Andy Cole, Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker were all in complete agreement over one “fantastic” former player that Sir Alex Ferguson wanted at Manchester United.
The 52-year-old Manchester United legend had a prolific spell at Newcastle in the 1990s before Sir Alex Ferguson brought him to Old Trafford in 1995.
Andy Cole had a sensational playing career at United and the former Red Devils striker lifted five Premier League titles, a Champions League and two FA Cups.
The ex-United star forged an incredible strike partnership with fellow club legend Dwight Yorke and the pair were a key part of the iconic 1999 treble-winning side.
Cole scored an impressive 121 times during his 275 appearances for the Red Devils before he left Old Trafford in 2001 and signed for Blackburn Rovers.
The former England international, who retired from football in 2008, was announced as an inductee into the Premier League Hall of Fame last month.
Cole was part of the three-man class of 2024 in the Premier League Hall of Fame alongside Chelsea legends John Terry and Ashley Cole.
Ashley Cole was announced as an automatic Hall of Fame inductee in March, while United legend Cole and John Terry came out on top in a 15-man shortlist.
Cole, Shearer and Lineker agree on ‘fantastic’ ex-player
Andy Cole appeared on The Rest Is Football podcast alongside Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker after he took his place in the Premier League Hall of Fame.
The former Manchester United striker reflected on his career and opened up about his time at Newcastle ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson making a move for him.
Cole credited his development as a striker to former Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan and how he ‘flipped the light switch on’ in his head.
The Premier League Hall of Famer also opened up about his relationship with Peter Beardsley, who was brought in as Cole’s strike partner after David Kelly was sold.
Cole played alongside David Kelly at Newcastle in Division One and Kevin Keegan turned to Peter Beardsley after the club were promoted to the Premier League.
“I think it’s always been there [the desire to score],” he said.
“When I went to Newcastle [I adjusted] the way Kevin wanted me to play, that’s when it really kicked in. Because I think we all know what Kevin is like when it comes to playing centre-forward, scoring goals, running around.
“And he just drilled into me, ‘Look, Coley, I don’t want you to come outside the 18-yard box,’ so I think that kind of flipped the switch.
“If you don’t want me to do that, then okay, no problem. […] I remember I played with David Kelly and then Newcastle got promoted to the Premier League and he bought in Peter Beardsley and, for me, that was fantastic. It was a great honour to play with Peter.”
Responding to the Beardsley admission, Lineker said: “Well, the three of us have something in common. We’ve all enjoyed playing with Peter.”
Ferguson wanted Beardsley at Man Utd
Beardsley was at United during the 1980s and failed to make his mark at Old Trafford, with the former player signing for Newcastle in 1983 for his first spell.
The 63-year-old former England international signed for Everton in 1991 and during his spell at the club he caught the eye of Ferguson.
Ferguson admitted that he was keen on bringing Beardsley back to Old Trafford, but a rare opening allowed him to sign Eric Cantona from Leeds United instead.
“Dion Dublin broke his leg against Palace,” he said, as per ESPN in 2013.
“So, we started scouring about trying to get someone in.
“Peter Beardsley wasn’t really playing for Everton at the time, so I went to Martin Edwards’ office and said, ‘Why don’t we try to sign Peter Beardsley?’
“When I was in there the phone went, it was Bill Fotherby from Leeds asking if we’d sell Dennis Irwin. During the call, I wrote Cantona’s name on his pad. They said they would come back to us in half an hour.
“Half an hour to discuss a player like Cantona? Something like that should have taken five days. I knew there was something up and they came back to us and said they’d sell him for £1m.
“We signed him the next day.”
