Ashley Cole has had to remain patient. While many others from England’s ‘golden generation’ quickly found themselves in top jobs, Cole has continued his extensive coaching education.
He saw Steven Gerrard appointed as Rangers manager just 18 months after taking a role in Liverpool’s academy. And Wayne Rooney taking charge of Derby County after graduating from a player-manager role. Paul Scholes had seven games in charge of Oldham Athletic before resigning. Gary Neville got the Valencia job after three-and-a-half years on England’s staff. Sol Campbell and Frank Lampard also landed No 1 jobs.
So, patience is a trait that Cole can lean on. He has coached in the Chelsea academy, at Birmingham, Everton, Derby and with England. But that patience has run out – and after playing a central role last summer in helping England’s Under 21s win back-to-back European Championships, Cole wanted to be a manager in his own right. And now he has landed a top job – as manager of Serie B’s Cesena FC.
‘He’s built a real foundation,’ England Under 21s boss Lee Carsley told Daily Mail Sport this week. ‘He’s given himself the best opportunity to succeed. He’s not jumped straight into something and gone off his name or his reputation, he’s done the (hard) yards.’
But pitching up in the region of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy to lead Cesena FC for the remainder of the season is not without risk.
One Italian publication likened his arrival as being akin to a ‘UFO landing’. Other sceptics have labelled it a vanity project hiring after Cole was recommended to American businessman Mike Melby, part of the ownership group, by a friend with a view to growing the team’s global profile.
Ashley Cole in the Cesena dugout in his new role as manager of the Serie B side, his first top job after numerous coaching gigs
Cole played a central role last summer in helping England’s Under 21s win back-to-back European Championships
Having observed Cole at close quarters, I think it’s safe to say he’s a far bigger asset than many are giving him credit for. He’s not waited this long for a top job to have it turned into a circus act.
Cole’s coaching IQ is incredibly high, for one, thanks to the variety of different roles he has taken on to this point. At Everton, as part of Frank Lampard’s coaching staff, Cole would sit in the stands during matches to analyse from a different vantage point.
At half-time he would break down the game in a tightly packaged presentation to players. It gave him a totally different perspective of matches.
Set-pieces also became an area of expertise for Cole while he worked at Everton, Birmingham City and later with England. Carsley has little interest in set-play and likes to devolve power to his coaches.
‘I feel like when it comes to set-pieces it’s about willingness more than size,’ the Birmingham City full back Ethan Laird once said of Cole’s messaging. ‘Size, don’t get me wrong, it helps, but you have to have the willingness to head the ball and the timing. That’s something Ash has been big on.’
Observing Cole on a day-to-day basis last summer in Slovakia at England Under 21’s Samorin base was a real privilege. And one of the most striking things with him, and this is perhaps borne out of his patient coaching journey, is that no job is too minor for him. Whether it be putting out the cones at the start of a training session, helping locate some extra bottles of sun cream, or during matches sorting out substitutions with the fourth official, he’s on it.
Those are just logistical matters, too. There is also the time he puts into connecting with players on an individual basis, something that left a lasting impression on the FA’s top brass in Slovakia and left many with the impression that a No 1 job was firmly on the horizon.
He took on certain media duties too – perhaps in preparation for becoming a manager, considering dealing with the press had always been anathema to him in the past.
Cole took charge of coaching set-pieces with the England Under 21s and it has become an area of expertise for the former full back
Cole has done the hard yards as a coach working at Chelsea (above), Derby and Birmingham
Carsley challenged Cole to lead post-match debriefs – Carsley prefers to look ahead, not back – and senior FA sources tell Daily Mail Sport that Cole proved highly motivational with players throughout the tournament.
He would join in sessions – his troublesome back permitting – and would also sit out in the sun with players to chat about football or life. By this point he had realised the human element of coaching is as crucial to success as the tactics board.
Cole’s ability to connect with young players is understood to have been a real feather in his cap and helped him land the Cesena job. By his own admission, Cole is a hybrid coach of old-school and new-school, helped immensely by his time at Chelsea’s academy where he was challenged by mentors Frank O’Brien and Neil Bath to get Under-15 and Under-16 sides to buy into his ideas.
