Fast Forward: The Autobiography: The Hard Road to Football Success

· Hodder & Stoughton · Narrated by Theo Solomon
Audiobook
9 hr 10 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook

Fast Forward is a thought-provoking and gripping autobiography about Andrew Cole's determination to succeed against all the odds.

Misconceptions have stalked Andrew Cole like a hatchet-man defender determined to cut him down to size. In the world of modern-day football, his reserved demeanour was often interpreted as surly intransigence. Alongside an aptitude for goalscoring, it was widely believed, ran an attitude problem. In Fast Forward, a candid and inspirational autobiography, Cole finally puts his side of the story.

The son of a Windrush-generation Jamaican miner from a humble background in Nottingham, he was viewed as a one-man awkward squad by George Graham and Jimmy Hill before Kevin Keegan identified him as the man to bring goals to Newcastle.

However, only when Alex Ferguson, his 'second father', took him to Manchester United did Cole begin to belie his image, amassing goals, medals and England caps. Two decades on from United's historic Treble, he reveals the inside track on Eric Cantona and David Beckham, Roy Keane and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer .

After a career spent challenging assumptions and adversity, he had to summon fresh reserves of resilience to battle illness and depression.

(P) 2019 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

About the author

Andrew Cole was born in Nottingham in 1971. His career began at Arsenal but having made only a handful of first team appearances he went out on loan, firstly to Fulham and then to Bristol City.

In 1992, he made a permanent move to Bristol, and having scored over 20 goals in a matter of months he was signed by Newcastle, where he became a hugely popular figure, scoring a club record 41 goals in the 1993/94 season.

In January 1995, Cole was signed by Manchester United. At Old Trafford, he went on to have an outstanding seven years, scoring 121 goals in 275 games, winning five Premier League titles, two F.A Cups and the Champions League.

In late 2001, Cole signed for Blackburn Rovers where he won the League Cup before finishing his career at a number of clubs including Manchester City and Sunderland. He retired in 2008 having scored 187 Premier League goals (a feat only bettered by Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney). In 2015, Cole suffered renal failure and two years later he had a kidney transplant.

He now enjoys his role as club ambassador at Manchester United.

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