Carlton Cole

Carlton Cole is a former Premier League striker and football broadcaster who played for Chelsea, West Ham United, Celtic and England. He now combines media work with a role developing young players at West Ham, and he brings both perspectives to after-dinner speeches and audience Q&A sessions.

Born in Croydon, Carlton came through the youth system at Chelsea and made his first-team debut there in the early 2000s. Loan spells at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic and Aston Villa followed before he joined West Ham in 2006. Across two spells at the club he made 293 appearances and scored 68 goals. In the 2011-12 season he scored 15 Championship goals, and he opened the scoring in the 2012 play-off final against Blackpool at Wembley, which West Ham won 2-1 in front of 78,523 people to return to the Premier League.

Carlton won seven England caps between 2009 and 2010, having earlier played at under-19, under-20 and under-21 level, where he made 19 appearances. After leaving West Ham in 2015 he played for Celtic, Sacramento Republic in the United States and Persib Bandung in Indonesia before retiring in 2018. That range of clubs and countries gives him plenty to say about adapting to new cultures and managing the end of a playing career.

In December 2018 he returned to West Ham to work with the academy, and he now works as the club's Loans and Pathway Manager and a mentor to young professionals, guiding them through loan moves and the step into senior football. He also serves as an ambassador for the club.

As a broadcaster Carlton is a regular on talkSPORT's Friday night Sports Bar and has worked as a pundit for the BBC, Sky Sports and TNT Sports. He has worked commercially with brands including giffgaff, Nivea and Carling.

On stage Carlton mixes dressing-room stories from Chelsea and West Ham with honest reflections on setbacks, loyalty and life after football. His relaxed, humorous style suits sports dinners, corporate hospitality and fan events, and he is equally at home answering audience questions in a hosted Q&A.