At Chelsea, they tell a story about Ashley Cole that might take you by surprise when reflecting on the reputation he acquired, hard-won at times it should be said, for being the poster boy for the worst excesses of English football.

When the Chelsea squad returned to Gatwick in the early hours of Wednesday or Thursday mornings after a Champions League tie, the squad would be rushed through the deserted airport and on to the coach which would take them back to the Cobham training ground. From there, they would pick up their cars and head home. Having been overtaken on the A3 by a few of them on the way back from Gatwick in the wee hours after one of those midweek trips, I can attest to how keen they were to get to their beds.

Cole was different. Once back at Cobham, he would wait for the kitmen who were responsible for the steel bins of training kit, playing kits, boots, towels and flip-flops; for the fold-down massage tables, tactics boards, bags of balls and everything else that is carried around by a modern football club. That kit was kept in the plane’s hold and the kitmen would have to collect it from the airport carousel, returning later to the training ground in their own bus.

Cole would be there to help them unload the gear and only once that was done would he climb into his car for the journey home. He considered the kitmen his friends and was happy to help them on their late shift. There are officials at Chelsea who saw him do this many times, not just on Champions League nights but also when the team returned from domestic games via Gatwick earlier in the evening.

England World Cup squad: Who did Roy Hodgson leave out of his England 23-man squad for Brazil? Show all 10 1 /10 England World Cup squad: Who did Roy Hodgson leave out of his England 23-man squad for Brazil? England World Cup squad: Who did Roy Hodgson leave out of his England 23-man squad for Brazil? John Ruddy - Goalkeeper Age – 27 Caps – 1 Goals – 0 Ruddy’s sole appearance came in the international friendly against Italy shortly after the 2012 European Championships, the tournament he missed after breaking a finger having already postponed his wedding. Suffered Premier League relegation with Norwich this season, and has been edged out of the squad by Fraser Forster. Reuters England World Cup squad: Who did Roy Hodgson leave out of his England 23-man squad for Brazil? Kyle Walker – Right-back Age – 23 Caps – 10 Goals – 0 The Tottenham defender had been a major concern for Hodgson in the build-up to his announcement having struggled with a pelvic injury since the Europa League defeat to Benfica in March. With Chris Smalling and Phil Jones able to cover the right-back role, he has not been risked for the tournament. GETTY IMAGES England World Cup squad: Who did Roy Hodgson leave out of his England 23-man squad for Brazil? Ashley Cole – Left-back Age – 33 Caps – 107 Goals – 0 One of England’s most experienced squad members was deemed to be replaceable by Roy Hodgson following the emergence of Luke Shaw. The Chelsea left-back announced his omission and subsequent international retirement on Sunday, despite a strong end to the season with Chelsea (due to injuries, suspension and rotation). GETTY IMAGES England World Cup squad: Who did Roy Hodgson leave out of his England 23-man squad for Brazil? Steven Caulker - Centre-back Age: 22 Caps: 1 Goals: 1 Having come through the ranks at Spurs, the centre-back failed to make an impact at White Hart Lane, finding himself loaned out on a regular basis. But he did enough to convince Cardiff City to spend £8m to take him to Wales. Enjoyed a decent season but didn't do enough to stop Cardiff finishing the season bottom of the Premier League. Made his only appearance for England in a friendly against Sweden last year, during which he found the back of the net. GETTY IMAGES England World Cup squad: Who did Roy Hodgson leave out of his England 23-man squad for Brazil? John Stones - defender Age: 19 Caps: 0 Goals: 0 The Everton central defender emerged as a late contender for the squad after impressing in the latter stages of the season. Having signed for the Toffees for £3m in January 2013, he made over 20 appearances under Roberto Martinez this season, but his inexperience appears to have cost him a place having never been named in an England senior squad. Getty Images England World Cup squad: Who did Roy Hodgson leave out of his England 23-man squad for Brazil? Tom Cleverley - Central midfielder Age: 24 Caps: 13 Goals: 0 Much criticised in recent seasons, and even 18,000 people signed a petition for the Manchester United midfielder not to be included in the England squad earlier this season. Getty Images England World Cup squad: Who did Roy Hodgson leave out of his England 23-man squad for Brazil? Adam Johnson - Winger Age: 26 Caps: 11 Goals: 2 Although his form tailed off towards the end of the season, the winger has enjoyed his most prolific season, scoring eight goals for Sunderland in the Premier League. PA England World Cup squad: Who did Roy Hodgson leave out of his England 23-man squad for Brazil? Michael Carrick - Central midfield Age: 32 Caps: 31 Goals: 0 The Manchester United midfielder was first called up to the England squad 13 years ago squad by Sven Goran-Eriksson, but, unlike at club-level, has never been a first-choice starter for his country, and has been left out of the squad that will compete in Brazil. Getty Images England World Cup squad: Who did Roy Hodgson leave out of his England 23-man squad for Brazil? Andy Carroll - Striker Age – 25 Caps – 9 Goals – 2 Carroll only returned from a long-term ankle injury in January, but was unable to force his way into Hodgson’s plans after scoring twice in the final three months of the season. The Hammers striker was believed to have been contacted by the England manager following the final day defeat to champions City, only to be unreachable as he was on his way to Dubai. GETTY IMAGES England World Cup squad: Who did Roy Hodgson leave out of his England 23-man squad for Brazil? Jermain Defoe - Striker Age – 31 Caps – 55 Goals – 19 Defoe left Tottenham at the start of the year to head to the MLS and Toronto in the hope that regular first-team football – something he was not afforded at Spurs – and goals would help him force his way into the squad as the fourth-choice striker. While he hasn’t managed to make the cut, Defoe will be on stand-by given that his base in North America is significantly closer to Brazil than those in the UK, not to mention his proven threat as a goal scorer. GETTY IMAGES

