Ashley Cole

Name:	Ashley Cole
Nationality:	English
Date of Birth:	20/12/1980
Height:	5' 9" (176cm)
Weight:	10st 6lbs (66.0kg)
Previous
Clubs:	Crystal Palace (loan), Arsenal
Position:	Defender

The 2008/09 season is the third at Chelsea for a player signed on transfer deadline day in August 2006.

At the time of his arrival, he took the total of England internationals in the squad to six and the number of England left-backs to two.

The Blues lost a world class defender in William Gallas to Arsenal on the same day but made sure that move was adequately compensated by signing the player frequently described as the best in his position in the world.

A product of the Arsenal youth system, Ashley was born in east London and made his debut for the Gunners at the age of 18 in the Worthington Cup.

He spent a three-month loan period at Crystal Palace at the end of the 1999/2000 season, making 14 appearances and scoring one goal.

His progress was rewarded with his first Arsenal Premiership appearance in the final league game of the same season.

By the end of the following campaign, Cole had taken over as first choice left-back from the Brazilian, Silvinho, and the next season was handed his first winners' medals as Arsenal secured the Premiership and FA Cup double.

He played all 90 minutes of Chelsea's 2-0 defeat by our London rivals in the Cup Final in Cardiff and made a total of 33 appearances in the two victorious competitions.

Cole was to taste the other side of a Chelsea v Arsenal result when on the losing side in our famous Champions League triumph at Highbury in April 2004, but by then the player had won a second FA Cup Final, in 2003 against Southampton.

He was also well on the way to his second Premiership title (playing 32 times in Arsenal's unbeaten league season of 2003/4) and had become an England international.

Having played for England at youth and Under 21 levels, Cole was named in Sven-Göran Eriksson's first squad and made his full international debut against Albania in March 2001.

He played all five England games at the World Cup in 2002 and for many people, was one of his nation's star performers during Euro 2004 in Portugal. He was named in the all-star squad for the tournament.

A third FA Cup win was added in 2005, Cole scoring in the deciding penalty shoot-out against Man United.

Although his final Arsenal season saw him hampered by injuries, he recovered to start their Champions League Final defeat by Barcelona and was an ever-present in England's run to the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals.

His athletic goal-line clearance against Ecuador was an enduring image of a low-key England campaign.

He made his Chelsea debut against Werder Bremen at Stamford Bridge in September 2006. His transfer had involved £5 million plus William Gallas going the other way.

As Chelsea increasingly switched to a narrow diamond midfield in that first season, surging runs from full-back were an important ploy but it was when defending against Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford that Ashley enjoyed his finest Chelsea game of his opening campaign.

A fabulous athlete who loves to go forward, he admitted at the season's end that Blues fans had yet to see him at his very best, a series of injures having hindered the settling process. Healthy competition with Wayne Bridge for the Chelsea left-back shirt had ended with a roughly even share of games.

An ankle operation in the summer cleared the way for an uninhibited start to the 2007/08 campaign and with Bridge injured, Ashley got off to a flyer until the same ankle was damaged on England duty in October.

Just over a month later, he returned to share duties and it was Ashley who received the nod for many major games, including all but three on the road to Moscow.

His first Chelsea goal was lashed in away at West Ham in March but the same month, he was caught up in a media storm after an incident at White Hart Lane involving Spurs player Alan Hutton and referee Mike Riley. Ashley quickly apologised for his part.

The close to the 2007/08 season saw him in his most consistent form since joining the Blues, the famous goal-line clearances continuing, and after surviving an injury scare in training on the eve of the Champions League Final, he recovered to put in one of the best displays on the night, including a successful shoot-out penalty converted.

His total games played in the campaign were 38+1, and his consistency has continued through to the current campaign. Again he faced competition from Bridge, but his form was enough to make the place unquestionably his own, and Bridge moved on in January.

Under Luiz Felipe Scolari, Cole was utilised far more than before in the opposition half, getting forward to add width to an already impressive attack, but with the arrival of Guus Hiddink, the full-back has had his wings clipped slightly, focusing more on defence, particularly when his opposite full-back has gone forward.

A model of consistency throughout the campaign, Cole looks to have put those lingering injury problems behind him, helping the side to the FA Cup Final with victory over his former side in mid April, his games tally already greater than either of his two previous Chelsea campaigns.

Season 2008 - 09

Competition	Apps (as sub)	Goals	Yellow Cards	Red Cards
League	33 (1)	1	5	0
FA Cup	6 (0)	0	1	0
Euro Cups	8 (0)	0	3	0

Career History:
Club	Season	Comp.	Apps (as sub)	Goals
Chelsea	2007 - 08	League	27 (0)	1
		FA Cup	1 (0)	0
		League Cup	1 (1)	0
		Euro Cups	10 (0)	0
Chelsea	2006 - 07	League	21 (2)	0
		FA Cup	4 (1)	0
		League Cup	3 (0)	0
		Euro Cups	9 (0)	0
Arsenal	2005 - 06	League	9 (2)	0
		Euro Cups	3 (0)	0
Arsenal	2004 - 05	League	35 (0)	2
		FA Cup	3 (0)	0
		Euro Cups	7 (1)	0
Arsenal	2003 - 04	League	32 (0)	0
		FA Cup	4 (0)	0
		League Cup	1 (0)	0
		Euro Cups	9 (0)	1
Arsenal	2002 - 03	League	30 (1)	1
		FA Cup	3 (0)	0
		Euro Cups	9 (0)	0
Arsenal	2001 - 02	League	29 (0)	2
		FA Cup	4 (0)	0
		Euro Cups	6 (1)	0
Arsenal	2000 - 01	League	15 (2)	3
		FA Cup	5 (1)	0
		League Cup	1 (0)	0
		Euro Cups	8 (1)	0
Crystal Palace	1999 - 00	League	14 (0)	1
Arsenal	1999 - 00	League	1 (0)	0
		League Cup	0 (1)	0

source : www.chelseafc.com