HE FIRST thing you notice is the smile. Full wattage, main beam, constant.

Then there's the tone of voice. Quiet, philosophical, accepting.

No snarl, no swagger, no excuses. Just complete honesty in an attempt to state his case, not change anybody's perceptions of him.

The world's finest full-back content to let people make their own judgements of him without any hint of rancour.

This is Ashley Cole.

There are ground rules. No questions about Cheryl - "the missus" - and no air-brushing.

If, after this interview, Cole is still demonised, so be it.

There's still a bit of work to do, of course.

Yet there's also lighter side to Cole, his face illuminated by memories of jousting with Cristiano Ronaldo, those special moments that afforded him sanctuary from the madness.

Still he constantly returns to a theme of acceptance, of knowing there will always be somebody out there who refuses to acknowledge that there may be more to Cole than the suggestion of football's excesses.

"I will be retired in five or six years and then the people who hate me can move on to someone else," is his shoulder-shrugging take on it.

He has made mistakes, he knows that and yet it is only now that he has set about restoring his reputation.

"Getting arrested last March was my lowest point," he admits. "It was like a domino effect, with one thing after another.

"When I was in the police cell for five hours I could see the headlines and it was like I was the devil man."

He was arrested by police when he emerged from The Collection nightclub in Kensington, handcuffed after swearing at preying paparazzi.

Then he was plastered all over newspapers for all the wrong reasons.

He was fined £80 for a public order offence after his brush with the law. "I swore at the paparazzi, but the policewoman took offence," he adds.

"I wasn't drunk - I was about to get in my car - but I made a mistake.

"As soon as she put the handcuffs on I realised I shouldn't have sworn at the paps again.

"People talk so much about players being detached and I agree with that, but can you imagine what it feels like to be in a restaurant with people taking pictures on their phones?

"People expect us to be nice all the time - and we try - but there are always some who try to turn us over."

At times he still feels like a prisoner, trapped in his own home because a night out is just one misplaced word away from trouble.

He accepts his salary and the lifestyle that goes with being married to the nation's favourite pop star has its downfalls.

Again, he smiles: "I'm a 28-year-old 'old' man. I can go out, but when I do I don't feel it's worth it.

"I go to restaurants with the missus, but there's always the paparazzi outside.

"It's hard to go out and enjoy myself, and sometimes I can't be normal. That's the way it is and I've come to accept it.

"Instead I spend most of the time at home with the missus watching some DVDs.

"I accept that we are paid huge amounts of money for doing a job we love and we are the luckiest people in the world.

"I never had money when I was a kid. I was brought up by my mum on a council estate in east London.

"I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth but the moment I got money I made sure my mum was sorted. I do things for charity and yet I'm embarrassed to even mention it.

"It's my private life. I don't actually want any publicity or go looking for it, I just want to play football and quietly get on with my life."

At 28 years old he accepts that he will never win a popularity contest, admitting that his much-publicised book My Defence was not received in the way he had intended.

Then it was personal, with Ashley Cole against the Arsenal supporters following his move to arch-rivals Chelsea.

At first it was entertaining, with Cole laughing at a section of away fans when they waved wads of money at him. Then it got really personal.

"I'm not stupid. Some Arsenal fans will never like me and some will never appreciate me or respect me.

"The first time we played Arsenal it was funny - they were throwing notes at me and it was a laugh.

"They take it too far, but it's not just me. What they say about our wives, our mums our families is nasty. We have to put up with that.

"It affects me. I can hear them and I will think 'How can they sing that?'

"There are times when I want to turn around and say 'Do you actually understand what you're saying?' but if you do that you let them win.

"That's why there is a perception that we are detached from the fans. We feel powerless."

He wasn't powerless in that Invincibles team of 2003-04, part of a team that went on a record-breaking run of 49 games unbeaten.

Cole was one of the emerging stars in a team that boasted Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Robert Pires.

