REGULAR readers of this column will know that few people will be happier than me to see the new £100m England training centre in Burton up and running.
We have been crying out for these facilities for years; to make our players the best they can be and provide solid foundations for the coaches of the future.
I have never understood why it has taken so long to go down this road – but let's not complain now that we have.
But, while it is fantastic that we are doing everything we can to make our future footballers as good as they can be on the pitch, I fear it will not count for much until we work harder to make them more decent people off it.
The sight of Ashley Cole laughing and joking with Prince William as the new centre was opened this week just summed up everything that is wrong with the sport at the minute.
If I called the editor of the Post what Cole labelled the heads of the FA, I would expect to be sacked. The same applies to my bosses at Sky.
To most normal people, abusing the hierarchy and expecting to get away with it is just not an option. But modern footballers continue to believe they are untouchable. There is a reason for that – it is because, at the moment, they are.
We are talking about a player who once brought an air gun in to work, which ended up with somebody getting shot. You might have thought he would have learned a lesson from that.
You might have believed that the whole John Terry race trial, which he played an integral part in, might have persuaded him of the merits of keeping a low public profile for a while. But no, his response was to lash out in public. And why not? Because what could happen to persuade him that it was a bad idea? He knew there would be no ramifications.
Even if he is hit with a £200,000 fine, it will not make a single bit of difference to his life. Not one bit.
The only thing that would make any difference to him is if he was banned from playing for a few games. As it is, he might well sit out the game against San Marino, purely because he is not needed, he could do with a rest.
But he will be back to face Poland. Just wait and see.
The sad fact is that we can spend a billion pounds on facilities. But, until we can persuade our top players that there is a price to pay for acting like an idiot, then it will count for nothing.
Cole's fine might claw back some of the cost of the new facilities. But the fact he was there to enjoy them with the rest of the squad this week, for me, just sends out entirely the wrong message.