West Ham boss Zola delighted to have Cole fit and scoring
West Ham United boss Gianfranco Zola admits it's a huge lilt to have Carlton Cole fit and scoring goals.
Cole was on the scoresheet in the 3-0 triumph over Hull City.
Zola told whufc.com: "It is a big boost to have him back, absolutely. Carlton is such an important player for us. He gives the team a different dimension but I must say that the whole team performed very well. It has been a team performance.
"If we had Carlton [in December and January] it would have been a big thing for us. You can see when he is in the team, we always pose a threat but he also affects the team defensively. It has also been massive losing Guillermo Franco for a while. He is a player that sometimes doesn't take all the credit he deserves.
"He works so intelligently and his link-up play between Coley and the midfielders is fantastic. It is crucial to keep him fit. It is important that we have him. We are looking better. Don't forget we have players like Benni McCarthy out as well."
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Results & Fixtures
Matches
| Home | Away | Score | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri Feb 17th | |||
| Reading | Burnley | - | 20:00 |
| Sat Feb 18th | |||
| Crystal Palace | Watford | - | 15:00 |
| Leeds United | Doncaster Rovers | - | 15:00 |
| Hull City | Brighton & Hove Albion | - | 15:00 |
| Millwall | Middlesbrough | - | 15:00 |
| Peterborough United | Bristol City | - | 15:00 |
| Barnsley | Portsmouth | - | 15:00 |
| Ipswich Town | Cardiff City | - | 15:00 |
| Reading | Burnley | - | 15:00 |
| Nottingham Forest | Coventry City | - | 15:00 |
| Southampton | Derby County | - | 15:00 |
| Blackpool | West Ham United | - | 15:00 |
| Leicester City | Birmingham City | - | 15:00 |
| Tue Feb 21st | |||
| Millwall | Middlesbrough | - | 19:45 |
| Blackpool | West Ham United | - | 20:00 |
| Wed Feb 22nd | |||
| Hull City | Brighton & Hove Albion | - | 19:45 |
| Tue Mar 13th | |||
| Leicester City | Birmingham City | - | 19:45 |
Tables
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Ham United | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 16 | 57 |
| Southampton | 31 | 16 | 8 | 7 | 22 | 56 |
| Cardiff City | 31 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 14 | 53 |
| Blackpool | 31 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 52 |
| Birmingham City | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 20 | 51 |
| Reading | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 51 |
| Hull City | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 50 |
| Middlesbrough | 30 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 50 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 31 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 49 |
| Burnley | 31 | 14 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 47 |
| Leeds United | 31 | 13 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 45 |
| Leicester City | 31 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 42 |
| Derby County | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | -4 | 42 |
| Crystal Palace | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | -1 | 40 |
| Watford | 31 | 10 | 10 | 11 | -7 | 40 |
| Barnsley | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | -6 | 39 |
| Ipswich Town | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | -10 | 37 |
| Portsmouth | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 1 | 35 |
| Peterborough United | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | -4 | 34 |
| Millwall | 31 | 7 | 10 | 14 | -11 | 31 |
| Bristol City | 31 | 8 | 7 | 16 | -19 | 31 |
| Coventry City | 31 | 6 | 7 | 18 | -16 | 25 |
| Nottingham Forest | 30 | 7 | 4 | 19 | -25 | 25 |
| Doncaster Rovers | 29 | 6 | 6 | 17 | -24 | 24 |
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Comments (1)
It was apity that the news (true or otherwise) of pay cuts came out in the way it did, but we have the players to do what is needed to consolidate our current position in the league in spite of the tough games we face shortly. Recent results prove this.
I hope that we can put the bad tase of the problems related to the Millwall match behind us and get back to our reputation as a truly 'family club'. I see closely associated with this philosophy our Youth Academy. Seeing 'home grown' local lads such as Mark Noble graduate into the first team promotes the family ethos this great club has always been proud of.
Although fans in other clubs clamour for big name signings my pride comes from seeing lads from our youth academy making good, even if they eventually leave us. I look back at names like, Bobby Moore, Harry Rednap, Trevor Brooking, Joe Cole, Rio and Anton Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and so many others who have passed through our academy with pride. And we still have former academy graduates such as Tony Carr and Paul Heffer still working in the youth academy producing more players to graduate into the first team and other top teams.
This is the way a truly family orientated club should operate!
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