News: The board of the Premiership have decided this evening to charge Chelsea, Mourhino and Cole of a breach of the League’s rules.
Ashley Cole, brilliant left back and was a joy for every Arsenal fan to watch for the last couple of years. What has happened to him is sad, maybe it’s his fault for illegally using Chelski to threaten for an increase, or the board’s fault for not offering him decent wages after the club constantly praised him for sometime to the extent that the fans nicknamed him Ashley “the world’s best left back” Cole.
I loved him and he was one of my favourite players if not the favourite. I always believed he covered more ground than any other players in the team. His fighting spirit and passion for the game is second to none. He, being trained & groomed by the famous back-four of Arsenal, have the grit and battling spirit in enormous doses. His loss is going to be a huge one, at least in my humble opinion.
However what is sad here is that Ashley, after being in the club for such a long time, will now have to leave in devastating circumstances. I believe most fans have very little sympathy for him after what he has done, including myself. But what is worse is that Arsenal have come out to be the real losers after this whole issue.
Chelski & Moaninho maybe fined, which they will laugh it off and now that there is a debate as to who tapped who, they will 100% not sign him for their club. Which means Ashley will now have to try his luck in Spain or other countries (based on his past interviews).
Arsenal on the other hand lose one of their best players, maybe their potential captain. On top of it the whole thing started 2 days before one of our important games and we lost it badly. I am not saying that we lost solely because of this issue, but it had a significant impact on the other members of the team. The dressing room spirit would have been sour before and during the game.
So Chelski suceeded in Arsenal getting rid of one of their star players and in reply have to pay off a small fine? It just does not look fair at all. I seriously hope karma works, and it has a lot of overtime to do in case of Chelski and Moaninho!!
36 Responses to “The Cole issue: Who are the losers?”
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March 24th, 2005 at 1:26 pm
I have said it and will say it again Arsenal are to blame for this crap..
Lots of the folks here can’t wait to blame Chelsea but as I said sometime ago, sit back and look into the whole saga again and asked yourself why, and what have Arsenal done since then. Apart Wenger coming out with one of his best line. Cole is the best and future captain and really hope he stays. Sorry Sir but it don’t work like that anyone.
As Mr Arsenal once said players and clubs talks to each other all the time and this is not going to be the last. God bless the agents.
Arsenal have to start looking into the mirror and face facts.
March 24th, 2005 at 1:28 pm
We lose as supporters, in that Cole’s gotta go. The team loses because one of its star players will depart. Chelsea wins, both by disrupting our team and chemistry, and if they get the player as well.
Cole brought it ALL on himself. PERIOD.
He could have walked out of the meeting if he didn’t know it was Chelsea. The timing of the meeting during the season was unacceptable behahavior and illegal.
Never saw him as a potential captain.
LUCKILY, we do have Clichy. He is a reasonable facsimile of Ash. He’s young fast and talented.
Vieira will be here next season. He will still be the captain. Soccernet has the story of how he has played injured since October. This played a large part in his struggling form. He knew the deal with the stick he would take for playing below par and the Madrid issue. He took the stick. He will overcome it all and get back to the superb level of play we are accustomed to.
Many of you may not like that above paragraph, but thats whats gonna occur. PV4, still the one.
March 24th, 2005 at 1:31 pm
Thats utterly ridiculous Love_G.
NOBODY held a gun to Ashley’s head and made him MEET the enemy during the season, 2 days before the biggest match of the year.
That would be 100% Ashley Cole’s fault.
I could argue that THIS has done alot to destroy the season for this team.
Ashley should be the one looking into the mirror and ask himself why he did it, when he did it, and why he lied about it or didn’t speak out about it.
These are the same things you SLATED Vieira for.
March 24th, 2005 at 1:33 pm
Funny you mentioned Clichy.. He is now also holding on to his contract..
As I said b4 the begining of the season, Arsenal had open a can of worms and they are all over each other.
March 24th, 2005 at 1:38 pm
I totally agree with stag. Why is Arsenal the one to blame for this whole mess? Cole brought this upon himself. He went behind Arsenal’s back. What he did was totally disrespectful to the manager,club, the team and the supporters. He has to face the consequences of what he did.
