Ashley Cole

[boshman 1,073]

Funny to think it's Ash's 90th minute goal of the 8-0 against Wigan that has preserved our goalscoring record :-D

[Madmax 9,219]

http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/12/spare-me-the-classy-ashley-cole-comments-his-retirement-has-let-england-down-4724656/

Is this guy for real?

WTF!!! WHY ARE YOU READING THE METRO?????????

[Jype 6,398]

WTF!!! WHY ARE YOU READING THE METRO?????????

Saw it on Twitter.

[TrueChelseaBlue 105]

http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/12/spare-me-the-classy-ashley-cole-comments-his-retirement-has-let-england-down-4724656/

Is this guy for real?

That guy needs his fucking head seeing to, needs to keep his mouth shut. Prick.

Hasn't a clue what he's on about.

Pipe down son.

[communicate 2,703]

Stupid decision by Roy Hodgson I feel and I'm not even English lol.

Why take 2 players to a World Cup who have NO CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, WORLD CUP OR EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE?

Baines is a good and solid defender but still he's better going forward like most fullbacks these days, the same with Shaw. England aren't going to be playing a particularly open or expansive style anyway so really it also doesn't make sense as much because Ashley Cole has been playing in a Chelsea team which has always been good at defending deep and soaking up pressure for years, like England will no doubt play in some games with 2 banks of four and a low block. Even if Ashley is gonna be a back up, hes better to have as backup for experience incase Baines gets injured than Luke Shaw.

Imagine if Baines gets injured or suspended and England have to play Uruguay or Italy or any other big team in the tournament like a Brazil, a Spain or a Argentina with a very inexperienced 18 year old LB who has played 45 minutes for England? Not saying hes a bad player, he's a very good young player but you'd think Roy would want some sort of 'safer' backup option in Ashley Cole or even Kieran Gibbs who is a bit older and has played in Europe with Arsenal and looked pretty good this year.

Shaw will get plenty of world cups and be an England regular but sometimes you throw young guys in at the deep end and they float and sometimes they sink, imagine if he has a bad world cup? I mean if he does move to Man United like expected this summer then he needs to have a good World Cup and then hit the ground running there, so it really is a big big challenge for him if say Baines gets injured or Roy starts with him.

Still I can't believe Cole isn't going even if hes apparently 'past it' or is too old, still the best LB in the Premier League. Showed how good he can be against Liverpool where he contained Raheem Sterling and Atletico where he was outstanding also.

Completely agree shaw n baines arr not tested and I am not sure about both defensively and there is no team that play expansive football in WC

[The_Flash 1,144]

Roy is crazy to not pick Cole, but he picks Lambert?

[iseah100 5,612]

Roy is crazy to not pick Cole, but he picks Lambert?

And Carrol!!!!

[xPetrCechx 13,563]

Ashley Cole is believed to have been asked if he would consider being named on the standby list but declined the offer (Telegraph) #CFC

[bushman 2,043]

Of course Cole must decline the standby list. Fuck Roy now. I feel sad for Cole now. This player has been the best LB in England for years. This season Jose comes around demotes him to the bench, plays sporadically & now Roy tells him to take a hike.

Funny that some of you even think Cole might even sign for Chelsea for fucking half salary. Lol.

[Jase 43,479]

Ashley Cole: England's most consistent player over the last 10 years and a man who never let his country down

[TacticalBlues 2,817]

Paolo Maldini 'doesn't understand' why England have left Ashley Cole out of their World Cup squad

Maldini said:

‘Ashley Cole is one of the great left backs of all time - and I have seen nothing to suggest that he is still not one of the best in the world.

‘The coach must make his own decisions - but he would have been one of the first players I would have picked. Not only for his big game experience - but for the way he performs in the big games. How many times have we seen him keep the best attacking players in the world quiet in the big games - he is a player that rises to the occasion.'

‘It is important to have youth in the side of course - but not to take one of the players who is still maybe the best in his position in the world - I just don't understand.’

Legends notice legends.

[The_Flash 1,144]

Because Roy is a ****** he should have begged Cole and Terry to play. Has he seen how poor both Rooney and Welbeck have been this season. Ah well the inevitable of the manager getting sacked after the tournament maybe the next guy will have the sense to beg Cole and Terry to come back.

[iseah100 5,612]

England will be missing their 2 best defenders . Retired.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

He's gone!

[Pizy 18,419]

Just saw his tweet. Will always love him.

Ricardo Rodriguez or Luke Shaw hijack COMMENCE!

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

What a LEGEND!!!! Can't ask for anything more from him he represented club and country at a world class level. I really hoped Chelsea would've cultured another LB under his tutelage. Bertrand, Van Aanholt, Shaw... One of them needed to get something from him, don't feel we've taken full advantage of the situation we had here.

[Barbara 15,149]

easily predictable we wouldn't give him a new contract, but such nice words from Ash.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

One of my favourite ever CFC players. Wow, I actually thought he was going to stay for at least on more season, but I can't blame him for leaving now. When he first came in from Arsenal, I looked at him as a bit of a mercenary just here to do a job and get paid but over the years my opinion of him has changed drastically. The media (they do choose their victims, don't they?) loved to portray him as THE bad guy who dumped Cheryl, but instead I look at him as some Antihero, like Batman or even Michael Corleone. He was never the moral, upright, goody two-shoes professional others like Gerrard and Beckham pretended to be. Ash was just Ash. What you saw was what you got.

As for his footballing ability, it was never in question. His many tussles with Ronaldo, even from his Arsenal days was stuff of legend. Which other full-back could completely neutralize the threat of the Portuguese, so much so that Ferguson played him permanently on a different wing in the CL final 08' to avoid crossing paths with Cole? His England career was brilliant. Him being England's best and most consistent performer for the best part of a decade. A fullback earning 107 caps for his country....no mean feat.

This season hasn't been his best, admittedly. The rib injury didn't help matters, but he's still shown his class when it mattered most. I remember how he utterly shut out Robben in the Super Cup at the start of the season. That was mightily impressive to completely neutralize one of the best wingers in the world in such a manner. I still think he was treated fairly harshly by Jose. I never for a second thought he was "done", not as quick as before yes, but still more than good enough to be our starting LB. Azpilicueta should have been our RB this season not Ivanovic. But that's all in the past now.

Proper CFC legend. The god of the "goal-line interception".