Cole playing for Stevenage |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mitchell James Cole[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 6 October 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | London, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Biggleswade Town | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2003 | Norwich City | ||
| 2003–2004 | West Ham United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2004–2005 | Grays Athletic | 35 | (5) |
| 2005–2007 | Southend United | 33 | (1) |
| 2006 | → Northampton Town (loan) | 8 | (1) |
| 2007–2010 | Stevenage | 121 | (20) |
| 2010–2011 | Oxford United | 4 | (0) |
| 2011 | Stotfold | 2 | (0) |
| 2011 | Hitchin Town | 11 | (1) |
| 2011– | Biggleswade Town | 6 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2005–2009 | England C | 14 | (7) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:00, 2 January 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Mitchell James Cole (born 6 October 1985) is an English footballer who plays for Biggleswade Town. Cole was forced to retire from professional football in 2011 as a result of a deteriorating heart condition that meant it was dangerous for him to continue playing competitive football.
Cole started his career at West Ham United, but was released in 2004. He joined Grays Athletic shortly after, and enjoyed a successful season with the club – winning the Conference South title, as well as the FA Trophy. He joined Southend United in 2005, spending a year and a half at the club before signing for Stevenage for an undisclosed fee in January 2007.
Cole's tenure at Stevenage was a successsful one, scoring in the first ever competitive final at the new Wembley Stadium as Stevenage beat Kidderminster Harriers to lift the FA Trophy in May 2007. He also helped the club on the way to winning the FA Trophy once again in May 2009. Cole was part of the club's successful 2009–10 campaign, as Stevenage secured promotion to the Football League for the first time in the club's history. In June 2010, Cole signed for League Two side Oxford United, playing a handful of games before retiring from professional football in February 2011. Ahead of the 2011–12 campaign, Cole played for Stotfold, playing one competitive game for the club in August 2011. Shortly after, he joined Hitchin Town of the Southern League Premier Division, but was released by the club in November 2011. He subsequently signed for Southern Football League side Biggleswade Town.
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Born in London, Cole started his football career at Norwich City's centre of excellence, based in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire.[3] When the centre was closed, Cole joined West Ham United's academy.[3]
Cole was quickly snapped up by Mark Stimson, who managed Essex outfit Grays Athletic.[4] He impressed during the 2004–05 season and helped Grays achieve promotion from the Conference South to the Conference National, scoring five goals in 35 appearances in the process.[5] Cole also started in the FA Trophy Final against Hucknall Town at Villa Park in the same season; a game in which Grays won on penalties.[6] Cole's performances did not go unnoticed and he subsequently signed for Essex neighbours Southend United in July 2005 for an undisclosed fee.[7] He made his Southend debut in the club's opening game of the 2005–06 season, starting in a 2–1 defeat against Port Vale at Roots Hall.[8] He continued to impress under manager Steve Tilson and featured in 31 games for the club in the same season.[9][10] He scored his only Southend goal in a 3–1 win over rivals Colchester United,[11] and helped Southend achieve promotion to the Championship.[12]
The following season, Cole became increasingly frustrated with the lack of first-team appearances at the beginning of Southend's 2006–07 Championship campaign, and was subsequently loaned out to Northampton Town for a month.[13] Cole made his Northampton debut in a 3–1 defeat against Tranmere Rovers at Sixfields.[14] After extending his loan deal for a further month,[15] Cole went on to make seven more appearances for the Midlands based outfit, scoring one goal against Millwall in a 1–0 win.[16] He returned to Southend in November 2006, and made three more appearances for the club before his run was curtailed by injury.[17] Cole found it increasingly hard to break into the first team, and joined Conference National side Stevenage for a five-figure fee in January 2007.[18]
He made his Stevenage debut as a substitute in a 1–1 draw at Stonebridge Road against Ebbsfleet United.[19] Cole went on to make 22 more appearances during the 2006–07 season, scoring three times for the Hertfordshire side.[20] Despite narrowly missing out on the play-offs, Cole helped guide Stevenage to FA Trophy success in May 2007. He scored Stevenage's first goal in a 3–2 win in the final over Kidderminster Harriers at Wembley Stadium.[21] The following season, Cole struggled with a persistent knee injury,[22] but still managed to make 26 appearances for the first-team.[23] The 2008–09 season witnessed an injury-free season for Cole, who enjoyed his most fruitful season to date under manager Graham Westley, scoring twelve times from midfield - including his first competitive hat-trick in a 4–2 win away at Salisbury City.[24][25] In April 2009, Cole pledged his future to Stevenage by signing a two-year contract extension at Broadhall Way.[26]
