All indications had been that Joe Cole wanted Champions League football and to stay in London, but the bookmakers gave us indications a move to Liverpool was on over the weekend and now he has agreed the deal.

Mark Fleming, writing in the Independent, says it was not the reported £90k-a-week wage on offer at Anfield that brought about the move but rather the promise that he would be loved.

In the end, it was the football that swung it for Joe Cole. Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal were both waving tempting offers in his direction, but neither club could promise quite the security that Roy Hodgson was all but guaranteeing at Liverpool.

Not financial security, for he could have earned similar amounts to the £90,000-a-week deal his agents have negotiated with Liverpool at either club. But footballing security, the comfort that comes from knowing the manager likes you and wants to put you in the team, the kind of security that Cole once enjoyed at West Ham United but he never really felt at Chelsea.

Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, claimed at the weekend that Cole's departure was "economic" but there were also some serious footballing considerations behind the decision to let him walk away. Cole wanted to play every game, and his frustration at not doing so was felt throughout the squad. His replacement Yossi Benayoun, signed for £5.5m from Liverpool a month ago, will not rock the boat if he is left out.

At Liverpool, Cole will find in Hodgson a manager who does not tend to chop and change the side from week to week, a manager who likes his teams to play a passing game, a manager who values English talent, a manager who is universally respected by the players under his charge. Cole will also find a club where creative players are idolised by their passionate fans, a bit like West Ham with knobs on. This is what Cole craves.

There is little doubt they will love him on the Kop. No manager has ever criticised Cole's work-rate and commitment, characteristics that have earned him the adoration of the supporters at both Upton Park and Stamford Bridge. If he can also win the love of his manager, then Cole will be in his element. As Liverpool's most famous sons once sang: "All you need is love."

The drawback for Cole is that by moving north to Liverpool he is undoubtedly taking a step down, from the champions to the team that finished seventh. Chelsea are aiming to win the Champions League this season; Liverpool are hoping to qualify for it next season. That drop in class will be made evident to Cole all too swiftly. His last appearance for Chelsea came in the 1-0 victory over Portsmouth in the FA Cup final that sealed the Double. His Liverpool debut could be the second leg of the Europa League qualifying match against a team from Armenia or Macedonia. But at least he should be guaranteed to start.