The debate goes on in the comments and Sam has posted a rather interesting post regarding racism in England as the reason why Ashley Cole got booed on Saturday against Kazakhstan. Of course there is no place for racism in this world let alone football, I can assure you that the booing of Ashely Cole has absolutely nothing to do with racism, whatsoever. It's to do with passion, desire and respect.
Ashley Cole is an money grabbing, disloyal and disrespectful to all he's crossed. At Arsenal, a boyhood Arsenal fan, nurtured through the academy and offered a £3m a year deal, a leap from £1m a year. However, the player wanted £3.25m instead and wouldn't budge. That figure would have seen him on par with the likes of Henry and Pires at that time. Although David Dein verbally agreed this, when he went to the board, they wouldn't sanction this much.
There are millions of people out there that support Arsenal and have done all their life. Let's take an example: me. Being a life long Arsenal supporter, I would jump at the chance to play for Arsenal. Albeit, I am not good enough, but in an ideal world, if offered I wouldn't be more than estastic. I'd love the job. I'd train hard and work on my game. I'd play like my life depended on it. And that's what we got from Ashley Cole in the early years. A player who supported the club. A future captain, a player who wore their heart on their sleeve.
But at some point, money got into this guys head. And he changed. He no longer supported the club, but instead supported the queens head (money!)... and it surely came from his international games, when he interacted with the likes of Terry and Lampard. He was lured by cash and eventually turned his back on the club he's always supported and had the privilege of playing for. For a measly £5k a week. It's unthinkable for me.
That is why many people hate Ashley Cole. Not just Arsenal fans.
Whereas Rooney, albeit not the perfect player, does whatever is necessary for club or country to win. He's inspired Man United to a Premiership and Champions League. He's always performed in the games that matter, he's played out of position and let other take the plaudits. There is a difference between the two. I am saying this and I'm an Arsenal fan.
All in all, Ashley Cole is a traitor and always will be. I was at the match on Saturday and I booed him.
And whilst we're on the subject of Ashley Cole, we've got a better player now in Gael Clichy and even Dennis Bergkamp knew this years ago... here's a little something Gael recently revealed....
“I will never forget what Dennis Bergkamp told me. It was in 2005 when I was injured. I had doubts and I didn’t feel fine.
“Bergkamp is a great man that doesn’t talk a lot. One day he came to see me and asked how long it would take for me to recover. I told him I didn’t know.
“He watched Ashley Cole, who was also having a treatment, and finally said: ‘Come back soon, and if you succeed, you will get his position.’
“Dennis and Ashley are friends, but that simple sentence was so good to me. I held on, and then I recovered quickly.”
Back to the football now and England “cruised” to a 3-1 win over Belarus with Rooney netting two and Stevie G netting one. It was a solid performance, a better second half than first and Walcott had a decent game. Since the three goals against Croatia, it was always going to be hard to recreate such a performance. Today Wallcott showed his pace, skill and desire, but was often doubled up on and often marked closely. He’s not on the form of his life either, but always a threat going forward. I see the Walcott of now, a 19 year old player, able to make a difference and can’t wait to the progression of the player.
Normal service resumes now, no more international games until next year…
Til tomorrow…]]>
