How Good is Ashton?

With rumours of an impending come back, now seems the right time to muse upon the ability of Beano. Is he the real deal as some suspect or a nearly man destined to fall short of greatness?

To be honest, any conviction on this point must be misplaced. At times Ashton has looked the dog's danglers, but for most of his time at West Ham, he might as well have been at the vets waiting to be put down. People bang on about the ankle injury and blame Curbishley and his NHS medical team for rushing back Ashton too early, but they forget that the guy arrived from Norwich wearing more bandages and strapping than a Hammer Horror mummy. He nearly missed the Cup Final with injury remember! His body is fragile, there's no getting away from that, and long lay offs take their toll, especially when you eat more pizza than a mutant ninja turtle. But that, I believe, is only half the problem.

Some athletes get hurt and don't let it bother them. I can think of Lance Armstrong, Gary Mabbutt and Frank Lampard as three examples of sportsmen who will do anything and everything they can to compete. You're not telling me that Frank hasn't played through pain over the years, there's no way he could play so often without sometimes doing so in defiance of aches and strains.

There are others, however, who almost seem to yearn for the warmth and comfort of the treatment room, the sporting sick notes headed by the likes of Darren Anderton, Chris Old (who once missed a test match because he strained stomach muscles sneezing!) and Michael Owen. Maybe their bodies are particularly frail, maybe there is a phsyical explanation; or maybe there are psychological issues that turn a niggle into an injury, discomfort into pain and a lay off into semi-retirement. Ashton apologists will argue that a broken ankle isn't a niggle, and they are of course right, but what about all the other injuries? Why did it take Beano so long to shed his pizza enhanced bulk? Why did he look so immobile following his return? Why did he pick up another injury so quickly? Why did it look as if he could barely run and jump during his spell back in the team? A legacy of the ankle injury, the Ashton supporters will claim, the failure of the medics it will be argued; but then why was he so heavily strapped BEFORE that injury? Why has he always looked like he has just walked out of A&E?

I have no doubt about the guy's ability. That goal at Boro last season showed what he can do and a return of 19 goals from 43 starts for us shows his potential. The guy is a goal scorer and has the physical presence to be a true target man into the bargain. That makes him, potentially, the new Alan Shearer but Shearer had a quality that I fear Ashton lacks, a heart as big as a wheelbarrow. And it is for this reason that I think Cole will go on to win more England caps than his more talented contemporary. Cole plays for the team; Ashton plays for himself.

Capello took one look and did not like what he saw. Whereas Cole has secured a "call back" after playing against the mighty Spain, Ashton seems to have done himself no favours in an outing against Caribbean minnows. When Cole plays for West Ham he is in the thick of everything, dropping deep, leading the line, holding the ball, chasing down opposing players, even getting sent off twice for full blooded, 100% committed play; when Ashton dons the shirt, he looks for others to do the donkey work for him. He is, I fear, a legend in his own mind, and a precious one at that.

Look at his latest statement: “I want to come back when everything is right, not return prematurely and end up getting another injury, because all the hard work will be for nothing. If it means continuing to be patient and let things take as long as they need to, then that's what I will do.” Now that is all very sensible of course but just look at how often Ashton says I rather than we, look how often he sounds as if he knows best rather than putting trust in the medical experts. I don't see him talking about West Ham, I don't see him telling us how keen he is to get back playing for the team or the fans, what I see time and time again is an egotist who is in it for himself.

Back in November 2007 I posted this: Dean Ashton in "The Sun" talking about the West Ham treatment room: "In a weird way it's a nice place to be, considering everyone in there is injured. There's lots of banter. It makes a nice change from when I was out last year and there wasn't anybody else in there. It was a very lonely place and it was hard going." A nice change eh Dean? Sod the team eh? Sod the fans eh? Just so long as you're happy mate and there's plenty of others to keep you entertained! I can imagine the banter: "So how much are you be paying paid to not play this week?"

I got stick at the time but, from memory, in the same article that the quotation was lifted from, Ashton came across as a spoilt brat, demanding that his socks were laid out in the dressing room in a certain way and insisting on his own specialist training regime because he knew his body better than anybody else. He might be right of course. Or he might be an arrogant tosser who is too big for his own boots!

To me, the jury is out. I want to believe that Beano will return as a 20 goal a season striker, leading the line with passion and verve. My head, however, tells me that he will never really do it over a sustained period. A niggle will be enough to stop him running, stop him jumping, stop him playing. Zola faces a tough call if somebody bids anything above £12 million in the summer. If we cash in and Ashton goes on to be an England striker, we will look stupid; if we don't cash in our chips and Ashton pulls up lame half a dozen games into the season, we will have missed our opportunity to move on damaged goods. I would sell. Let's see if that call is right or wrong. I would really love Beano to shove my words down my throat by emerging next season as the real deal, the new Alan Shearer!