The Much-Maligned Ashley Cole Deserves Praise

After Sunday’s 2-0 win over Arsenal, the headlines inevitably went to John Terry and Didier Drogba.

In the week he was stripped of the England captaincy by Fabio Capello, Terry produced a solid performance at the back and was the assured presence that Chelsea fans have come to expect over the years.

He also had an impact at the other end, providing the assist for Drogba’s opening goal in the eighth minute.

Drogba, meanwhile, now has 22 goals this season and took his tally against the Gunners to 12 in 10 starts. They must be sick of the sight of him. Alongside Wayne Rooney, he has to be one of the front runners for Player of the Year.

But another performance deserves commendation—that of left back Ashley Cole. Cole was simply superb against his former club, breaking up countless attacks and breaking forward with purpose himself.

He was denied a goal in the first half by Manuel Almunia, which would have added to the three he has already scored this season.

After a satisfactory first season in West London, Cole has regained the form he displayed at Arsenal, which made him the best left back in the world. He has been one of Chelsea’s best players this season.

So why the lack of praise?

Cole’s conduct in his move to Chelsea in 2006 explains a lot. When it was revealed he was “trembling” with anger at Arsenal’s contract offer of £55,000 and that he "nearly swerved off the road" after hearing the news, he alienated and angered football fans up and down the country.

Since then, he has received abuse at numerous grounds.

The player himself knows he has developed an unwanted reputation. In an interview with Football Focus last year, he said:

"Of course, I'm not happy that everyone hates you because they don't know me and only know me through what's written. With the England game, I'm not going to sit here and say it didn't bother me, of course it did.

"I'm just like you, I'm like everyone else, I've got feelings and it made me feel that small at the time. It was hard to deal with but you can't stop people from booing.”

He added: “As long as I know that people that are close to me know how I am, know I'm not this monster that people seem to think I am, as long as my friends, family and team-mates, manager, are all happy with what's going on then I'm fine with that."

While some fans are able to see past his previous misdemeanours and judge Cole purely based on his performances, some do not.

He was booed playing for England in October 2008 because he made a mistake that allowed Kazakhstan to pull a goal back. Had the culprit been Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard, or Rooney I doubt the reaction would have been the same.

Chelsea fans, on the other hand, recognise and appreciate the contribution he makes to the team. They put aside his off-field problems and focus on what he does on the pitch. His situation has parallels with that of Terry’s. The support for both of them at Stamford Bridge is there for all to see.

Such backing will be a source of strength as they aim to end the season with silverware, and you can expect both of them to play an integral role.