27 March 2013
Carlton Cole believes that youth‑team players are “pampered” these days.
The 29-year-old West Ham striker claims the way he was treated during his early years at Chelsea gives players a grounding they do not get now.
“I was speaking to my kit man about this,” Cole told the Daily Mail. “When I was young and first went to a Premier League side I was working hard trying to make it.
“I got my first pro contract at 17. I was travelling with the team, going up north, but still I had to wash Dennis Wise’s boots at that age. Now these kids don’t have to do that. They think everything comes easy.”
