ENGLISH football has come on leaps and bounds in the last dozen years.
Take, for example, Ashley Cole – a man who once injured an aspiring youngster with an air rifle but is now credited with a key mentoring role as England won the European Under-21 Championships for the first time since 1984.
Cole was the world-class left-back of the Golden Generation who accidentally shot a work experience kid at Chelsea’s training ground in 2011.
Now he is an influential member of the coaching staff of U21s boss Lee Carsley, a supposedly underwhelming appointment who has proved an inspired choice.
Carsley has been flexible in terms of tactics and manpower and his England side were the most attractive and effective team at the tournament they won in Saturday’s final – which saw Cole sent off after a row with the Spanish bench.