• Chelsea will support rather than ‘kill him’ says manager
• Training ground is ‘not out of control’, says Italian
Carlo Ancelotti has revealed his anger and disappointment at the behaviour of Ashley Cole after the England left-back accidentally shot a work-placement student at the club’s training ground with an air rifle. Yet the Chelsea manager tempered his criticism by claiming that the defender remains “one of the best professionals” with whom he has worked over his career, and that the club would support rather than “kill him” for his misdemeanour.
Cole will start the match against Manchester United having apologised to Tom Cowan, the 21-year-old intern who was shot in the side by the England defender with a .22 calibre air rifle in the changing room 10 days ago.
Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich, and the club’s hierarchy were deeply unimpressed to learn of the incident and said they would take “appropriate action” against the player. Having opted against dropping Cole from the first-team they have the capacity to fine him the maximum two weeks’ wages, amounting to around £220,000.
Surrey police will also seek an explanation for the event which took place on Sunday 20 February and left Cowan, who is now on a period of leave, requiring treatment from the Chelsea medical staff. The shooting prompted Ancelotti to say the training ground is “not out of control” despite the fact that Cole had broken club rules, apparently reportedly bringing the weapon on to the premises and then using it.
“I am angry, obviously,” said the Italian. “But to read that [the training ground at] Cobham is out of control is totally wrong. I’ve been a manager for 20 years and one of the most important things is discipline. Players have to observe the rules.
“Ashley made a mistake. When he said sorry he was really disappointed [with himself]. But what do we have to do now? Kill him? No. We have to support him. I maintain the same idea about him: he’s a good player but a good man also. For this reason, we have to be fair. I hope to be fair with my players. I want to have a good relationship with them but this does not mean there is no discipline here. We have rules here. It would be very different if he had not said ’sorry’. He stepped over the line, but we have to support him. We are really disappointed also for the guy who was the victim in this. But things are not out of control.”
Ancelotti does not have a reputation for being a particularly disciplinarian – as opposed to the likes of Fabio Capello and the former Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari – and has always opted to put an arm around a player and explain to them why their behaviour has been unacceptable rather than take more drastic action. He employed such tactics when Cole, 30, and the team captain John Terry, also 30, were the subjects of newspaper exposés over the past year and which also served to damage the club’s reputation. “If a player makes a mistake and we have to ‘kill’ them, that’s not my way to manage the players,” said Ancelotti. “I try to explain that it is wrong, support him and give him the possibility to use different behaviour.
“Ashley made a mistake last week. Two years ago [when it was claimed he had smuggled a lady back to the team's hotel in Seattle on a pre-season tour of the United States] he made a mistake. This is true. But when I talk about professionalism, I’m talking about things on the training pitch.
“I can say without problem that Ashley Cole is one of the best professionals I’ve met in my career. He is a fantastic player and one of the best left-backs in the world. He made a mistake, and who hasn’t made a mistake in his life? But we all have to take responsibility – the player and the club – for what has happened.”
Chelsea claimed that their own investigation into the matter was under way before the incident was exposed in a Sunday newspaper – the full-back played in the midweek Champions League victory over Copenhagen, before details of the shooting had emerged – and there was apparently never any possibility that Cole’s £110,000-a-week contract at the club would be torn up despite the gravity of the incident.
He will play tonight as the reigning champions, languishing in fifth place, look to claw back a 15-point deficit on Manchester United at the top of the table, with Ancelotti weighing up whether to recall Didier Drogba to his starting line-up.
Fernando Torres will start the game at Stamford Bridge still seeking a first goal since his £50m move from Liverpool while the versatile David Luiz, cup-tied in the Champions League last week, returns at the centre of defence. “We are not mathematically out of the title race so we have to keep believing, but we also need to be honest,” added Ancelotti. “It would be difficult to close this gap. But we go into this game excited and hoping to play our own game and win. It is an important game for the future of Chelsea.”
Ashley ColeCarlo AncelottiChelseaDominic Fifieldguardian.co.uk
