'Cashley'-baiters scored own goal

12:40pm Friday 17th October 2008

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Len Shackleton’s autobiography famously included a page about what directors knew about football.

It was a blank sheet.

A chapter dedicated to everything we love about Ashley Cole would probably be exactly the same.

Cole sums up all that is wrong with these so-called superstars of the Premier League.

His posturing and preening, not to mention that whinge in his autobiography about nearly crashing the car after being offered a “derisory” £55,000 a week, epitomises the chasm that exists between top-flight footballers and the rest of normal society.

He struts around with that demeanour of being above everyone else, whether it be humble supporter or professional referee.

Having a gorgeous trophy wife doesn’t help either.

But my view on him has softened quite a bit in the last few days. Maybe old “Cashley” isn’t such a bad guy after all.

Don’t get me wrong. There have been times when I’ve shouted at the telly and told the screen exactly what I think of him.

The moment when he casually lofted that brainless pass across his penalty box against Kazakhstan being one of them.

But I wasn’t tempted to keep up a torrent of boos for the next 20 minutes.

Perhaps that doesn’t make a proper fan in some eyes. There will be people out there who will claim that true supporters boo and hiss “because they care”.

Care about what? It’s surely not the team they are meant to be following.

Sure, have a go at the mistake. But then move on.

Unfortunately there are too many sheep out there, happy to string along with the supposed in-crowd and go against the majority. Just like those numpties who thought it was clever to boo Barry Conlon on to the field at Valley Parade.

Cole made a howler. But that did not merit the OTT reaction that followed from the denser population of the crowd.

Blunder or not, he still remains by far the best left back at England’s call.

Inevitably, the post-match debates all banged on about how Cole would react to such baiting. I read one report from a rent-a-quote shrink claiming that he would be “emotionally damaged” for some time to come.

Do you really think so?

If anything, Cole’s stock has risen considerably because of this incident.

I’d argue that Max Clifford couldn’t have done a better PR make-over than the Wembley boo-boys.

From being a figure of hate and jealous ridicule, Cole has emerged as the wounded party, put-upon by a lynch mob looking for a target to bully.

I’m not surprised his team-mates came out so strongly in Cole’s defence. I know the feeling of anger within the City squad after Conlon got the same treatment.

In booing one man, these watchers (you can hardly describe them as supporters) are effectively booing the lot. That’s how it will be viewed in the all-for-one, one-for-all mentality of the dressing room.

So Cole therefore has become a symbol of England defiance against the mindless minority; someone to be cheered extra loudly before the next home game against Slovakia in the spring.

Cole has a lot to gain from last Saturday’s pantomime. Just so long as he doesn’t whinge about it in another book.