Andrew Cole On Manchester United, Eric Cantona And Winning The Treble In 1999

An interview with Andrew Cole, by Callum McFadden for WFi.

In September, you are going to be in the dugout at Old Trafford with Bryan Robson for a legends match against Celtic, how much are you looking forward to that? 

“I can’t wait because I always look forward to catching up with the boys that I played alongside during my time at United and having the opportunity to be together again sharing laughs and jokes is always good fun.”

You have a soft spot for Celtic due to Paul McStay and Danny McGrain, haven’t you?

“I do have a lot of good feeling for Celtic and I have always followed their results since I was young because I have always loved the Celtic kits and I used to enjoy watching the pair of them [Paul and Danny]. Both top-class footballers in their own right.”

You joined Manchester United in 1995 from Newcastle United. One of the star players at that time was Eric Cantona. What was it like playing alongside him and how would you describe his presence in the dressing room?

“Eric was cool. His presence at Manchester United was absolutely huge and rightly so because he was a brilliant footballer who achieved so much at the club.

“He had such a great aura around him and in the dressing room, he was very good at speaking when he needed to but otherwise, he was very quiet. Eric used to do all of his talking on the football pitch and he was a natural leader as soon as we crossed the line to start a game.

“On the pitch, he used to always talk a lot particularly when I was playing alongside him which helped me when I initially joined the club.

“I enjoyed playing with him and I learned so much from him as well as the other players that were at the club because we had such a strong team with big personalities from Roy Keane to Eric and others.”

I interviewed Dwight Yorke a few years ago and he spoke about the natural partnership that you had together as strikers. How would you describe your strike partnership with Dwight?

“I would 100 per cent agree that it was a natural partnership because I knew where Yorkie would be and he knew where I would be. We played like we were in sync.

“The great thing with Yorkie is that we always had a laugh off the field together but as soon as it was time to play a game then we would go into a different mindset.

“Just as I said with Eric, I enjoyed playing with him and we got on well straight away as he came into Manchester United from Aston Villa so like me, he was brought into the club rather than being someone who was already there for years prior to me signing.

“Every dressing room has big egos but Yorkie had a unique personality in the sense that he could have a laugh and a joke with anyone and cut any tense atmosphere that we may have had before a big game.

“You need players and personalities like that when you have so many winners in a dressing room with big egos so Yorkie was very good for me as a striker partner, for the team on the pitch but also for the dressing room as a whole.”

In terms of the 1999 season itself, there were many decisive moments as the club secured a historic Treble. Gary Neville talks about the importance of your goal against Tottenham to secure the league title from that season, thanks to an assist from him. What was it like being a Manchester United player in the ‘99 season?

“Before I answer that, I’m always telling Gary that his pass that day was the best ball that he ever played into me and it was such a wild pass that it is still around my neck, you know (laughs).

“However, in all seriousness, playing a part in what the team achieved in 1999 is an experience that I will never forget and it is something that I’ll never get tired of being asked or talking about because the feelings that winning the Treble brought are just so hard to explain.

“We felt on top of the world because we had made history for Manchester United and for English football as being the first side to ever win the treble. It was an amazing achievement.

“People will now point to the fact that Manchester City have now equalled that achievement and fair play to them but you cannot be greater than the first team to have achieved something of that magnitude so, for me, our treble season will always go down as the better treble season without any doubt.”

What are your memories of winning the Champions League final of 1999 against Bayern Munich at Camp Nou?

“I will never forget how much of a rollercoaster that game was.

“From the moment that we went a goal down early into the match, it was just a case plugging away and remembering at the back of our minds that in the 1999 season up until that point, we had played many games when we went behind first but that we had a desire and a feeling that we’ would always score at some stage.

“We might not have gone on to win all of those games that we were behind in but we knew that we would always score at some stage.

“Even when I got taken off as we were still trailing 1-0 to Bayern, I was always of the thought process and mindset that we would score because Manchester United always score.