March 24th, 2005 at 1:40 pm
Well Stag..
Relax just have a beer on and enjoy your holidays but here are the facts..
Vieira is on 99,000 pounds a week but he and his agent try anything possible to get the best deal and after all that he wanted to move to RM. Thank God they did not offer him the money he wants.
As with Cole and lots of the Arsenals players all they are asking for is a better deal. You can’t tell me the best RB in the country earns less than a 3rd of PV and wants him to me happy.
So there is a huge difference between Vieira and Cole.
March 24th, 2005 at 1:42 pm
So Vieira did not went behind Arsenal’s back I guess.
March 24th, 2005 at 1:50 pm
I’ve always maintained that I thought AFC were as much a part, but not all, of the Colegate scandal mostly due to their contract hedging. Then I gleaned from a reliable and respected source that Cole’s contract offerings were healthy and commensurate to his ability and that his total d*ckwad of and agent decided to up his piece of the pie by trying to go Blue. Heck, why not let you read it for yourself?click on over to Arseblog.com and read the latest entry. Brought a tear to me eye, it did.
As for the losers…most think we’ll end up with the short end for sure. Disruption, chaos and distrust at the hands of the BLUE Devils threatens to poison the remainder of our season. If that’s what’s in store, all the more reason to PRAISE the youngsters for stepping in. I say we remember this season as fondly as possible, cause in the future it will be considered legendary. We’re gonna find our love and our strength again. The truths will set us free and teams will once again FEAR US.
But if you ask me, COLE is the biggest loser. Instead of offering an olive branch, the papers report this:
[...according to informed legal sources, the Gunners star could defend himself by claiming the League's rule K5 is a restraint of trade under European law.]
Foolish punter, that Cole.
March 24th, 2005 at 1:54 pm
If he did Love_G, he did it IN THE SUMMER!
Not in mid-season. Not 2 days before our biggest match.
You slated him for this. Now you back Cole for doing similar.
Don’t quite get that contradiction.
March 24th, 2005 at 1:56 pm
Your tone suggests he’s already gone, when he’s still very much an Arsenal player with 2 years to run on his contract.
The Premier League had to charge Ashley Cole as well as Chelsea otherwise they would be seen as acting as judge and jury, and basically calling Chelsea liars.
The case against them is already proven, they met a player who is under contract at another club. Proving Cole’s culpability is much harder, even if he is guilty.
The Arsenal board do need to take some responsibility for the fact that the deal wasn’t sorted out sooner, but at the same time other players’ deals (e.g. Sol Campbell’s) have taken a long time to sort out without all this ‘tapping up’ business.
Would you still think Arseanl and Cole were losers if he ends up agreeing a new deal with the club? As far as I’m concerned that is still a very real possibility.
Also, you think a fine won’t hurt Chel$ki. But with the current avalanche of bad publicity surrounding them at this time it’ll hurt them a lot more than you think.
All those Blue Chip companies that Peter Kenyon is negotiating with will run for cover if the bad press continues, and if you think Abramovich is in it for the love of the game you are mistaken.
There’s also a strong chance that a transfer ban will be imposed on the club. That ould wreck their team-building plans for up to 2 years.
They won’t get points deducted as that would not be appropriate but they will if they ever did that again, which means they will have to walk on the straight and narrow for some considerable period.
I think it would suit Arsene just perfectly if Chel$ki are banned from making transfers when he’s got his biggest stash of cash to play with that he’s had since he joined AFC, it means the market for players will be far more sensible, and even dictated by us as we will be one of if not the big spender this summer.
Sometimes you have to read between the lines.
March 24th, 2005 at 1:57 pm
Did Cole sign a contract to play for Arsenal?
At that time, was he happy with the contract he signed? If he wasn’t, he shouldn’t have signed it.
You sign the contract, you play it out. You have NO right to complain about it. Nobody made him sign the contract.
After the contract ends, go out and look for a big raise, if you think you deserve it.
Please, don’t cry about your contract in mid-season. I don’t want to hear that from ANY player. Period. Paid MILLIONS to play a game. They sign these fantastic contracts. Then when they play well, they want more.
