Cod Almighty | Article
by Andy Holt
28 July 2006
This 22-year-old pacy striker/winger had a season of two halves in 2005-06. Cohen was signed by Russell Slade on loan from Gretna last June before the move was made permanent on the final day of January's transfer window.
During the first half of the season he was Mr Dependable, playing his heart out, either up front, on the right wing, or even as a makeshift right-back. He got battered in many games, seemingly the brunt of every team's overly physical challenges. But, to his credit, he kept on going. Our very own cross between between a Weeble and the Duracell bunny. A Duracell Weeble, if you will. If CA had run a 'player who put in the most effort in the first half of the season' award it would have gone to him.
But then his contract became permanent and in an instant he became the new Menno Willems. He just seemed to stop. It was a vicious circle of not being able to do anything leading to not trying to do anything leading to not being able to do anything. In the second half of the season he was pretty much anonymous. He scored six goals in 25 appearances before the turn of the year, and no goals in 23 afterwards. I can't help wondering who was Delilah to Cohen's Samson.
Our Gazza suffered from being one of Slade's triangular pegs, unable to really fit into the round holes or the square ones. Too often he was just played where needed and so never had a chance to get going and show us what he could do up front. He is a striker first and foremost, I think, but his pace means he always be seen as a utility winger. Sometimes a lack of knowledge of that position rears its head though, and he'll be pretty much non-existent.
In 2006-07 Cohen may find himself fourth choice forward behind Reddy, the Lump and the Prophet. He proved in his time at Workington that there are goals in him, but thanks to the three in front of him and a current lack of numbers in midfield he'll be played mainly as a right winger or from the bench and won't get a fair crack up front. Let's just hope he can grow into that right wing role and start this season as he started the last.
He's been totally absent from all the pre-season games up to this point, with not much news emanating from BP as to why. I guess he's injured. Either that or he's being protected pending the final leg of protracted negotiations to take him to an unnamed Scottish Premiership club. It's what all the cool kids are doing. Yeah, OK, he's injured.