Ashley Cole was right. Would you have him now?

[Babatunde]

Sorry to bring this up but it is a major pet peeve of mine.
Ashley Cole was an Arsenal academy boy from North London. He knew the club inside out and was an outstanding performer for us. He was, and still is, the best left-back in Europe (close between he and Evra). And Arsenal lost him because of our disgusting lack of leadership.
People are quick to point the finger at Cole and yes, he did behave like a c**t in the way he went about criticising the club.
BUT.
Ashley Cole was right.

He was given a verbal promise that he would be given a contract of £60k a week and then the board turn around and try short-change him to £55k a week. Now of course he shouln't bitch about that...but when you look at the fact that a wanker like Alex Song is on £60k, Eboue was on £60k, Rosicky is on £60k etc then you realise just how appalling Arsene Wenger's management is.

Ashley Cole was a winner, a warrior. He said he left to join a more ambitious club going places: was he wrong?
The most important point Cashley made though, was that the culture at Arsenal had become rotten. He spoke of spoilt players who did not understand the meaning of a North London derby. He spoke of French kids who'd achieved nothing in the game walking around like they were the bollocks (cough Alex Song, cough Diaby). Remember the incident with Senderos turning his back on Keown?

Maybe Cole is a money-grabber but he's a great player. That beats having a money-grabbing mercenary like Eboue, Diaby, Song, Squillaci or Carlos Vela. Arsenal got fucked in the deal too, taking Gallas instead: did you not all end up moaning about how shit Gallas was and how bad his attitude was? Meanwhile Chelski are given a great left-back who can give them up to 10 years of service.

Arsene Knows.

[Babatunde]

Of course though, we now have Gibbs and Armand Traore so what am I moaning about....

[rigsby]

It was the manner of his exit and to who it was to. No matter what the ins and outs, rights and wrongs of that deal (which was done by David Dein) Cole's behaviour was disgusting. Given his subsequent off field activities I can see this was not an isolated incident.

He is a great player, but I don't want that pile of shit in my team.

[Babatunde]

Rigsby I see what you mean but....do you not find it a bit weird that Cole, Nasri, Gallas, Fabregas, Flamini, etc have all left....and each time the fans somehow make out that the players themselves are the problem?? Can you not spot a common link between Wenger's shocking man-management of players and their dissatisfaction! When will ppl stop blasting the players and turn on Wenger instead? Is Nasri really a money-grabbing bastard? Why is no one mentioning what his agent came out with which is that 'Samir asked for assurances that a competitive team would be built, with top players. Wenger could not give him this'.
Has any of Wenger's business this summer convinced you that Nasri woulda been better off staying at Arsenal? Who has won more trophies over the past five years? Citeh or Arsenal? So Why is Nasri being made out to be a c**t when the reality is, that Arsenal are in freefall and Citeh are on the up? Nasri has made a step up - just as Ashley Cole did.

[HashKads]

Martin, is that you?

[Babatunde]

Rigsby would you rather watch Kieran Gibbs get mugged off (when not crocked) instead of Cole? I'd have Cole back in a heartbeat.

[rigsby]

In terms of quality, of course.

But that's not the point I was making. His attitude is awful. I don't think all players are painted as money grabbers, only those who have taken the piss out of the fans. Adebayor's behaviour is ridiculous, and was when he openly touted himself in the summer and then kissed the badge the first game back. Nasri I don't really care about, but again he openly courted one of our rivals.

I don't blame Flamini, we dropped himf rom every final. I would have pissed off as well.

But the attitude of Cole and Adebayor were representative of what is wrong with modern football. The agents have to take responsibility as well.

[A dallying Gus Caesar]

Sorry to bring this up but it is a major pet peeve of mine.
Ashley Cole was an Arsenal academy boy from North London. He knew the club inside out and was an outstanding performer for us. He was, and still is, the best left-back in Europe (close between he and Evra). And Arsenal lost him because of our disgusting lack of leadership.
People are quick to point the finger at Cole and yes, he did behave like a c**t in the way he went about criticising the club.
BUT.
Ashley Cole was right.

He was given a verbal promise that he would be given a contract of £60k a week and then the board turn around and try short-change him to £55k a week. Now of course he shouln't bitch about that...but when you look at the fact that a wanker like Alex Song is on £60k, Eboue was on £60k, Rosicky is on £60k etc then you realise just how appalling Arsene Wenger's management is.

