Sean Cole

Sean Cole

Writer

Sean Cole is a freelance journalist. He has written for FourFourTwo, BBC Sport and When Saturday Comes among others. A Birmingham City supporter and staunch Nikola Zigic advocate, he once scored a hat-trick at St. Andrew’s (in a half-time game). He also has far too many football shirts and spends far too much time reading the Wikipedia pages of obscure players.

Latest articles by Sean Cole

Silhouette of the Premier League trophy
Quiz! Can you name every player inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame?

By Sean Cole Last updated

Quiz! So far, 23 of the competition's all-time greats have been recognised with a spot in the Hall of Fame

Quiz!
10 most shocking defeats for English clubs in the Champions League

By Steven Chicken Last updated

The group stage offers wriggle room for error - but these Premier League sides' records were still blemished by defeats they'd rather forget...

Lists
Mark Schwarzer in goal for Fulham
Quiz! Can you name the 50 overseas players with the most Premier League appearances?

By Sean Cole Last updated

Quiz! English stalwarts like Gareth Barry, James Milner and Frank Lampard are no use to you here

Quiz!
Premier League kits 2025/26: Everything we know about next season's shirts

By Mark White Last updated

All Premier League kits 2025/26, home, away and third – and what we know about each, from rumours to reports

Stories
'This tournament means a lot to me. As a footballer, the opportunity to be part of it, at 35 years old, is massive. I’m really happy' Salomon Rondon tells FourFourTwo why the Club World Cup means so much more for Pachuca

By Sean Cole Published

Cult Premier League star Salomon Rondon is representing Pachuca at the Club World Cup

Interviews
‘For some reason my third went down as an own goal. Maybe Alex Ferguson had a word because he didn’t like people scoring hat-tricks against his team!’ - Southampton's Egil Ostenstad still feels robbed nearly 30 year

By Steven Chicken Published

Southampton's 6-3 mauling of reigning Premier League champions Manchester United in 1996 was one of the biggest shocks in the division's early years

Interviews
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Jay Stansfield of Birmingham City celebrates his first goal during the Sky Bet League One match between Birmingham City FC and Wrexham AFC at St Andrewís at Knighthead Park on September 16, 2024 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Quiz! Can you name the 30 most expensive signings by Football League clubs?

By Sean Cole Last updated

Quiz! It isn't just Premier League clubs who have been splashing the cash in recent years, as this quiz shows

Quiz!
Wilfried Zaha celebrates another goal for Crystal Palace
Quiz! Can you name the 26 highest-scoring Premier League players by letter of the alphabet?

By Sean Cole Last updated

Quiz! Today's quiz is brought to you by the letters A and Z, plus all the rest in between, as we ask you to name the Premier League's top goalscorers by surname

Quiz!
Xherdan Shaqiri
‘I think I showed I could do it on a cold, rainy night in Stoke many times. It was very windy there and the fans were always behind us – it was a loud stadium’: Xherdan Shaqiri busts the Stoke City myth

By Joe Mewis Published

EXCLUSIVE The Swiss playmaker spent three years debunking the saying that flair players could not perform in Stoke's exacting conditions

EXCLUSIVE
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‘I loved scoring in front of the Kop. Liverpool fans are a big family. If you score against Everton or Man United, people love you and you’re a legend already!’: Xherdan Shaqiri looks back at his Liverpool spell

By Joe Mewis Published

The Swiss playmaker won the Premier League and Champions League during his three years at Liverpool

Stories
Divock Origi
‘A game like beating Barcelona 4-0 might not happen again, so it lasts forever. It’s one of the greatest comebacks in history – the fans believed in us for every second’: Liverpool cult hero recalls historic 2019 Champions League win

By Ryan Dabbs Published

EXCLUSIVE Liverpool beat Barcelona against all odds in 2019 to reach the Champions League final

EXCLUSIVE
Giuseppe Rossi during his time with Manchester United
‘I was scared stiff – he’d kick you in the face or knee you in the back to keep the ball out of the net, but off the pitch he was the nicest guy you’d imagine’: Ex-Manchester United star picks out his best team-mates

By Joe Mewis Published

EXCLUSIVE Though Manchester United proved too much for one individual, he went on to establish himself as an Italy international

EXCLUSIVE
Manchester City unveil new signing Jack Grealish at Manchester City Football Academy on August 05, 2021 in Manchester, England.
Quiz! Can you name the 50 most expensive transfer moves by English players?

By Sean Cole Last updated

Quiz! We're looking for the most expensive English players of all time

Quiz!
A detailed view of the UEFA Europa League Trophy prior to the UEFA Europa League final match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers FC at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on May 18, 2022 in Seville, Spain.
Quiz! Can you name every British club to compete in the Europa League or UEFA Cup?

