Another f**k up.still one of the best left backs in the premiership and will command a place in any premiership team and in most teams in the world,mourhino?

I think if Jose had his way, he would like to keep Cole, this one is probably out of his control. It's like the Ballack situation, only Cole is a year younger and still has a lot more to offer. I doubt we will invest in Shaw, most likely we will get an established player who could offer 4-5 years. That's life at Chelsea, never makes life easy.

Another f**k up.still one of the best left backs in the premiership and will command a place in any premiership team and in most teams in the world,mourhino?

You just can't help yourself can you, every single post you just have to blame him for something, its very odd. Especially as mourinho has been saying for at least a couple of months he wants Cole to stay.

Edited May 22, 201412 yr by dkw

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hOpmHvBpQs#t=83

Edited May 22, 201412 yr by Scott

Another f**k up.still one of the best left backs in the premiership and will command a place in any premiership team and in most teams in the world,mourhino?

 

You do realise that Mourinho doesn't handle contract negotiation don't you?. I expect he wanted Cole to stay but Chelsea most likely only offered him a 1 year deal and Cole probably wants 2 plus they likely offered him a cut in wages too.

This is incredibly sad, Cole was a truly brilliant player. It was a pleasure to watch him play in blue, a pleasure which came pretty much every week because he was so damned consistent. He has been a key part of some of our most memorable moments both domestically and in Europe, it pains me to think that we're never going to see another dramatic goalline clearance from him. It has been a privilege to watch one of the all-time great full-backs play for us and I have no doubt whatsoever that it is going to be an impossible task to replace him with someone of equal ability.

 

Top, top professional on the pitch, always gave every ounce of effort in his body, even for England while receiving some pretty ill-judged abuse throughout the majority of his career. A defender so brilliant that upon being left out of the England squad, Maldini himself immediately rushed to his defence.

 

I hold Ashley Cole in my head as the benchmark of how a world-class modern left back should play, he would certainly be in contention for my all-time favourite XI and I can really pay a footballer no higher compliment than that. Thanks for everything Ash.

Also I hope that rumour linking him to Real is true because I would love to see him carry on playing at the highest level, and ideally away from England.

Surprising that he's being allowed to leave quite so easily, if the reports are all true. He's def been one of the best left backs we've seen in the Prem, and was by far the best England player in South Africa in the 2010 WC, when the rest of them forgot to turn up. From the little I've seen of him this season he still looks to be performing as well as ever.

Although it's upsetting to see him leave when I feel he still has a lot to offer us, I can't say it's an absurd decision to let him go at this stage in his career. As many have said already in here, his wages will be amongst the highest in the club currently and the club probably does right to let him go.

In letting Ash go we'll be reducing the wage bill and we also have a more than adequate replacement in Azpilicueta. If ever there was a "right time" to let Cole go, it would be now.

I'd much rather see Ash walk out of the club with his head held high after putting in consistent solid perfomances (as per usual) as opposed to paying him a lot of money for him to spend over 60% of the next couple of seasons on the bench.

He will be a great acquisition for whichever club obtains his signature as he is still one of the best defensive left-backs in world football - however, people seem to disregard a full-backs need to defend in this day and age.

I, personally, hope he goes to play outside of the Premier League so he can face a new challenge. He's achieved everything he can here in England and if we've gotten to know Ash over the years, he loves a challenge. If the rumours about Carlo being interested in taking him to Real Madrid are true, I'd be delighted. Ash still deserves and warrants a place within a team competing at the highest level and if he was to leave for America or France he would miss out on that.

Did all the doubters believe £5m plus Gallas to be an astute piece of business at the time? Probably not, but... they do now!

Edited May 23, 201412 yr by Greg

i wonder is this is how those goonies felt when he left them? 

The guy is a chelsea legend...but we have to move on at some point...yes he could have had one more year, but eventually his time would have come so why not now? Bet he wants to play more and I can't see him as a coach like lamps wants to be anyhow, so I'm sure it's his choice as much as Chelsea's...good luck to him

Hold your horses http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/9339723/transfer-news-jose-mourinho-will-speak-to-ashley-cole-about-chelsea-future

I don't believe it but he should be kept on for another year.

I hope he is signed for one more year

Nobody mentioned this, but he was finally let go yesterday officially.

 

Sad, but good luck to him and thanks for his service! Awesomely good left back, and I also I think he was converted from Gooner to Blues. I hope he supports and follows our progress in the future! :)

The club has posted this up on their Facebook and Twitter so it looks like Ash is definitely going, any rumours or chances of a 1 year deal not happening. 

 

 

Chelsea FC ?@chelseafc  29m

Thank you @TheRealAC3 for eight years fantastic service, and for helping to bring so many trophies home. #CFC

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good luck to Ashley, arguably the greatest left back in CFC history.

Edited July 1, 201412 yr by ForeverCarefree

The club has posted this up on their Facebook and Twitter so it looks like Ash is definitely going, any rumours or chances of a 1 year deal not happening. 

 

 

Chelsea FC ?@chelseafc  29m

Thank you @TheRealAC3 for eight years fantastic service, and for helping to bring so many trophies home. #CFC

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good luck to Ashley, arguably the greatest left back in CFC history.

Toss-up between him, Andy Dow and Graham Wilkins.

Thanks for everything Ashley, the man was a brick wall. I hope he gets a well-deserved swansong somewhere glamorous and sunny.

Toss-up between him, Andy Dow and Graham Wilkins.

 

I'll have to take your word for it as they were before my time. 

 

Based purely on success obviously Ash is going to be a tough act to follow. 

 

I don't think any player is ever going to top is record haul of FA Cup winners medals. 

I'll have to take your word for it as they were before my time. 

You missed out there!

You missed out there!

 

Seeing as the first left back Chelsea signed when I started watching was Celestine Babayaro, you're probably right. 

The club has posted this up on their Facebook and Twitter so it looks like Ash is definitely going, any rumours or chances of a 1 year deal not happening.

Chelsea FC ?@chelseafc 29m

Thank you @TheRealAC3 for eight years fantastic service, and for helping to bring so many trophies home. #CFC

Good luck to Ashley, arguably the greatest left back in CFC history.

Definitely the best LB in my time as a Chelsea fan and definitely the best LB in PL history.

There are times when this club or at the leaf the people that run it should once in a while give their heads a shake. Ash would have been a great back up to Dave or whoever slots in at LWB and become a great tutor to the young players rather than stick to this ridiculous contract policy of theirs when it comes to age of players.  If on the other hand the club offered Ash to stay but Ash declined because he wants to be playing first team football every week then it becomes understandable and I don't think anyone would have a problem with that, but nothing comes out from the press department so we are all left to wonder if the leaders of the club are just cold and calculated business types who really don't give a rats arse.  Understandable not offering a contract if Ash was a mediocre / average first team player but you don't treat world class players who have given most of their career to a club and simply dump them when they reach 'Chelsea retirement age'.  

 

Best of luck Ashley, I hope you have at least 2 or 3 years left in top flight football.  Cheers mate...

Seeing as the first left back Chelsea signed when I started watching was Celestine Babayaro, you're probably right. 

I always thought he was sh*te, but Dow and Wilkins were on another level of sh*teness. Ashley Cole is -  in my experience - out on his own by a massive distance as our best ever LB.

[quote name="Backbiter"

Toss-up between him, Andy Dow and Graham Wilkins.[/quote David Stride Tom Boyd and John millar would keep them company! Wilkins OG's were fantastic! Serious note all the best to Ashley, best left back in my years following. Some may say Eddie mc, but different era. Can't believe he didn't go to Brazil, Baines yet to perform at International level.