Michael Wade Cole (born 3 September 1966) is an English former footballer who played for Ipswich Town, Port Vale, Fulham, and Chelmsford City in the 1980s and 1990s. A forward, he scored eight goals in 90 league games in a seven-year career in the Football League.
Cole began his career at Ipswich Town, who finished 17th in the First Division in 1984âÂÂ85 under Bobby Ferguson's stewardship. The "Blues" were then relegated in 1985âÂÂ86, just one point behind the safety mark set by Leicester City. They reached the Second Division play-offs in 1986âÂÂ87, where they were beaten by Charlton Athletic at the semi-final stage. New boss John Duncan dropped Cole from the first-team and led the club to eighth position in 1987âÂÂ88. Cole spent four weeks on loan at John Rudge's Port Vale from January to February 1988. He played four Third Division and three FA Cup games for the "Valiants", and scored one goal in a 3âÂÂ2 win over York City at Bootham Crescent on 6 February. He returned to Ipswich from Vale Park, only to move permanently to Fulham. He had scored three goals in 38 league games during his time at Portman Road. Ray Lewington's "Cottagers" reached the Third Division play-offs in 1988âÂÂ89 but were comfortably beaten by Bristol Rovers at the semi-final stage. However, they dropped to one point and one place above the relegation zone in 1989âÂÂ90. They again struggled in 1990âÂÂ91 under Alan Dicks's stewardship, finishing two points and one place above the relegation zone. Cole scored four goals in 48 league games in his three seasons at Craven Cottage. He later played Conference football for Chelmsford City.