THE MAN WHO PLAYS A CORKER EVERY MINUTE
HE may not be Kevin De Bruyne or Mohamed Salah in terms of ones that got away, but Jack Cork has more than proved there is life after Chelsea.
Since leaving at 21 having never managed a single competitive game for them, Cork (above, with David
Silva) has played for England and become a Premier League stalwart.
He has played every minute of every Premier League game since he joined Burnley from Swansea in July 2017 – a feat matched only by Harry Maguire.
Cork has added craft to Burnley’s midfield and was key to last season’s remarkable seventhplaced finish.
“Playing every minute is something I’m really proud of,” said Cork.
“It’s nice the manager Sean Dyche has that trust in me and it’s a big achievement.
“If someone had put my career in front of me when I was 17 or 18, I would have been more than happy. I got an England cap, which I didn’t think was going to come, but I don’t want to rest on what I’ve done.”
Cork, 29, faces Chelsea tomorrow at Turf Moor and never played for the first team but claims the 12 years he spent there from nine with the likes of Jose Mourinho, Brendan Rodgers and John Terry was the best education he could have received.
“I never made a competitive appearance for Chelsea, which will always be my main regret,” he said.
“But the one thing I did really enjoy was the chance to go out on loan.
“If I had been at any other club, I would not have got those opportunities. Me and Ryan Bertrand went out on loan at 17 to Bournemouth in League One and I don’t think many kids could do that now at 17. That and being around John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Drogba, players like that.
“Plus Jose Mourinho was manager and Brendan Rodgers was our youth coach. We were learning from the best in the business.”
Cork is a total professional and dressed smartly for his photograph, (below) prompting much leg-pulling from his car-share buddy Chris Wood.
He does not let success go to his head and his dad, former Wimbledon star Alan, would never let that happen.
He has even told him he won’t win another England cap.
“He has!” laughed Cork. “He’s always been like that. He never wants me to get too up or too down.”
Cork grew up on his dad’s Crazy Gang stories and Burnley have a similar team spirit – without too much crazy.
Rather than beating someone up or cutting up clothes, Cork says their worst punishment is having to wade into the River Calder by their stateof-the-art training ground at Gawthorpe Hall.
“It was a bit crazy some of the stuff they got up to and you can’t do that now,” he said.
“My favourite stories are too rude to tell!
“Walking into rivers is tame compared to what they used to do, but we like to think we also have a great team spirit.”