Potential can be a cruel word

There were more stories in Thursday's papers about Carlton Cole finally realizing his potential as a striker in the Premiership. When I think of the pressure of having one's potential broadcast at a young age, I always think of two baseball players: Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. They were young, superstar teammates with the New York Mets in the mid-1980s. Drugs and alcohol derailed their careers, especially in the case of Strawberry. As Cole says, that potential often was stunted by a lack of first-team chances, and when those chances came, he often was not 100% fit. Injuries and, he acknowledges, some unspecified personal habits both stood in the way of his previous form. Given that he was a next-big-thing with Chelsea as an 18-year-old, I'm going to guess that those unspecified personal habits were birds, booze and late nights. His habits must not have reached the extent of that of Gooden and Strawberry, who were suspended and fell afoul of the law several times each. Injuries to Dean Ashton, Craig Bellamy and Bobby Zamora have left Cole as the only option up front, and he is taking advantage of the opportunity, so far.

Update: This story in the Times, which I did not see till this morning (Nov. 2), quotes manager Alan Curbishley on how the managerial staff challenged Cole to improve his fitness over the summer in order to ensure that he would be ready if opportunity came knocking.