Joe Cole doesn’t seem to be able to win really, either he isn’t showing his usual flair and he’s slated for being off his game, or he does something special like the classy little back-heel against United and has to defend himself against accusations of being ‘a work-shy star full of fancy footwork.’
Personally I think it’s a bit of a bloody joke considering everyone’s been on his case all season purely because that’s the sort of thing they’ve expected of him anyway – despite the fact he’s been fighting just to regain his fitness after such a long lay-off through injury – and that’s almost a losing battle considering we have yet another manager who seems to have regarded him as a bit-part player.
Not that that’s anything new for the midfielder who has always had a battle to prove his worth – and has always done so irrespective of what he’s come up against. Yet again he finds himself in a position where neither his club nor international manager appear to have all that much faith in him and yet as ever, instead of whingeing like a bitch, Cole insists “I’ve had the broadest spectrum of ups and downs a footballer can have. I’ve captained a side to relegation (West Ham in 2003), I’ve won titles (Chelsea 2005, and 2006), I’ve missed out on playing in a major tournament (unused squad player Euro 2004) and also started a World Cup, where I scored an amazing goal (Sweden 2006). I’ve had all the highs and lows, which is a rich thing because life is about experiences. I just keep coming back stronger.”
I’ve no doubt that’ll be the case but with contract negotiations still to come to an agreeable conclusion, whether or not it’ll be at Chelsea remains to be seen. Not that Cole let’s any of that affect him because with us two points ahead of United in the league and an FA Cup semi final this evening, the 28 year old who is probably one of his own harshest critics is intent on making up for past mistakes. Remembering our semi-final four years ago where he missed a late chance against Liverpool to level the scores, Cole says “We would have played West Ham in the final that year, so you would have definitely fancied us to win the double. I was very disappointed because that was one of my best seasons in a Chelsea shirt. I had a great chance, the ball dropped to me five yards out and I skied it into the stands. Two minutes later the whistle goes and I got on the coach feeling I had let people down. You remember those things as a footballer. I remember the misses, that was the worst I ever experienced. It would be really special if we won the double this season, only six teams have done so, but it’s hard and we’re a long way from doing it.”
So, for the critics out there who think Cole won’t be giving it everything he’s got for us if he gets the chance, the committed midfielder suggests “I have steel, I’ve got some balls. People who market me as just a flair player are a bit lazy. Come and watch me for five or six games. I don’t think there is a winger or an attacking midfielder who works as hard as me. I want to help my team. Sometimes I probably do it too much, maybe I should be a bit more clever, but now is not the time for that. Now is the time for everyone at Chelsea to do their jobs with no mistakes. If we don’t make any more mistakes we could win a double.”
Blue is the colour
