Arriving at Palace on Saturday, I was stunned to hear that Paul Cook had gone on loan to Wigan with a view to a permanent move. The fact that Stan had made him captain during Steve Davis' absence seemed to imply that he held him high regard and he had a future at the club, despite having turned 34 last summer. On Monday Stan issued a statement saying that Cooky wanted a new contract when his current one runs out next summer, and Stan couldn't offer him one at this stage. This sounds perfectly reasonable; however, there have also been rumours of a verbal disagreement, and the rapidity of the departure might appear to back this up.
With my impeccable sense of timing I had sent an article to Firmo on Friday regarding Paul Cook and his contribution over the last two and a half years to Burnley's success. Much of it is reproduced below as part of a tribute to his efforts, as I don't think he'll be back to play for the Clarets again.
In my opinion, I think that Paul Cook has, up to now, been Stan's best free signing. That puts him at the head of a list of very good players: Arthur Gnohere (who may well surpass Cooky in the next year or so), Mitchell Thomas, Kevin Ball, Lee Briscoe, Dean West, Gareth Taylor, Nik the Greek and last, but by no means least, Ian Wright.
Since his arrival for the game at home to Preston, when Kurt Nogan scored the only goal of the game, Burnley have only been on the up. From 21st in Division Two and staring at relegation to the footballing basement, the Clarets have climbed to the summit of the First Division and the possibility of Premiership football. (As Stan pointed out after Saturday's win at Palace, we haven't won anything yet this season, not even safety from relegation).
Paul Cook's influence on that rise was very significant. So much so that, as well as being made captain recently, the fans realised what a crucial part of the team he was, and finally gave him the recognition he deserved when departing for the usual second half substitution. During his early days at Burnley he was thought of as a 'luxury' player who could occasionally hit the killer ball to open up a defence, but was viewed as lazy, gave the ball away too often and didn't work hard enough. (As someone recently pointed out, Clarets fans will always love a poorer player who tries hard more than a gifted player who flits in and out of games but is capable of winning matches.) To call Cooky a 'luxury' player more recently would be an insult, as I don't believe anybody worked harder for the team than he did. To play as a full back behind him must have been a joy, as he helped out defensively at every opportunity and was always available to receive the ball. Also, if the full back decided to go forward, he knew that Cook would quietly drop in to cover any gaps.
As well as his commitment and attitude, his intelligence and vision as a footballer were unquestionable. Take the second goal at Coventry, where everybody expected a strike at goal and he rolled the ball to Glen for him to score. Cool and calm when it mattered, he was also the man that Stan often passed his instructions to during the game. A leader on the pitch, he never hid when things got tough, and you wonder why a player playing so well in the First Division at the age of 34 only had one season in the Premiership with Coventry. Even more so, why he would want to step down from the top of the First Division to a struggling Second Division side? Somewhere along the way his talent did obviously go astray, as he went from Coventry to Tranmere and then Stockport, and hardly caused a ripple in the footballing backwaters before Stan threw him a lifeline. It was hardly an inspiring signing as we struggled to avoid relegation, and certainly the other loanee, Tom Cowan, became more of a favourite with the crowd.
Not many of the team from that Preston game survive at the club today. Of the twelve that actually featured that day, Crichton, Brass, Eastwood, Pickering, Mellon and Cowan have all gone; Payton, Armstrong and Branch are no longer regular features in the team; and only Davis and Little have survived as first team regulars. In between, several players we would have considered to have more of a future have come and gone, Alan Lee and John Mullin to name a couple. Somehow, Cooky remained in favour, and given his performances right up until his departure, rightly so.
Does this all mean that he is he a better player than when he joined the Clarets? I very much doubt that at his age his ability improved , but his fitness vastly improved, he looked stronger and his attitude and determination seemed to improve his performances. For too long, Paul Cook's contributions to Burnley's success were underrated. Only in his last few games did the fans realise what a good player he was and gave him some applause.
To round off, I checked Rothmans' Football Yearbooks for the last three years to look up the facts of Cooky's Burnley career, and up until the start of this season, the record with Paul Cook in the side is as follows:
Played 96, Won 49, Drawn 27, Lost 20.
Without him it was:
Played 8, Won 2, Drawn 1, Lost 5.
He was also an ever present this season. Statistics don't always tell a full story, and there are probably still many Burnley supporters that slated him throughout his time at Turf Moor and are glad to see the back of him. Hopefully most will appreciate his talent and what he did for the club, and wish him all the best in his future career. You could say that he has now become a victim of our success, much like Andy Cooke, Alan Lee and John Mullin - but that's progress for you.
