.”
“Hi Andy,” he wrote. “Worded original tweet poorly. You were a top player, should have worded original better. More of a tweet to back Nunez than anything. Please see follow up. (Most 3 big chances missed last season. 1. Kane. 2. Son. 3. Salah). The best 3 strikers.”
“Sorry Dave worded wrongly or rightly,” responded Cole. “People need to stop disrespecting my name… because I don’t play the game , just a quiet guy getting on with life people think they can disrespect me …. Look at the numbers and compare them to anyone else.”
Any Man United fans who remember Cole in his prime will agree, and the same will likely go for supporters of Newcastle, Blackburn, Fulham and Man City.