Ashley Cole was a winner, a warrior. He said he left to join a more ambitious club going places: was he wrong?
The most important point Cashley made though, was that the culture at Arsenal had become rotten. He spoke of spoilt players who did not understand the meaning of a North London derby. He spoke of French kids who'd achieved nothing in the game walking around like they were the bollocks (cough Alex Song, cough Diaby). Remember the incident with Senderos turning his back on Keown?

Maybe Cole is a money-grabber but he's a great player. That beats having a money-grabbing mercenary like Eboue, Diaby, Song, Squillaci or Carlos Vela. Arsenal got fucked in the deal too, taking Gallas instead: did you not all end up moaning about how shit Gallas was and how bad his attitude was? Meanwhile Chelski are given a great left-back who can give them up to 10 years of service.

Arsene Knows.

Totally agree with you.

This is my pet subject. Ashley was and is a great left back and was and is a winner (probably why he would have had nothing in common with most of those currently at the club). It has always annoyed me the way we shat on him. Shameful.

I can even forgive him for the way he went.

Shameful that we allowed a player such as him go....and a big mistake!

[QuartzGooner]

The club should have paid up more cash for a decent player. They were "Penny Wise Pound Foolish".

No way I can prove things, but I think Dein was overruled by other board members. It was at a time when there was a very strict financial prudence in the club ahead of the stadium move, and I think Dein would know the value of Cole but had no mandate to manouvre on wages.

That said, Cole had years left on his deal and was hardly in poverty. If he really loved the club so much, he could have waited another year and tried for a wage rise then.

The whole "Meeting with Kenyon in a restaurant" thing was disrespectful and uncalled for.

[DB10GOONER]

The club should have paid up more cash for a decent player. They were "Penny Wise Pound Foolish".

No way I can prove things, but I think Dein was overruled by other board members. It was at a time when there was a very strict financial prudence in the club ahead of the stadium move, and I think Dein would know the value of Cole but had no mandate to manouvre on wages.

That said, Cole had years left on his deal and was hardly in poverty. If he really loved the club so much, he could have waited another year and tried for a wage rise then.

The whole "Meeting with Kenyon in a restaurant" thing was disrespectful and uncalled for.

^ This.

Never let a little scrote like Cole convince you it was all about "the ambition and the way the club treated me boo-hoo". The little fucker was all about the money.

That's not to say there isn't problems with the Board, Wenger and their man management skills because there seriously is.

But that little rat Cole was sneaking around touting himself to the chavs like a two bit whore WHILE HE WAS A CONTRACTED ARSENAL PLAYER.

Let's not let our displeasure with Wenger cloud our views on a horrible litlle pikey rat like Cole, even if agrreed he is a great player.

[Babatunde]

Fair point there dude. I'd still have him back in a heartbeat and then have Traore expelled form London!

[SWLGooner]

Don't care about Cole, let him have his fun, the rat *word censored*'ll be dead in ten years...

[Belfast Boy]

Also don't forget that the reason that DD's verbal promise to Cashley of 60K pw wasn't kept was because his reptilian agent Jonathan Barnett wanted his cut of the deal to be 250 grand a year over the term of the contract which the board insisted come out of Cole's end hence the 5 grand a week shortfall

[Pav]

Different situ back then, Arsenal offered him £55k and even of they did go to £60k I believe Chelski came in and offered £90k plus probably a larger signing on fee.

It was ALL about the money and always was - the current issues have nowt to do with the Cole episode which still makes me sick, not even totally with Cole but with the way the game is being fucked (IMO) by people buying up play things in football clubs and throwing cash around like confetti and creating their own market.

Ashley Cole in any other generation would I am sure have had a similar career to that of Tony Adams or to use another player who was in his position Kenny Sansom - would no doubt have captained the team and no doubt we'd have been better for it.

I think in the years which have passed Ashley Cole's true character or character flaws have surfaced on numerous occasions - he too is equally as bad or worse then most of the rest of the players we pay our hard earned to watch.

Cole is better than Clichy and miles better than Gibbs but I guess thats obvious!

I always remember this quote when summing up Coles over inflated opinion of himself:

My worst fears were confirmed when, as Thierry (Henry) and I sat in the centre circle after the final whistle, his name was sung from the rooftops while my contribution was recognised by a deafening silence. As his chants faded away we waited for mine. And we waited. And there was nothing. “They’re not bothered about me,â€

[Bunting14]

Even if we had offered him the contract he wanted in 2005-6 he would have gone elsewhere within a year or two anyway.