During the 2009–10 season, Cole was less prolific in front of goal throughout the first half of the season - scoring his first goal of the season in a 2–0 victory over Kidderminster Harriers in December 2009.[27] He also showed his versatility when he was forced to play two games at left-back as opposed to his usual left wing position in January 2010.[28] He scored his second professional hat-trick for Stevenage the following month, in a 6–0 win away at Eastbourne Borough - coming on as a substitute in the 71st minute and scoring his three goals in seven minutes.[29] Although Cole struggled for fitness for parts of the season, he still featured in 42 games, scoring four goals – as Stevenage won promotion to the Football League for the first time in the club's history.[30][31][32]
In June 2010, Cole joined newly-promoted League Two team Oxford United on a two-year contract.[33] He made his Oxford debut in the club's 2–1 home defeat against Bury on 14 August 2010, coming on as a 81st minute substitute.[34] Cole started his first game for Oxford ten days later, playing 45 minutes in the club's 1–0 League Cup defeat to West Ham.[35] Cole played a total of six games for Oxford in all competitions, with his last appearance coming in a 3–2 defeat to Macclesfield Town on 16 October 2010.[36]
In February 2011, Cole's career ended prematurely when Oxford United announced that he had been forced to retire due to a serious heart condition.[37] His condition is known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an irregular thickness of the heart in certain areas.[38] During his time at West Ham, at the age of 17, Cole discovered he had a heart condition, but continued to play as his condition gradually improved.[39] However, in November 2010, Cole began to suffer from shortness of breath during training and matches, and was subsequently advised by a leading cardiologist to stop playing competitive football to avoid the risk of a serious heart episode.[39] On retiring, Cole said "It's like being hit by a ton of bricks because football is all I've ever known. I've managed to get eight years out of the professional game which I am extremely happy with".[39]
Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Cole played in a number of pre-season friendlies for Stotfold of the Spartan South Midlands League. He played in the club's first competitive game of the season, a 2–0 home win over Oxhey Jets.[40][41] Two days later, on 15 August 2011, Cole joined Hitchin Town on non-contract terms, who play in the Southern League Premier Division.[42] He made his debut for the club on the same day, playing 65 minutes in Hitchin's 3–0 home victory against Hemel Hempstead Town.[43] Due to the fact that Cole signed for Hitchin on a non-contract basis, he played in Stotfold's 2–1 home win against St. Margaretsbury the following day.[44] Cole scored his first goal for Hitchin in a 3–1 away victory over Bedford Town on 29 August, beating goalkeeper Ian Brown at the second time of asking.[45] He was released by Hitchin on 17 November 2011.[46] Cole made 14 appearances for the club, scoring once.[47]
Shortly after leaving Hitchin Town, Cole joined Biggleswade Town, who play in the Division One Central of the Southern League. He made his debut for the club on 19 November, coming on as a substitute in a 1–1 home draw with Slough Town.[48]
Cole was called up to the England C team, who represent England at non-League level, at the age of 17, in February 2005, for a friendly against Holland.[49] He was then chosen to represent his country for the Four Nations Tournament hosted in Scotland in May 2007.[50] He scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win in the opening fixture against a Republic of Ireland XI,[51] and ended as the tournament's top scorer after scoring his fourth goal a 3–0 win against Wales.[52] He continued his fine form for the England C side, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Finland C in June 2007.[53] He added to his tally when he scored the winning goal in both games against Wales XI and Gibraltar in 2008.[54][55] Cole was subsequently called up for the England C tour of the Caribbean in June 2008,[56] in which Cole played both games against Grenada and Barbados respectively.[57][58] In the 2008–09 season, Cole played in the 6–2 defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina A team.[59] He also made further appearances against Italy C and Malta in the same season.[60]
Cole has two children with his fiancee, who is the sister of fellow professional footballer and England international Joe Cole.[61]
| Club | Season | League[A] | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[B] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Grays Athletic |
|
35 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 43 | 6 |
| Total | 35 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 43 | 6 | |
| Southend United |
|
29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 |
|
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 1 | |
| Northampton Town |
|
8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Total | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | |
| Stevenage |
|
19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 3 |
|
|
26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 2 | |
|
|
42 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 50 | 13 | |
|
|
33 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 42 | 4 | |
| Total | 121 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 140 | 22 | |
| Oxford United |
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Stotfold |
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Hitchin Town |
|
11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| Total | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 1 | |
| Biggleswade Town |
|
6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Total | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
| Career totals | 227 | 29 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 3 | 258 | 32 | |