"I watched Arsene Wenger's Arsenal XI recently and it was only then, when he picked me at left-back, that I realised how much I achieved there.

"In my heart I know I did a great job for them. The team I played in was something special. They liked to get down and play.

"I have moved on, but I know the fans will never love me."

Instead his affections are with the game that gave him the platform to become one of the most accomplished players in the Premier League.

He's a fiery character, fearless in the tackle and almost impenetrable at left-back.

He's proud of his record, but then he winces when he's reminded about his run-in with Mike Riley at White Hart Lane in a 4-4 Premier League draw with Tottenham in March last year.

He escaped with a yellow card when he brought down Alan Hutton and then apologised to the referee for his petulant response.

Again, no excuses: "That was a time when things in my life were hard. There was a lot of needle, but I was bang out of order.

"It's hard for players in that environment, we have to carry on as if nothing is wrong

"When I do something it's always 'Oh, it's Ashley Cole'. That gets on my nerves a bit but I deal with it."

His determination and his dogged defending are hallmarks of his game, striking fear through opposition wingers.

He loves talking about his battles with Ronaldo, finally explaining the moment he infamously showed the United winger an imaginary pocket in his shorts at Old Trafford.

"I miss playing against Cristiano Ronaldo, I really do," Cole beams with almost child-like enthusiasm.

"Manchester United don't seem the same without him - he's the best player in the world.

"I used to love our battles. If I'm concentrating, on my day I can do well against anyone, but he was something else.

"I love his skills, but I nearly ripped my groin when I was first playing against him because he did a trick and I did the splits.

"My mates were killing me after and I thought 'Right, he's never embarrassing me again'.

"A couple of years later at Chelsea I showed him the imaginary pocket in my shorts and their fans were lapping up the banter.

"They were battering me at Old Trafford as usual when I did it and I thought it was funny but they were calling me a w***** - as usual!"

He enjoys the tests against technical opponents, proving that he is capable of psyching out even the very best players.

His verbal confrontations with the former United star were part of their battles, full-blooded affairs for 90 mesmerising minutes.

"I am an emotional guy, but I try to keep my feelings to myself - but on the pitch it's different," he adds.

"On the pitch I'd kick Jermaine Pennant and he's one of my best mates.

"Don't talk to me on the pitch. With Ronaldo I'd try to wind him up by saying 'Get up, you're always diving' and he'd give it the 'Who me? No, no, no'. If he tried to run at me, I'd be saying 'You're not quick enough.'

"Sometimes I don't like how competitive I can be on the pitch, but I can't help it because I want to win the game so much.

"Every season I start by saying I am going to change on the pitch and I can't."

It is those performances and that mentality that have earned him 77 England caps, just 10 short of eclipsing Kenny Sansom's national record for a full-back.

Cole has been a fixture in the team since his debut against Albania in 2001, and is guaranteed to be in the squad for his third World Cup finals next summer.

He loves representing his country and yet he is still coming to terms with bitter experience at the hands of England fans last October.

Then, he was booed after making a mistake that led to Kazakhstan's goal in a World Cup qualifier, a poorly weighted back pass that eventually found its way past David James.

He says: "I was upset, I'm human, I have feelings and I was upset that my own fans turned on me.

"Everyone makes mistakes, but I have always given 100 per cent for my country and have never let them down. I have made a few mistakes, but that was hard to take.

"At the time it was just nice to get back to Chelsea and to people who supported me.

"There were 90,000 people booing - you can't expect me to be happy. You'd have to ask them why they did it.

"Some say it's because of what they thought happened with my wife, some say it was the football.

"In the past there have been times when it's been difficult playing for England but to have the fans behind you it so important.

"Now it's a different atmosphere. If the players stay fit we have a chance of winning the World Cup."

Winning trophies is the be all and end all for Cole, preparing for the day when he can start a family and show off some silverware.

He has already won two Premier League titles with Arsenal, three FA Cups with the Gunners and two more with Chelsea in a very successful playing career.

