Carlton Cole comes back to Stamford Bridge today a much improved player to the one we sold in 2006. But whilst in footballing terms our former striker has clearly progressed, it seems he might not have moved on quite as far in his head.

With more than a hint of bitterness recalling his own version of how it used to be, Cole says “I had good days at Chelsea but not that many. My future is at West Ham now and I want to put one over Chelsea because this is my club. Everything happens for a reason. I always knew that, once I got games under my belt, I would learn and progress. I’m at a happy place now but when I was there, I wasn’t that happy. I wasn’t maturing there and I was seen as the little boy. It can be hard when you come through the ranks at a club, although JT has handled it all well. He came through the Academy there and has gone on to be a top England defender. For me, it was never as easy and I had to leave, to put down roots somewhere else. I would train well all week and know I wasn’t even going to be on the bench at the weekend. There were so many stars there it was hard for me to make an impact. I was always going out on loan and I didn’t want to do that. When I finally left it was a relief really, a weight off my shoulders, because I could go somewhere else and push on.”

It’s weird he’s forgotten how he couldn’t even turn up for training on time when he was at Chelsea, so maybe the reason he was seen as ‘the little boy’ was because he behaved like a twelve year old. And as for his recollection of John Terry having an easier time of it, I suppose it’s fair to say he arrived shortly after we’d almost sold JT to Huddersfield but even so, if my memory serves me right, after acting the twat himself, Terry got his head down and earnt a place in the first team.

Still, Cole is apparently looking forward to getting one over on challenging the Chelsea captain today, stating “JT is a big, big player for Chelsea but I always look forward to playing up against the best defenders because it gives me the chance to show what I can do. If the truth be known, I’m still coming back from almost two months out injured and I know I’m not as bright yet as I should be but hopefully this game will put me another rung up the ladder towards full fitness and confidence. Playing against the top defenders and doing well against them only helps your confidence and that’s how I see this game.”

Filed under: Ex Players, Rants