There have been moments when the thought has occurred that George Cole might have made a better centre-forward than Andy of the same name. When Manchester United signed Andy Cole from Newcastle United at the beginning of 1995 in a deal worth £7 million it seemed to some that Alex Ferguson had been on his way to Arthur Daley's used car lot at the time.

But who is laughing now? Newcastle, shorn of all their recognised strikers, are about to lurch out of the Champions' League while Ferguson's team are on the brink of qualifying for the quarter-finals again. And the man who in the 3-1 win over Feyenoord in Rotterdam on Wednesday night brought them to that brink was none other than one Andy Cole.

In completing the first hat-trick for Manchester United in a European Cup since Denis Law scored all the goals in the 3-1 victory over Waterford with which United began their defence of the trophy in 1968, Cole has all but assured Old Trafford of a place in the last eight. The striker may also have earned himself a place in the England squad Glenn Hoddle will announce today for the friendly against Cameroon tomorrow week.

Having taken a maximum of 12 points from four Champions' League matches, and beaten Juventus into the bargain, Manchester United are almost there. Two more points will guarantee their progress to the knock-out stage as best runners-up if not group winners, and all the indications are that they will get three when Kosice, beaten comfortably 3-0 in Slovakia, visit Old Trafford in three weeks.

Juventus, who still have to go to Rotterdam, will be unable to stop Manchester United winning the group if they fail to beat Feyenoord and the English champions beat Kosice. December 10th in Turin may even find United with nothing to lose but still in a position to eliminate the Italian team from the Champions' League.

Cole's goals in Rotterdam brought these possibilities closer to fruition. The initial excellence was shown by United's defence and midfield in stifling the life out of Feyenoord's movements but after that the night was all about Cole's pace and the way those around him exploited it.

Forwards like Cole need the ball to be played past defenders quickly so that they can spin off them and stay onside. With linesmen now giving the benefit of the doubt to the attacking team Cole can hover at the shoulder of the last defender knowing that his explosive speed is less likely to fall victim to errant flags.

Cole has always possessed this quality. The difference at present is twofold : he is at last finding the net with the prolific regularity he achieved at Newcastle and no longer is Eric Cantona looking down a long Gallic nose at him.

Confidence in a striker is an unstable commodity at the best of times and with Cole it has all too easily been disturbed. But at Derby three weeks ago he secured a point for Manchester United with an assured left-footed shot when, in the past, he might have wasted the opportunity through struggling to switch the ball to his right.

That was a sign of the goodies to come. "When things are going for strikers," said Ferguson, "they feel they're always going to score. When they're on fire they're really on fire, as Andy is now. He's showing what I bought him for."

It may be that the closer support Cole is enjoying from Teddy Sheringham and readiness of David Beckham in particular to pick him out with long passes played into space beyond defenders has recreated the sort of environment which saw him prosper at St James' Park, when he received consistently good service.

For the moment at any rate he is as good as he has ever been for Manchester United, with two hattricks in three matches and a couple of goals in between. Come Sunday afternoon Arsenal may well wish they had renewed acquaintances with their old boy on another occasion.

Guardian Service