COLE is 100% at fault.
March 24th, 2005 at 1:59 pm
Well said. A nice interjection of half-full.
March 24th, 2005 at 2:00 pm
Using your logic… Clichy is probably making 1/3 of what Cole makes… and he’s almost as good.
Clichy signed a contract too. Probably was pretty damned happy when he did so. Play out the contract. Nobody forced you to sign it.
March 24th, 2005 at 2:27 pm
Thanks.
But I do think that is why it took AFC so long to actually ask the EPL to investigate. They looked at all the angles because they also knew that if they did Cole was going to come out looking bad.
But, as has been mentioned earlier, Vieira has been using this trick for a long time and got exactky what he wanted. The only difference for Cole is that Wenger’s already got Clichy on board and playing well.
March 24th, 2005 at 3:09 pm
I think he’ll stay. I really hope so because I love him. It’s not as though he wants to go because he’s utterly miserable - i.e. it’s not the Reyes situation - just that he was stupidly tempted by the money. Doubtless he’ll take the pay rise we’re offering and that will be the end of it. Fingers crossed.
March 24th, 2005 at 3:12 pm
AND…. that Vieira didn’t do this DURING the season, 2 days before our biggest match of the season. He did it in Summer.
March 24th, 2005 at 3:22 pm
That’s not strictly true.
It was actually reported in the Spanish press that Vieira went over to Spain during the season and met up with Makelele and Zidane.
Marca made a big song and dance about it saying he also met Real reps and that he was lining up a move to Madrid, he never denied and he got the pay rise as well as the captaincy.
A side note to that particular story is that his agent at the time, a certain Marc Roger, went on to buy a Swiss team, Servette, from who we got Senderos for peanuts.
The club are now broke and he has been arrested on charges of bankruptcy fraud, improper management and breach of trust.
You reap what you sow.
March 24th, 2005 at 3:24 pm
… or the big bucks Real Madrid will offer him and learn to deal with the racists
March 24th, 2005 at 3:26 pm
All these stories started when Arsenal decided to give Cole an improved contract.
We wouldn’t have all this stuff without Arsenal willing to be nice to Cole and give him more.
I say let’s keep him but nobody can take us to ranson.
What Cole, Chavski, an agents did is:
DISHONEST, DISLOYAL,
TOO MONEY ORIENTED,
FAILURE TO RESPECT HIS CLUB,
BRAINLESS MOVE AT THE WORST TIME.
Shame on them.
We are not going to take any blame in this one.
We are a club of “values, quality, and attitude”.
CHASVKI are “the enemy of football”.
Please God, send them to hell!
A fan
March 24th, 2005 at 3:33 pm
Why Viera shouldn’t meet his national team mates and friends wherever he wants ?
He didn’t meet Chaski “the enemy of football”.
Pat’s a loyal boy.
He wanted to go to Milan, the Real from Cannes.
then Arsene came and brought him to highbury. he spend 8 yeras and just wanted to fulfill his dreams and more importantly to follow somehow like a machine a pre estbalished agenda.
He realised he was wrong, I don’t care how he convinced himself to stay but it was the most important decision of his life. Moving is easy but staying was the most difficult thing to do.
He new he’ll face guys like you.
he told that even today in the press “L”equipe”.
March 24th, 2005 at 4:18 pm
Love_G,
Probably A.Cole is underpaid, or could have got a better offer elsewhere with is current value, but Arsenal can’t possibly give him a hugh salary raise just in order to keep him. First, we always have a strict salary structure. Secondly, had we done that, then every other players could have asked for a raise. It would be like we creat a black hole and suck ourselves into it.
Stag also has a point - nobody pointed a gun on Cole’s head when he signed his extension. After he signed it, he should have honored it.
Personally, I won’t judge Cole until he’s really proven gulity. Yet should him ever found guilty of that, it can only be Cole’s own wrong doing then anyone else’s. If there is really any FACT Arsenal FC has to face: it’s we need to get rich, and get rich fast. ‘cos otherwise the likes of Real and Chelsea would eat us alive by using the same trick over and over again…
March 24th, 2005 at 4:54 pm
Reyes ‘unhappy’ at Arsenal
Arsenal striker Jose Antonio Reyes has admitted he hopes Real Madrid make an approach for him so he can end his “unhappy” spell in England.
