Ashley Cole has been left out of the England squad for the World Cup, so I've heard both sides of the argument.
Roy Hodgson has picked Shaw over Cole mainly because he wants to look to the future, and Cole hasn't been playing many games this season. But ask yourself this...if Baines somehow gets a really bad injury in the opening game of the World Cup, would you trust a player like Shaw to defend properly against Italy and Uruguay? If England go through to the Quarter Finals, would you feel 100% certain that Luke Shaw will do a good job against the big teams? I don't. Ashley Cole has always been reliable for the national team, and for that reason, I would have picked Cole over Shaw. I would have also picked Cole because this would have been his last international tournament, and Shaw is still very young. Shaw will be in the national set up for 10+ years, missing this tournament wouldn't have meant much for his career in that sense, but for Cole, this would have been a great way to bow out of international football.
My top 7 left-backs right now are:
1. Philip Lahm (he plays left-back for Germany, he's versatile)
2. Leighton Baines
3. Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid)
4. Alaba
5. Ashley Cole
6. Jordi Alba
7. Marcelo
I personally think Jordi Alba and Marcelo are too attacking for my liking. They need to improve defensively. The number of chances Baines creates is ridiculous. I would have put Ashley Cole as No. 3 if he played more games this season, but he's still a very reliable left-back. I think Ashley Cole is the best defensive left-back, but in this day and age, you need a bit of both.
What's your opinion on Ashley Cole? And name your top 7 left-backs in world football right now.