By Sean Cole Last updated

Quiz! The competition was launched in 1972 and 58 British clubs have taken part so far, including five winners

Quiz!
David Beckham at Real Madrid in 2005
Quiz! Can you name the 50 English players with the most Champions League appearances?

By Sean Cole Last updated

Quiz! The Champions League is perhaps the greatest stage to perform on in world football and these 50 players have felt right at home

Quiz!
‘I joined Salford, initially on loan, from Derby U21s – I may be the only manager who’s ever gone out on loan! I loved the history and where the club came from’: Football League boss recalls bizarre managerial move in 2021

By Ryan Dabbs Published

Salford City bizarrely signed a manager on loan in 2021 as they attempted to turn their League Two fortunes around

Stories
Gareth Southgate on the touchline as England face Malta
Quiz! Can you name the England line-up from Gareth Southgate's first game as manager against Malta in 2016?

By Sean Cole Last updated

Quiz! After Sam Allardyce was forced out, Southgate took charge of the national team for the first time in this World Cup qualifier

Quiz!
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 02: Papiss Cisse of Newcastle scores the opening goal despite the efforts from Branislav Ivanovic (L) and John Terry of Chelsea during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge on May 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
'Pardew showed me a video of Shearer’s goals. Control, bam! Control, turn, bam! I was stunned, then said, "Give me that shirt, I always take number nine"': Newcastle cult hero recalls making confident move upon signing for Magpies 13 years ago

By Ryan Dabbs Published

EXCLUSIVE Newcastle saw the No.9 shirt immediately taken in 2012 by a confident player

EXCLUSIVE
Pep Guardiola kissing the Champions League trophy
Line-up quiz! Can you name the Manchester City line-up from the 2023 Champions League final against Inter Milan?

By Sean Cole Last updated

Quiz! Man City completed the treble and were crowned champions of Europe after beating Inter Milan in Istanbul

Quiz!
A dejected looking John Terry of Chelsea after Papiss Demba Cisse of Newcastle United scores a goal to make it 0-2 (Photo by AMA/Corbis via Getty Images)
'People around the world know me because of my goal at Chelsea. I still can’t explain it, though. Drogba even asked me, 'Who are you? What did you eat?"' Newcastle cult hero Papiss Cisse recalls iconic strike at Stamford Bridge

By Ryan Dabbs Published

EXCLUSIVE Ex-Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse scored two exceptional goals against Chelsea in 2012, but even he 'can't explain' the second strike

EXCLUSIVE
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - JUNE 22: Dries Mertens, Adnan Januzaj, Vincent Kompany, Kevin Mirallas of Belgium celebrates their victory over Russia during the Group H, 2014 World Cup match between Belgium and Russia at The Maracana Stadium on June 22, 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
'People will remember us because we got to No.1 in the world rankings and achieved great things - but our biggest regret is that we didn’t win anything': Ex-Everton star Kevin Mirallas opens up on 'honour' of being part of nation's golden generation

By Ryan Dabbs Published

EXCLUSIVE Belgium failed to win anything with their golden generation, but ranked at No.1 for a number of years

EXCLUSIVE
‘Bryan Robson took us to Florida to unwind before 2005’s Great Escape, then results changed’ to this day Robert Earnshaw admits he has no idea how West Brom avoided relegation 20 years ago having been bottom at Christmas

By Matthew Ketchell Published

No team in Premier League history had ever been bottom at Christmas and stayed up until West Brom managed it

Interviews
Jude Bellingham celebrating a goal against Napoli in the Champions League
Quiz! Can you name every club to have finished top of a Champions League group?

By Sean Cole Published

Quiz! Clubs from Europe's biggest leagues dominate this list, alongside some relative minnows and surprise packages

Quiz!
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JANUARY 15: David Moyes, manager of Everton, looks on prior to the Premier League match between Everton FC and Aston Villa FC at Goodison Park on January 15, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
‘Moyes gave me a lot of confidence at Everton. He was strict and more direct, but I liked that. We could argue one day, then the next day everything was fine’: Ex-Toffees star reveals how Scottish manager operated during first spell at Goodison Park

By Ryan Dabbs Published

David Moyes is back for his second spell as manager at Everton

Stories
Manchester City unveil new signing Jack Grealish at Manchester City Football Academy on August 05, 2021 in Manchester, England.
Quiz! Can you name the 50 most expensive transfer moves by English players?

By Sean Cole Published

Quiz! We're looking for the most expensive English players of all time

Quiz!
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