A product of the famous West Ham youth academy, Joe Cole joined Chelsea in the summer of 2003 after he had won the "Hammer of the Year" award at West Ham. In the 2003-04 season, Cole made 50 appearances for the club emerging as a key player as Chelsea finished 2nd in the league and reached the semifinals of the Champions League. He scored 2 goals in the Carling Cup but did not score in the league until April in a game vs Newcastle at St James Park. He made 7 assists to add to his 3 goals.
In the 2004-05 season, after Jose Mourinho publicly criticised Cole's defensive irresponsibility, his form improved as he scored 9 goals, including a deft flick in a league game vs Liverpool, and made 6 assists as Chelsea romped to their first league title in 50 years. He scored in a come-from-behind win over Manchester United at Old Trafford as he converted a Frank Lampard cross.
Cole continued in the same vein in the 2005-06 season where he scored a wonderful title-sealing goal vs Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. With 4 United defenders surrounding him, Cole wriggled himself free and blasted an unstoppable shot past the keeper to ring in the title celebrations. He was named in the PFA Team of the Season.
After participating in the 2006 World Cup (where he scored a wonder volley vs Sweden), Cole was laid low by injuries and returned only in the first leg of the Champions League quarter finals vs Valencia. He scored the only goal in Chelsea's UCL semi-final first leg win over Liverpool but did not make the final after losing out on penalties. He ended the season on a high as he started the 2007 FA Cup final win over Manchester United.
He then enjoyed his best season in a Chelsea shirt as he made 54 appearances in the 2007-08 season, easily Chelsea's best player that season. He scored the winners against West Ham, Blackburn and Everton and also scored a brace in the 4-4 draw against Spurs at White Hart Lane. Then manager Avram Grant was criticised for removing Joe Cole when the score was 3-1 in favour of Chelsea. None the less, he helped Chelsea reach the Champions League final where he started before being replaced by Nicolas Anelka in extra-time as Chelsea lost agonisingly on penalties yet again. He was deservedly named Chelsea's player of the year.
He started the 2008-09 season brightly, scoring the first goal of the Scolari era after running on to a through ball by Michael Ballack. He made 20 appearances and scored thrice before getting injured in a FA Cup game vs Southend which ruled him out for the rest of the season as Chelsea won the FA Cup under Hiddink.
The 2009-10 season was a strange one for Cole. He was increasingly dropped in favour of Florent Malouda and scored only 2 goals in 39 appearances. But his cheeky back-heeled finished against Manchester United was a vital goal for Chelsea as that win gave Chelsea the initiative in the title race. On the final day of the season, Joe Cole came on as a substitute and bagged 2 assists. He won the ball in the area and sent over a cross for Ashley Cole to volley home the final goal in an 8-0 win over Wigan that confirmed that Chelsea were Premier League champions again. He made his last appearance for the club when he came on as a substitute in the FA Cup final win over Portsmouth.