He wants more of that, focusing on his first Premier League title with Chelsea and another crack at Champions League.

"When players are young, they don't really understand what's happening to them. You play for fun.

"You think it's a dream and it's brilliant but now it's about pressure and we can't enjoy it as much.

"We have to win every game at Chelsea. The demands are greater and the motivation is to win trophies.

"Chelsea's strengths are all about power and aggression, a different philosophy to Arsenal but the ambitions are exactly the same.

"There is no better feeling than the end of the season, celebrating on the pitch with a trophy.

"I want to show my kids what I've achieved when we start a family and that means winning more Premier League titles.

"What Ryan Giggs has done at Manchester United is amazing, he is the ultimate.

"Of course everyone wants to be loved and respected like that, I

"I hope that that can happen for me. If people respect me for winning things then great, but I don't expect it."

He knows he will have to earn it. This is a pretty good start.

NOTW

Love the part of his battles with Ronaldo and he is winning over the general public too.

Good inter view and good post.

I often think 'Ashley Cole - how f**king lucky can you get'. World class player, playing for the best team in the World, secure for the rest of his life, goes home (sometimes) to Cheryl and apart from the obvious trappings he's young, fit and seems a decent guy.

Alright, he's not perfect and he has made some massive and public mistakes. Many of us have made the same mistake in the relative privacy of our own lives. He's a young man from a 'normal' background who happens to be exceptional at his chose sport. That doesn't make him immune to frailties or should he be expected to be some moral standard to strive to. Okay, he was an absolute bar steward to his wife and he should never have doen what he did, but he did and they should be left to get on with it without the press and everyone and the auntie judging him for it.

I think this will go a way to regaining his deserved place in the media and society. He was reasonable, in control, honest and making no excuses. Well done Ash

Reading it the first thing I thought was that women reading this would not be that impressed

with him refering to Cheryl as 'the missus'.

I skimmed for references to us, all I saw was England and Arsenal, not really interested in anything else, although I do like him.

Goose, when I hear someone, like Jamie Oliver, refer to his wife in his affected "mockney" way as 'the missus', I often think his wife must want to give him a slap. But when I read someone like Ashley Cole do it, I just think he is what he is. It doesn't offend me. Only when someone refers to me in a way that I find offensive do I have a problem. For example, when I lived in London and I went to the market to buy my greengrocery and the seller said "Alright darlin' what can I get yer", or said to his mate "Serve that bird for me" I didn't have a problem at all. But if I was at work and a collegue spoke about me and referred to me in the same way, he would have been clutching his testicles for a very long time, likewise any man I was in a relationship with. Living in Lincolnshire now, I don't understand what most people say.

Living in Lincolnshire now, I don't understand what most people say.

You want to holiday up my way Jane.

A'right doll, how's about it?

It almost felt like they were slightly mocking the situation by being over-sympathetic.

I'm a bit careful around women in the way a refer to them. Have a mate who has decked a couple of workmates on nights out who give it the

old 'darlin', pet, sweet' chat. I also tend to be careful using the term 'the wife'.

Living in Lincolnshire now, I don't understand what most people say.

'You'd be a wee cuddy over here', how awful would that be?

Edited October 27, 200916 yr by goose

Seems Ronaldo's feelings of their battles are reciprocated, a little excerpt from an interview he did with the sun

Until we got on to Premier League defenders.

Then he got into his stride: "England is far more difficult than Spain. The players are far tougher and just want to kick you.

"And the referees refuse to protect the big players.

"But there are exceptions. I loved playing against Ashley Cole. Yes, he's tough as well but he knows how to play the game. Some of my best memories are battles with him for Chelsea and England.

"But it's still a fantastic league, for me the best in the world.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport...than-Spain.html

People talk so much about players being detached and I agree with that, but can you imagine what it feels like to be in a restaurant with people taking pictures on their phones?

Can you imagine not having the money to go to a fancy restaurant at all?