It is a striking image, the 107-cap England footballer who had won every trophy in the game – including seven FA Cups, more than any player in history – sitting waiting on his own in the middle of the night to shift some sweaty kit. You could hardly accuse him of doing it for the publicity either, given that it happened at about 3am behind the gates of a training ground that treats security so seriously it maintains a Pentagon-style “threat level”.

It is more than a year now since Cole’s last cap for England, against Denmark on 5 March. As it stands there are no plans for him to travel north from his home outside Rome to watch his former team-mates play in Turin tonight. It ended awkwardly with Roy Hodgson: the manager called Cole to tell him he was not in the World Cup squad last May and Cole responded by retiring from international football on the spot.

The left-back’s move to Roma has not worked out as he might have hoped in terms of playing time. In his last four games, for example, he has been an unused substitute. He had a hard time against Arjen Robben at home to Bayern Munich in the 7-1 Champions League defeat in October and was substituted at half-time, with the Germans leading 5-0. That tends to be the game that stands out for those who have watched him, although he has had to play in a Roma defence that has gone through a lot of changes.

According to those who know him well, he loves his new life in the Italian capital, away from what he regarded as a hostile British press. He has enjoyed it to the extent that one of his associates said yesterday that Cole might just stay there when his time at the club comes to an end, although he already has another year on his deal after this season.

The sad thing is that Cole, at 34, and with 13 major trophies to his name, remains the great outsider in English football. He still feels like the teenager who has just slammed his bedroom door shut and turned up the music, rather than the man waiting patiently to help a group of friends who earn considerably less than him unload a bus in the middle of the night.

There will be many who regard Cole’s chances of building a career as a manager or a coach as roughly similar to the prospect of Jeremy Clarkson returning to the BBC as a CBeebies presenter – although you can never be completely certain. Equally, he would be fascinating to watch as a television pundit, but given that so much of Cole’s career post-Arsenal has been about sticking two fingers up to what he considers his enemies in the media, it is doubtful whether his heart would be in it.

There has to be a good chance that when finally he finishes playing, Cole will close the door on it all. There might be one more move in him, perhaps to Major League Soccer, or he might just, as has been suggested, simply never return, living a splendidly eccentric exile across Europe as the Premier League generation’s answer to Lord Byron.

As the English Football Association tries to find a way to harvest the expertise of a generation of players, bringing Cole back into the fold looks like one of the tougher challenges. My guess would be that his strengths would lie in relating to young footballers who would, at the very least, have to go some way to shock him. Chelsea have already welcomed back Jody Morris, who had some ups and down in his playing career, as an assistant Under-18s coach.

Of course, not every footballer wants to make a career in the game post-retirement and not every man who called the FA a #BUNCHOFTWATS on Twitter, and was fined £90,000 for it, will want one day to work with it. Yet Cole remains a great enigma in English football, and the various components that make up his career can at times seem irreconcilable.