Roy Hodgson's eight signings at Liverpool ranked: Who was the worst?

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LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 03: Joe Cole of Liverpool during the Barclays Premier League match between Liverpool and Blackpool at Anfield on October 3, 2010 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /

1. Joe Cole///free///Chelsea

The day Liverpool signed Joe Cole on a free, I was overjoyed. I thought (one of the many times I would over the next three years) that it was the type of signing that’d help lead the club back to prominence.

How wrong was I? The worst part, it was painfully obvious I, and many others, was wrong about Cole after his infamous red card on his debut against Arsenal. His next home match? Missed penalty in the Europa League. Unluckehhhhh.

Lucas Leiva saying 'unlucky' will never not make me laugh pic.twitter.com/Nnh2QppUPI
— Tim Henderson (@_timhenderson_) April 19, 2016

Cole was on huge wages and only started 23 matches in his maiden season at Anfield, his only full one. He scored three goals that season, not nearly what anyone expected of the player.

Next: Luis Suarez’s Top 21 Liverpool Goals

Liverpool loaned Cole to Lille the next season before taking him back in 2012-13 for the first half, and then was sent to West Ham for free PLUS some help paying his contract. Liverpool paid Cole to play for another club. It’s thought to have saved the club a further £3m over the next 18 months, though.

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Roy Hodgson’s eight signings at Liverpool ranked: Who was the worst?

By Tom Bogert | Apr 26, 2016