What struck Cole then was that many didn’t know him as a player. His reputation as England’s greatest left back counted for little. Some youngsters did recognise him, but as an ‘icon’ card in the FIFA video game. He prefers it this way.
‘I want to take parts of Jose Mourinho,’ Cole said in 2019, ‘in terms of how organised he was, Carlo Ancelotti for his man-management and how he would give players faith to go out and express themselves within his system and Arsene Wenger, who was definitely a great man-manager and put a lot of trust in young players to find things out for themselves and learn quickly from mistakes.’
Carsley, too, has been a significant influence on Cole’s own development as a coach. One of the things they implemented during their time together with the Under 21s, to better connect with players, was to distribute questionnaires to family members of those called up with various scenarios.
What should you do if this player is upset? How does this player respond to being challenged? What do they do for fun? Are they more introverted or extroverted? These would always deliver a goldmine in helping coaches connect with players.
What Cesena’s players will have quickly realised is that Cole is big on both studying footage of matches and individual details. At the 2025 Under-21 Euros, Cole spent a significant amount of time coaching Tino Livramento and Jack Hinshelwood. Both went on to deliver enormous contributions en route to glory.
England Under 21s head coach Lee Carsley has been a huge influence on Cole and his coaching ideas
Cole says he will take little bits from all the managers he worked under into his own management career. Cole praises Arsene Wenger at Arsenal with ‘being a great man-manager who put a lot of trust in young players’
Two years prior it was Levi Colwill and Noni Madueke – Cole was working specifically on the mechanics of the Arsenal winger’s crossing technique – who found themselves reaping the rewards of Cole’s eye for detail.
‘Ash gave me a big bit of advice for when I try to break lines and hit a pass with a lot of power,’ Colwill explained back in 2023. ‘Normally, my right foot goes in front of the ball. He showed me; I hadn’t even noticed. At training the next day, I made a pass with my right foot behind the ball. I couldn’t thank him enough. It’s those little things that no one has ever told me.’
There are countless testimonies that chime similarly. At Everton, Cole was a key mentor for Jonjoe Kenny as he went from right back to left back. ‘He has been different class because he was the best in the world during his time so I’ve got the best to learn off,’ Kenny explained.
Cesena’s players will improve under Cole. That much is beyond question.
What Cole’s education has taught him to this point is that leaning on the expertise of others is vital. Every manager is only as good as the coaching team they surround themselves with.
It’s why having 35-year-old Nicola Capellini, a Cesena stalwart, as part of his staff to help him understand the club’s DNA is such a clever move. The pair went to watch Cesena’s academy team on Sunday together, with Cole’s attempt at trying to be somewhat discreet hiding under a purple baseball cap failing miserably. Youngsters gleefully took selfies with him at half-time in the clubhouse bar.
Capellini is a good sounding board for Cole, too. After Cesena lost their first match, in which Cole later conceded he tried to change too much too quickly, the second game was a fascinating watch.
Cole started with a 4-2-3-1 and after going a goal down to Mattia Liberali’s strike, he switched to a 4-4-2. Then he settled permanently into a 4-3-3. Cesena ran out 3-1 winners.
Cole changed systems in his second match with his side a goal down and Cesena ran out 3-1 winners
Cole gives instructions to Riccardo Ciervo of Cesena during the Serie B match against Mantova
Cole is a legendary defender in a country famed for glamourising defensive football. That won’t fly for Cole, a coach who is incredibly attack-minded and is now studying day and night in his hotel – his children and Italian model wife Sharon have stayed in London – trying to find ways to exploit their upcoming opponents.
‘I have to change something, I have to leave my mark,’ Cole said. ‘I can’t play with five players at the back. We have to improve in everything, with and without the ball, we have to be more aggressive.’
There’s a quote from Gareth Southgate printed on to one of the walls at St George’s Park which rings true as Cole finally gets his shot at doing things his way. ‘You can never say you’ve “made it” because that’s the day you stop progressing and improving.’
Cole finally has his opportunity now. Just don’t expect him to take it for granted.
