Carlton Cole plays down England talk

January 23, 2009

It doesn’t seem to take too much for players to be linked with an England call-up these days. Having netted in each of West Ham’s last five fixtures, the latest to be tipped for international recognition is Carlton Cole.

The Hammers striker put in a superb performance during the victory over Fulham last weekend and this led to his manager, Gianfranco Zola, claiming that Fabio Capello should consider Cole for a place in the England squad.

The 25-year-old – who has represented the national team at Under-21 level on 19 occasions – has claimed that he ‘isn’t even thinking about England’ though and that his main aim for this season is to help West Ham finish as high as possible in the league.

Cole has referred to the fact that it has taken a while for him to find his best form at Upton Park and that he isn’t going to let it go to his head by dreaming of playing for England. This is because there have been times in the past when he’s ‘not done so well’.

Even this season, Cole went eight games without a goal prior to his recent scoring streak. Then, looking back at last season, it can be revealed that he only found the back of the net on six occasions. Then the previous season it was only three times – I could go on!

Overall, it is probably a bit premature to be talking about England for Cole. His recent goal-scoring form is the first he has had in a couple of years and he should just concentrate on doing well for West Ham. He himself admits that he has a ‘personal target’ for this season and I doubt this will include an England call.

Something Cole has proved in recent weeks though is that he CAN perform consistently at the top level. He has proved to some doubters that he is a very talented player and one who could achieve great things in the future. Should he continue his development over the next year or so, the football odds many well back Capello to come calling.

England only have Peter Crouch and Emile Heskey as ‘big-man’ strikers at the moment, so perhaps there is room for another. It is vital that Cole proves that this latest improvement isn’t a flash in the pan though. He needs to have decent remained of the season to keep the England speculation going.

Good luck to him.

By Thomas Rooney – A sports writer who blogs about football betting

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