Set Ash free!

With England lacking width in their Euro 2012 squad FanZoner Tom Reed says Ashley Cole is the answer!

Is Cole the wing wizard England need? Poor old Engelbert Humperdinck...getting thrashed in the Eurovision song contest. But in England's training camp, Humperdinck's rueful hit "Please release me" can be heard resonating from a certain full back's room. Ashley Cole, one time striker in his youth football days, has been shackled in the most restrictive position in football (left back) for too long. Always hampered by the hackneyed "don't fix what isn't broke" line, the attacking attributes of the Chelsea player have been forsaken. Yet, with the left side of midfield continuing to be a problem area for the national team and with Roy Hodgson keen on a 4-4-2, surely it's worth trying Cole in a wide left berth. Cole's defensive abilities are well charted but it's his offensive forays which are intriguing. Not only is the thirty-one year old a pacy player with a reasonable cross, his ability to turn defenders and force shots on goal is a secret that only the most ardent of Chelsea fans are in on. Playing the Whitechapel born southpaw on the left wing (with Leighton Baines behind) would add balance to the England side whilst providing overlap opportunities with the Evertonian likewise not averse to patrolling farther up the pitch.

diminutive

Cole would also be able to drop back when needed, creating a solid back five and perhaps infield where it is now de rigeur to have diminutive ball players in central areas. Long gone are the days when the slender defender would get smashed to smithereens in midfield. Instead Cole's pass-and-move style would be fostered by European Championship referees protective of technical players. It's often said that you should have your best players in a position where they can hurt opponents, not hidden away at full back. So Roy, as the great Arnold Dorsey would sing "Please release him, let him go, for Cole's not a left back any more. To waste his skill would be a sin, release him and let him score again".