The 21-year-old former Seville forward told Spanish newspaper Marca he has struggled to adapt to life in London and revealed that he would “love” to complete a move to the Bernabeu.
http://www.teamtalk.com/teamtalk/News/Story_Page/0,7760,2483_368918,00.html
March 24th, 2005 at 6:09 pm
if Ash goes to Chelsea I will buy an Arsenal #3 shirt and put Judas on the back.
ok maybe not, but i saw someone in Chicago witha Rooney shirt on and you could see where he had removed the name Rooney from the back and put Judas over it, quite funny
March 24th, 2005 at 10:01 pm
A team should not be allowed to sign a player they tap. I hope that is part of the punishment.
March 24th, 2005 at 10:53 pm
i can’t say we are wholly at fault, but we seem to have a really hard time dealing with players contract renewals.
last year, wiltord and kanu (?) left on a free, and this year it will be edu. if wenger felt that edu was surplus after the emergence of cesc and flamini, then why did he not tell him this.
“edu, i’d like to keep you, but these two kids will be pushing for a place that you want to be in. i will offer you this much to stay (ie., not much), but you are not guaranteed a starting spot. is that okay, or would you like to be sold?”
instead, he was offered a sum he found insulting and it all turned into a big ordeal. surely this could cause some disruption in the dressing room as well as the ash saga. okay, maybe not the same extent, but titi did recently mention how important gilberto AND edu were to the team. i’m sure others feel the same way.
but if a player is unhappy with the amount of his raise (or rise) then why don’t we just sell him? why do we have these long drawn out saga’s (add lauren to that list) that eventually lead to a player leaving on a free? if we are so damned strapped for cash why do we let these players go for nothing?? that’s why there is a transfer window.
ashley is certainly deserving to be paid the amount he is worth. and as the new “best left back in the world” he should be.
yes, we all know about the wage structure. and it would be just hunky dory if loyalty won out in the end. but get real! it does not work that way in the current culture of football. and while the rich clubs are doing an extreme disservice to the future health and wealth of the game, we simply can’t sit idly by and complain that it’s going on. when in rome, people. or madrid…..
yes, ashley has to bear some responsibility. but it takes two to tango, and we danced around his contract proposals. and as culpable as chelsea are in the tap-up, we could have dealt with this issue long before it became one. that is where management blew it.
stag, i agree with you in spirit that a player should honor his contract, as should any team that might desire his services. but in this case, i have to side with love-g.
March 25th, 2005 at 8:22 am
This is a new one for me: read this morning that Chelsea arae going after 8 mill from Juve after they received Mutu on a free. Now…when you sack a player, you do so at a loss, don’t you? Otherwise he’s just “benched”, right? Say for argument’s sake we fired Cole, would we still be able to collect for him when someone picks him up? I’m sure I’m not the most knowledgeable in this area as there are too many clauses these days for me to follow, but this really reeks of regret, pettiness, and GREED—all hallmarks of that ridiculous club.
I’m starting to cultivate an aversion to the color blue. Not good.
March 25th, 2005 at 11:48 am
Having terminated his contract Chel$ki have now decided to sue him fro breach of contract because Juve have gone and signed him.
Their mistake was to try and come out holier than thou assuming he was going to get a 2 year ban.
Had they stood by him, instead of hounding him out of the club they might have had a saleable assett.
I find it very hard to believe they have anything to gain from chasing Mutu, they certainly won’t get a penny from Juve.
It’s just another example of a club unable to act in the manner in which a big club is expected.
It reminds me so much of the that guy who won a huge amount on the lottery, bought cars, partied hard and within three years had blown the lot, run up massive debts and even had to sell the mansion he’d bought to pay everything he owed off.
