[Omah]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...hley-Cole.html

There were moments during Ancelotti's press conference that were seriously uncomfortable, and not just because of the Chelsea's manager's perfectly innocent response to the question of whether there were 'any injuries'. 'No new ones; just Alex and Benayoun,' replied the Italian, obviously overlooking the poor lad currently having a few days off from his year-long work placement while his minor gun-shot wound heals.

The real problem arose when Ancelotti dared describe Cole as an excellent professional and a good man; one of the best he has ever encountered.

How, he was asked, could he say that about a player who brings a gun into the training ground and smuggles a girl into the team hotel during a pre-season tour, one who then lies to club officials about the girl when he discovers he has been rumbled by a journalist.

'To say he's a professional, I judge the players on the training pitch,' said Ancelotti. 'I can say, without problem, that he's one of the best professionals I've met. Outside, he made a mistake last week. Two years ago, he made a mistake. This is true. But when I talk about professionals, I'm talking about things on the training pitch.'

It was a car crash of an answer, even if nobody would dispute his view of Cole once he crosses that white line. He is a brilliant trainer, and the one Chelsea player - even the only England player - who would squeeze into a world XI.

But what Ancelotti was essentially saying was that a measure of a player's professionalism does not extend beyond the confines of a football pitch. That it matters not if their off-the-field behaviour harms the image of their club. Perhaps even the image of the game they are supposed to represent. The kind of behaviour that invites yet more accusations of arrogance and puts even more distance between the millionaire footballers and their supporters.

Unbelievable .....