Ashley Cole and the broken bond

The FA, the press and some of Cole's colleagues have been quick to attack the booing that greeted Ashley Cole's appalling error at Wembley on Saturday. They are completey missing the point. or, rather, two points.

The first is that Cole had a shocker. He failed to get forward enough which led to the lack of width in England's play. And when he did, he played too many bad balls. Then the lazy ball which led to Kazakhstan's goal was a terrible mistake which could have had shocking consequences. It came at a mometn when England were drifting, demoralized, failing to pass the ball, and running out of ideas fast. Kazakhstan were faster and when attacking, better. Cole (and Upson) deserved the absue they got.

There is a bigger point. There was a time when footballers belonged to the same world as the fans. They were working-class heroes and when their short careers ended they would retire and own a local pub or corner shop. Over the last fifteen years that has completely changed. They earn more in a month than their fans could earn in twenty years. The social contract between players and fans has broken irreparably. Players are no longer 'one of us'. So if a player makes a stupid mistake, not under pressure, but because of a complete loss of concentration, following a stinker of a game, he can no longer expect forgiveness. Cole made no secret of his sense of financial worth in his wretched memoirs. Fans haven't forgotten and it will take a great deal for Cole to win back the England fans at Wembley.