March 25th, 2005 at 11:56 am
Exactly, Spain, except possibly Barca, would be a pretty dumb move. If he goes anywhere I’d guess it’ll be Italy. The current news seems to be that he’s planning on staying with us and letting his contract run down (Edu-style) but that seems a non-starter to me - (a) because Wenger and Dein wouldn’t stand for it, and (b) because what in god’s name is the point of being the best left back in the world and then spending two years in the reserves having a sulk? He must be bright enough to see, eventually, that these are potentially his best years so he’d better make proper use of them.
March 25th, 2005 at 12:04 pm
I agree, there does seem to be something odd about the contract dealings. I’m sure Ashely knows that he’s not being paid a fraction of what his mates are getting at other clubs or for that matter at Arsenal. He can’t feel exactly valued by us. What I don’t understand is how people as intelligent and experienced as Wenger and Dein can not have seen this. There must be a lot going on that we don’t know about.
March 25th, 2005 at 1:12 pm
Thanks, A_K. I thought they’d dropped him awful quick, too. Very few clubs would drop a player like that. Most would have decided he was too valuable and advised him to lay low a la Rio or did what they could. At the time I’m sure they thought it was such a pittance. Curious that they’re chasing after money in such an unbecoming way now. Fine worries?
For me, they’re just becoming more and more unattractive by the hour. Let’s hope this turns out to be another bust for them.
March 25th, 2005 at 2:14 pm
i hope so too!!!
March 25th, 2005 at 6:29 pm
So, even though Ash willingly and happily signed a contract to play for Arsenal… and after he signed there were all smiles and handshakes and he was happy… he doesn’t have to play that out. He can decide I WANT MORE. I know I signed the contract, but I am underpaid now. So if you don’t sign me to a big pay increase, I am going to meet with our competitor in the middle of the season, a few days before our biggest match. I know its illegal to do so, and I know I signed a legal contract, but I don’t care about the team, I want more money and I will jeapordize my team’s season because of this, regardless.
Sounds like Arsenal’s fault to me all the way?!
Now, lets say Arsenal work out a deal with Cole after all. He gets a big raise. He is on TV, smiling and happy. He got his big pay raise. He signs the contract. Now, he gets complacent. Players start running by him. Scoring goals as Ash gets scorched defensively… Can Arsenal now say… YOU SUCK, we are going to half your wages.
No, they can’t. Major double standard in place here.
Again. 100% Coles fault. Play out the contract. You remember Ash, the one YOU SIGNED.
March 25th, 2005 at 8:46 pm
Chelsea’s secret dream is to put the market in such situation that their competitors (US the first) get themselves in trouble in order to compete.
If we give Cole more we are to do the same every time a player improve on the pitch and may be every year.
We’ll be force to close all business down.
I say give him something but we must remain determined to keep our wage structure.
27.000 per week is not too bad. It’s not like if you are playing for free.
Of course he can earn more, and ultimatelyif he thinks money is his first motivator, then sell him to whoever gives the right price.
I don’t even care if he goes to chelsea, we are going to beat those russian mobs anyway.
If he wants to wait and goes on bosman free, this up to him.
Put him in the reserves or the academy sides, because in that we’ll need to play and nurture our young guns.
Karbassion came back from loan because Cole’s not his former self.
We have what we need in the left back position even without Cole. To mee 40.000 pound a week was good enough to start real negociations.
March 25th, 2005 at 10:45 pm
stag,
i am not saying it is wholly the teams fault. but we painted ourselves into that corner by not dealing with the hard reality of how the business side of the game is run these days. ashley’s stock rose considerably after his displays in the euro championship. the team should have seen this situation coming and offered him a substantial raise to ensure that he stays with us past the 2 years he has left on his current contract. it is in this area where management screwed up. we are not talking about cygan, wiltord, or even edu (and i love edu’s game). ash is the best in the world in his position (arguably, i guess) and he should be compensated, and i believe he has the right to expect it. it takes only one bad injury to end a career. shouldn’t ash look out for himself this way? i guess i am looking at this in a pre-chelsea way. if the coach and board had offered ashley his fair market value, then he wouldn’t have met with the russian mafia the way he did. it doesn’t matter that he’s under contract. football does not operate the way it used to.
look, i’m old enough to remember when a player was honored and excited to be drafted into the NFL or NBA. but now, you have the likes of eli manning declaring what teams he will play for. this ‘me me me’ attitude pisses me off to no end. but it is the reality these days. just like you say it’s reality that paddy is our captain and the haters have to deal with it, so i say that this is the culture of football now. if management doesn’t clue into this, then we will lose all our young stars in the next few years.
it sucks big time, because these players still make outrageous sums of money. but it is how it is.
if we truly want to be one of the biggest clubs in the world then we have to join in or be left behind.
sad but true.
