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Former Hammer Joe Cole has revealed the lengths to which former Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson went to convince him to join the Red Devils.

As Cole was emerging as an exciting teenager in the late 1900s - perhaps the most valuable of all England's up and coming youth players - it was no secret that Ferguson held the midfielder in high esteem.

Cited as one of the most promising English players to emerge for many years, Cole was far from short of admirers - yet none were more blatant in their attempt to steal him from under the nose of West Ham than the Scottish boss.




“Him and Harry [Redknapp] used to be ringing my mum and dad," Cole told Jamie Carragher in the latest episode of the Greatest Game podcast. "He rang my mum's house and it was like, ‘It’s Alex Ferguson.’ She thought it was a wind-up.

"When she finally clocked it was him, she dropped the phone. It was Alex Ferguson ringing you up. So we went up there, I had a trial and they were great. We did all the usual things, got the shirt, had a look around and everything.

“Then he invited us to the Cup Final on the team bus and things like that - but at that time, I’d made my mind up that I wanted to go to West Ham because my pals were there and we were a good side. We went on to win the Youth Cup.

“So I politely declined because I didn’t want to take something for nothing, effectively. That would have been a good experience as a kid as you can imagine, but that’s why he’s the best. He was thinking about four or five steps ahead. It was amazing.”

And looking back in retrospect, Cole has no regrets whatsoever at having rejected Ferguson's advances despite the vast difference in fortunes between the two clubs.

"West Ham just had a great feel to it," he recalled. "I went there as a kid, Under 12s and you're changing and mingling with the first team - Ian Bishop, Trevor Morley, John Moncur. There were some great characters and some good coaches.




"Kids football needs to be fun - and it was fun. Harry [Redknapp] would come and watch us play then go and watch the first team. Everything was together, everything was close. Peter Brabrook, Jimmy Hampson and Tony Carr were all great characters and they knew everyone from the Under 11s up.

"I go on my instinct with things and I just loved it there. There were no secrets to the Academy - training was very similar [to elsewhere]. The one thing they did better than anyone else at that age was the football was always pass, pass, get it down and move.

"Everything was technical; from the moment you walked into West Ham you had a football at your feet."

Looking back at his emergence into West Ham's first team, Cole recalled how an unwarranted appearance in a tabloid newspaper launched him into the public eye - following which his life changed forever.

"There's always a kid in London who's a top player and they were usually a year above or below me," he said. "My life changed when I was 15 and at Lilleshall, and the News of the World published a nonsense article about me on the front page saying I was on five grand per week and earning more than the Prime Minister.

"There was a picture of me on the front page yet I was literally earning pocket money and what I could fiddle on expenses for going back and forwards to Lilleshall on the train - we used to not buy a ticket and hide in the toilet from Stratford and that would keep us in Mars bars for weeks!




"That changed my life; every game I played from the age of 15 onwards people were whispering and talking, which affected me at the time. When I made my Premiership debut at Old Trafford people were saying things like 'this kid's going to change the club forever' which you carry, so it was an unusual start to a career.

"A lot of clubs wanted to sign me, I was unique. I didn't play for a team until I was 11, I was a street footballer so I could do things other players couldn't at that age. But I needed discipline and going to Lilleshall took me out of London at a crucial time - year 10 and 11 and I think that helped keep me on the straight and narrow."

Cole retired as a pro following a short stint in the United States with Tampa Bay Rowdies at the age of 37 and two spells with West Ham. Yet he maintains he has no regrets at having rejected Feguson and his all-conquering Manchester United, while his years at Upton Park were some of the fondest from a glittering career.

"This era would possibly have suited me better, when people can't tackle you and you're getting the ball fed through the lines," he laughed. "At West Ham my job was to get the ball and get it to Paolo [Di Canio] or Freddie [Kanoute] in the final third whichever way I could.

"It wasn't until I went to Chelsea afterwards that I turned into a winger for seven years. I knew what my job was at Chelsea, there were roles; at West Ham it was beautiful but we could end up beating Manchester United or getting turned over by Bradford. We were so up and down.

"But you talk to the fans at West Ham and they loved that era, they loved watching us play. We were entertaining and frustrating but they were happy times, that's for sure."

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