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Alan Curbishley hit the nail on the head. Sometimes we forget that there is a “moral” issue with footballers just as there is for anyone in any walk of life.

On transfer deadline day, West Ham blocked Carlton Cole, a loyal player with just four months left on his contract, from joining West Brom on a two-and-a-half-year contract worth £5m which would probably the last big deal of his career.

It was a curious story which ended with 31-year-old Cole screaming down the phone at West Ham boss Sam Allardyce for stopping him from going to West Brom.

But former West Ham boss Curbishley, now one of the best and most sensible pundits in the media, was one of Sky’s experts on deadline day and put the whole Cole situation into perfect context.

(Image: Getty)

Curbishley said: “Sometimes there’s a moral situation as well. Carlton Cole’s contract is running out this summer and it looks like West Brom are offering him a longer contract.

“Sometimes there’s a moral issue when you feel as a manager and as a club that you’ve got to do what’s right for the player. But invariably you are looking if it might back fire on you.

“He’s done a lot for West Ham, left then came back and needs to be playing regularly. With the length of the contract, I think sometimes morally you need to do what’s right for the player even if perhaps it’s not right for the club.”

(Image: GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)

Sadly, West Ham blocked the move in the final few hours as their own attempts to sign Emmanuel Adebayor fell flat and they decided against allowing 31-year-old Cole from moving to West Brom.

The day ended with Cole, at the West Brom training ground having done a medical and agreed personal terms on a £500,000 transfer, shouting down the phone at Allardyce: “you’re f***ing wrecking my career.” At the end of the season, Cole might struggle to get a decent deal.

A lot of people at West Brom heard the shouting, with Cole pleading with Allardyce to let him go for the sake of his family and his career.

(Image: Action Images)

Cole, who has had the best part of ten years at West Ham in two spells at the club, has been such a good pro that it is hard to believe he will refuse to play or anything like that. But others would.

That’s because the collapse of his move to West Brom is only half the story. The other half is that West Ham did agree to allow Cole to go to Queens Park Rangers. Cole did not want to go there. That left Harry Redknapp, still in charge at QPR, furious.

Cole didn’t want to go to QPR because he wanted to go to West Brom where he felt Tony Pulis would play him every week, it was an two and a half year deal and it would give him and his family long term security.

West Ham agreed a £500,000 fee for him to join West Brom. Then they blocked it anyway. Cole felt West Brom really wanted him - and that was the key.

(Image: Getty)

In the end, Cole was pleading with Allardyce to let him go. He looks like he will be back to being fourth choice at West Ham. The worst scenario now for Cole is that he does not play for the rest of the season.

Sometimes in football, no matter how well paid the players are, surely they deserve a little respect and goodwill. And, as Alan Curbishley said, it’s almost a moral obligation.

There’s no doubt about it, Carlton Cole was the big loser in this window. He was left feeling like a piece of meat and while deadline day seems fun, there are some really nasty side effects, too.

Cole is a good solid pro who deserves better.