March 26th, 2005 at 12:23 am
Well thats where I disagree. The FA will deal with it. We will see what Chelsea gets for punishment. It DOES mater that he is under contract. Thats the entire crux of the matter. Chelsea tapped up a player under contract. Cole under contract, meets with another team.
What you are saying is that contracts are meaningless. Thats why Baseball is where it is. A-Rod making 25 Million a year … destroying the game.
Here is where the stand has to be made. You cannot pay EVERY player on your team some outrageous amount. See: New England Patriots.
Maybe Chelsea thinks they can. We’ll see how that plays out in the next few years. They could be bankrupt. (see: Leeds).
If the FA decide to give Chelsea a transfer ban, then Cole isn’t going there. Cole can play out his contract, or we sell him. I personally hope he goes. Get the cash and play Clichy. I hold Cole partially responsible for the demise of this team.
March 26th, 2005 at 12:38 pm
I love Ashley Cole and admire his talent. I love the history he carries as a babe wrapped in a gunner scarf, growing up to be one of the finest players at Arsenal. I wish that all this shite had never hit the fan, but sadly, it has.
However, I can?t defend him anymore, now that charges have been laid against him, I think that I have to reassess the situation. Yes, I know he?s not guilty until proven so but I don?t think you need to be a Rocket Surgeon to know that something smells fishy at Stamford Bridge. I regret that I?m left feeling that this fish doesn?t come with chips wrapped in newspaper and if it did, I?d be dumbfounded as I read the back pages of the paper the fish & chips were wrapped in.
Let?s just call a spade a spade. If Ashley went to Chelsea for money, then this being Easter weekend, I think he could be compared to another figure from this somber holiday. You know the one who for 40 pieces of silver sold the Messiah to his fate on a cross. Dare I say Ashley comes across as a Judas? For the want of money, he sold his birthright and all the hyperbole about his history at the club becomes pure sentimental swill.
Could I forgive him? Yes, I could. Would I still admire his talent? Yes, I still do!
The sad thing about Judas was that he wasn?t able to forgive himself for his lust of lucre in selling out his teacher and friend. Had he of went to his master and asked forgiveness I?m certain it would have been given, but he couldn?t because of what? Pride, hubris, arrogance all come to mind. If the truth reveals that, he and his agent did set up the meeting how will he be able to stand on the pitch at Highbury. He?d be in a very awkward position until he found a way to win back the trust of Arsenal fans. That?s probably why he is talking about leaving again (or the press is anyways). Can?t stand the fire get out of the pan? I truly feel sorry for the guy but if these allegations prove to be true, I don?t fell any sorrier for him than I do for Judas ? 40 pieces of silver.
One final observation. If I were a multi-billionaire, I like to own a football club and if I did, I would want it to be one of the best in the league and Europe, etc. You have to admire Abramovich that with his wealth his love is football. Many other billionaires wouldn?t have expressed such love to the beautiful game. I don?t blame him for taking a portion of his wealth to express his love of the game. What I resent is that he seems to have taken that perspective of the Russian Oligarch to the game. The ideas and pressures of any means to reach an objective, come hell or high water, even if we have to break a few legs or careers along the way. His spokesperson is willing to use any means to reach and end, lie, cheat or steal. This sadly, is turning the game into the very thing he probably bought a football team for to get away from (pure conjecture). You can tell a tree by the fruit it bears and while his club is doing well it is also seeding a field of weeds throughout the decorum of the game. I lament this as much as I do Ashley decision, should it be proven true, to follow this path. The Evil Empire spreads it power outwards.
Yes, money truly is the root of all evil.
For 40 silver pieces? What a crying shame.
We are the losers!