“Then, for us to get the two goals that we did late into stoppage time just epitomised what we were about under Sir Alex. We were never out of any game.

“I’ve also said many times that the goals from Ole and Teddy might be the two scruffiest goals in Champions League history but we did not care one bit because winning the Champions League was a dream come true for the manager, for us as players and for our supporters in the stadium that night or at home in Manchester.

“Even now, I still feel fortunate to have won a tournament that I have been watching since I was a kid and still watch now. It was very special.

“In all honesty, I believe that we should have won it more than once because we had the quality within our team to go on to win the Champions League a few more times but we just needed that little bit more luck to do so like we had in the Champions League final of ‘99.”

During your six years at Manchester United, you won nine major trophies including five Premier League titles in addition to the Champions League. How do you reflect on your time at the club overall?

“Manchester United is my team so I was more than happy to be able to achieve what I achieved at the club.

“When you retire, you have that little bit more time to reminisce about things and I always look back with great memories of playing at Manchester United.

“I loved it. I loved everything about it. I loved the supporters and everyone around the club. It was a family-orientated club as well and that is what made it extra special.

“Across the club, we all got on well, our kids got on well and everyone on the staff around the club was phenomenal.

“I used to enjoy sitting and having a cup of tea with the woman who took care of our laundry and having a laugh and joke with them. They were as much a part of the club as the players were. That was the ethos of Manchester United.

“Those moments are the kind of days that I miss, knowing that you are all in it together, you win together and lose together while knowing that no one was more important than anybody else.”

Remarkably, the only trophy that you did not win with Manchester United was the League Cup. However, you left Manchester United in 2001 for Blackburn Rovers and won the League Cup in your first season at Ewood Park. You also score the winning goal in the final against Tottenham. How special was that moment and you look back at your career? 

“I was absolutely buzzing to win the League Cup because it was the only domestic trophy that I had not won in my career so I was desperate to win it.

“So, to be able to win it when I was at Blackburn and play a major part in the final itself was a great feeling because that topped everything off for me.

“I really enjoyed my time at Blackburn. I’ve always stressed that I would have ended my career at Blackburn if I hadn’t had such a tough time with the manager there at that time.

“I hate it when I hear players now saying that there is more to football than winning trophies because I disagree completely. You play football to win silverware and create memories that will last a lifetime. Winning is what it is all about.”

You are the fourth all-time top scorer in Premier League history which is remarkable given that you did not take penalties. Do you believe that your goalscoring record gets the credit that it deserves and do you ever think about how many goals you could have scored if you had taken penalties? 

“I know, for sure, that my record doesn’t get too much credit because there seems to be a delight in certain quarters to paper over it and talk about others that are above me in the list.

“I do look at some of the stuff said and laugh at it now because I am at a position in my life whereby it doesn’t bother me anymore because I know how good I was and what I achieved.

“Sure, when I was playing, it used to cheese me off quite a bit but now, I’m like if people want to dismiss me as if I wasn’t a very good player, well that is entirely up to them, but my record is not padded with any penalties or anything like that. I think that there should be a little bit more respect put on my name, definitely.”

What do you believe was the key to scoring so many goals for you?

“Oh, man, that is a very tough question.

“I would say that it was a determination to just keep running into dangerous areas time and time again.

“You know, even if I missed a good opportunity, my mindset was just to keep running into the penalty area for the next opportunity because if you keep going in there you’re going to score more opportunities than you miss.

“As a striker, you are always going to get a little bit of flack if you miss a chance but thankfully, that was not the case too often for me.”

Finally, Andrew, as we discussed at the start of our chat, you are involved in the work of the Manchester United Foundation. How proud are you to be associated with the foundation and what they give back to the local community in Manchester and beyond?

“I am very proud that the foundation wants me to be involved because they do so much inspiring work that helps those in need.

“It is a special organisation that continues to thrive and I have no doubt that I will continue to do so in the years ahead with the support that we have from the club and from former players across the board.”