Chelsea admit they did meet Cole?

Team
By Boris Mellor
March 12 2005

The Sun claims, in an exclusive this morning, that Cole and Chelsea did meetin a London hotel. They also claim that Coles agent requested the meeting.

It is claimed that Chelsea have volunteered the information, probably to embarrass Arsenal. and get themselves off the hook.

I dont think it will embarrass Arsenal at all, they were well aware who had set the meeting up when the board lodged the complaint. Wenger made it clear that he wasn't asking Ashley about the meeting because he would only say no. In other words he believed that Cole was complicit in the affair.

Arsenal fans also believe that to be the case; although some are very bitter about it, others blame the wages policy. However it seems to me that, if the story is true, Chelsea think they are being clever, and that somehow this admission will get them off the hook.

However its more likely to prove their guilt, they did meet, and lied about it afterwards. Saying the player's agent organised the meeting is no excuse. They should have checked with Arsenal as to the players availability. So they are still in breach of the rules by agreeing to the meeting. If they thought it was above board why the secrecy and the lies?

More interesting is how Cole will feel about it now. Does he want to join a club that would throw him to the wolves to save on a fine or a couple of points? They can easily afford both.