Despite having scored goals as part of a Manchester United side that won five Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League, Andy Cole divided opinion among supporters and pundits.
The centre-forward moved to Old Trafford from Newcastle United in the winter of 1995 for £7m, with Man United winger Keith Gillespie moving in the opposite direction.
Cole struggled for consistent form in front of goal initially in a side that was built around Eric Cantona following his return from lengthy suspension in the October of that year.
However, the retirement of Cantona in 1997 and the subsequent arrival of Dwight Yorke from Aston Villa a year later brought the best out of Cole, who scored 71 goals between the 1997-98 and 1999-2000 campaigns.
Yet, the big-money arrival of PSV Eindhoven frontman Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2001 limited Cole's starting opportunities. Yorke and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were often preferred as partners for the Dutchman by Sir Alex Ferguson, who was also adopting a more conservative approach in Europe which saw Paul Scholes play in the number 10 role behind Van Nistelrooy.
It meant that with the World Cup in Japan and South Korea fast approaching, Cole decided that a move to pastures new was necessary to ensure that he remained a part of Sven-Goran Eriksson's plans.
A handful of clubs were linked with the former Newcastle United striker's services, but it was Blackburn Rovers that won the race 13 years ago today, with a fee in the region of £8m having reportedly been agreed.
Upon the completion of the deal, Rovers manager Graeme Souness said: "I am absolutely delighted. I've said all season that the thing we have missed is someone who is a goalscorer and, in Andy, we've gone for the very best.
"It would be hard for us to make a better signing. 'I'm really happy. Players are very expensive and the board have pushed the boat out."
Meanwhile, Cole added: "It was a big decision. When you leave a club like Manchester United it's always going to be a big decision. I am 30 and it's very important that in the next few years I'm playing football. That's all I want to do. I don't enjoy being on the bench.
"I am really looking forward to playing here. I spoke at great length to the manager and at what he was looking to do at the club and that made my mind up.
"Manchester United is a great club and I had seven great years there and won just about everything going, but there is no chance of me playing regularly so it did not take me long to make my mind up. I'll be playing for a manager who won everything himself in his playing days and I am really looking forward to it."
Cole's stint at Ewood Park started positively when he scored the winning goal during the 2002 League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur, but he soon slipped down the pecking order and following a return of 37 goals in 98 appearances, he was sold to Fulham in 2004.
Liam Apicella
