1. Carlton Michael George Cole was born on 12 October 1983 and is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as a striker.
42 Facts About Carlton Cole
1. 2.
Carlton Cole scored 52 goals in 288 Premier League appearances for four clubs.
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Carlton Cole was released by West Ham in 2013 only to be re-signed several months later, and the club released him for a second time in May 2015.
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Carlton Cole later had brief spells at Celtic in Scotland, Sacramento Republic in the United States and Persib Bandung in Indonesia.
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Carlton Cole made 19 England under-21 appearances, and made his debut for the England national team on 11 February 2009 in a friendly match against Spain.
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Carlton Cole was born in Croydon, London, to a Nigerian father and Sierra Leonean mother.
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Carlton Cole began his career as a trainee with Chelsea, before signing his first professional contract with the club in October 2000.
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Carlton Cole made his first senior start three weeks later, scoring a goal as Chelsea beat Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.
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Carlton Cole's loan spell was cut short as Chelsea, needing cover, recalled him early in January 2003.
10.
Carlton Cole made a further 12 league and cup appearances for Chelsea in the season, in addition to the four that he made before going on loan to Wolves.
11.
Carlton Cole scored six goals in all for Chelsea that season, including a long-range left-footed strike against Sunderland, and the winner against Bolton Wanderers in April 2003 as Chelsea pressed for a place in the UEFA Champions League.
12.
Carlton Cole signed a new six-year contract with Chelsea in July 2003.
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Carlton Cole returned to Chelsea in the summer of 2005 where he appeared in pre-season friendlies.
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Carlton Cole joined West Ham United in July 2006, having made a total of 31 league and cup appearances for Chelsea, scoring eight goals.
15.
Carlton Cole joined West Ham United in July 2006 for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-year contract.
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Carlton Cole started the season in good form, scoring four goals in his first eight matches.
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On 26 October 2008, Carlton Cole received his first red card of his West Ham career against Arsenal, with a foul on Alex Song at Upton Park.
18.
Carlton Cole made two League Cup appearances, starting the home second-round win over Millwall.
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Carlton Cole was booked four times over the course of the season.
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Carlton Cole played 43 games in all competitions, scoring 15 goals, with 14 coming in league games.
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Carlton Cole ended the season as West Ham's top goal scorer.
22.
On 21 May 2013, West Ham announced that Carlton Cole would be leaving the club at the end of the season.
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Carlton Cole had been at the club for seven seasons.
24.
On 3 September 2013, after West Ham failed with a number of bids for strikers at the end of the transfer window, they approached Carlton Cole about returning to the club.
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Carlton Cole made 6 starts and 8 appearances as a substitute for West Ham during this short-term contract.
26.
Carlton Cole went on to score four more goals, against Manchester United, Arsenal, Cardiff City and Newcastle United.
27.
Carlton Cole made 23 league appearances in the season, 15 after coming on as a substitute.
28.
On 22 October 2015, Carlton Cole signed for Scottish champions Celtic on a two-year deal lasting until 2017.
29.
On 9 August 2016, Carlton Cole signed for United Soccer League club Sacramento Republic.
30.
On 30 March 2017, Carlton Cole signed for Indonesian club Persib Bandung in the Liga 1.
31.
Carlton Cole only played twice as a starter from his five appearances without scoring a goal.
32.
Carlton Cole was handed a trial by AFC Wimbledon in the beginning of January 2018 and immediately played for their development squad, where he scored a goal in his first game.
33.
However, he was never handed a contract and despite interest from Hull City and Birmingham City, Carlton Cole announced his official retirement on 29 March 2018.
34.
Carlton Cole represented England at youth levels, making five under-19 appearances, two under-20 appearances and 19 under-21 appearances.
35.
Carlton Cole made his debut for the England national team on 11 February 2009 in a friendly match against Spain.
36.
Carlton Cole made seven appearances for England, all from the substitutes' bench, which is, as of June 2021, a national record.
37.
In December 2018, Carlton Cole rejoined West Ham United to work with the club's academy players, providing support to under-18 coaches Jack Collison and Mark Phillips.
38.
Carlton Cole requested that the fine be donated to a Ghanaian charity of his choice.
39.
Carlton Cole accepted the offer to play in Indonesia as it was close to Malaysia, and his wife, Sofea, had returned there to live, in Kuala Lumpur.
40.
Since retiring, Carlton Cole has been a pundit for talkSPORT, currently co-hosting Friday evening show The Sports Bar Weekender.
41.
Carlton Cole's son, Cayden Cole, is a promising centre-back who plays for Hull City's academy.
42.
Carlton Cole has expressed pride in his son's achievements, sharing moments from Cayden's football journey on social media.