Ashley “Cash” Cole
Showing blatant disregard for the rules, his club, team mates and not forgetting the fans, Ashley Cole infamously met with Chelsea officials Jose Mourinho and Peter Kenyon in 2005, while under contract with Arsenal. He, Mourinho and Chelsea were all fined by the premier league for the “tapping up affair”. Cole appealed the decision and but the guilty verdict was upheld. He later moved to Chelsea. What a way to show his “innocence”! Cole started at Arsenal at nine years old went on to win three FA cups and two premier league titles. He also featured in the 2006 champion’s league final. His reason for wanting to leave was greed: Arsenal didn’t offer him enough money. He later resorted to mud slinging claiming the club had treated him as a “scapegoat”. Did you just question Arsenal’s integrity? After meeting Chelsea while under contract?
Loyalty and Commitment – a tale of days gone by
Players these days are all about themselves, its about being ruthless and getting as much money as they can. Players with loyalty are few and far between. Gone are the days of Alan Shearer, Tony Adams or even Francesco Totti or Del Piero, who showcased what it means to be ultimately loyalty.
The Serie-A was rocked by a match fixing scandal in 2006 resuling in Juventus and all its stars being relegated. Not going down with the sinking ship, players like Zambrotta, Vieira, Thuram and Ibrahimavic left the club. Understandably so. Relegation could stunt and hurt a career. It is quite admirable that players like Nedved, Buffon (arguably the best goalkeeper at that time) and Del Piero stayed with their team and weathered the storm. They could have made any team in the world and plenty were interested. Juventus made a swift return into the Serie A in the following season.
Spare a thought for the fans
Players these days think they are the wielders of power. Fans are the one’s who should be in power : Sold out stadia, demand for merchandise and unrelenting support has turned stars into superstars. Assou-Ekotto from Tottenham was bold enough to say he only plays football for the money. How do fans of the club feel about that? Fans need to take back the power from the clubs and the players. Perhaps then the focus will be on the football and not on the money or the dirty fame.
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