The thing that really concerns me about Joe Cole is that it's clear he's just not good enough out wide, so his only good position appears to be just off the striker. He's played quite well there in the few chances he got, but the fact that he's competing with SG there and looking at how Meireles is making a real stake for the position as well under Kenny, coupled with our forays into 4-4-2, he's kinda getting left out in the cold. I think that just about the only way he will get games now is if Gerrard plays on the right in 4-2-3-1, or if SG is a forward in 4-3-3 or 4-1-2-3.
I believe that Kenny will have to seriously consider Gerrard as RM in 4-4-2 if we sign Suarez, and that may leave a bit of space for Cole on the bench so that we can change the game by changing our formation (sub him on/off for Suarez/Torres to change a 4-4-2 game into one of the various 4-5-1 set-ups or vice versa). This leaves us with a good plan B, imo, so he can still be a valuable player for us (think of how many goals Babel scored as a substitute under Rafa). But in all honesty he's not going to have the first team game time he thought he was signing up for. The same goes for Pacheco, sadly. We have a blessing of riches in attacking midfield, but we're intent on signing a striker, something that leaves me dumbstruck every single time I read Suarez's name.
I also see no issue with Cole playing in the reserves, especially if he's not match fit.
