A veteran himself of 28 international caps, Pat Nevin in his column becomes the latest to join the debate on our Joe.

It is now beginning to feel like a long time since Chelsea's last game. As the midweek internationals draw closer, the usual thought for the fan is for his own country's welfare, closely followed by the well being of your own domestic team's players.

Of course we would like all Chelsea players performing for their countries to be successful but hand on heart can we really say that we worry more about them losing 1-0 than then coming back to the Bridge with a pulled hamstring or a damaged cruciate ligament?

For our lads representing England there were concerns before the Andorra game as the minnows are renowned for their uncompromising tackles. They are probably even better known for not being very good, but a quick look round Europe, particularly on Saturday, showed that many smaller nations are producing well-organised sides that work hard. Most importantly they think almost exclusively about defending rather than attacking.

Albania held Sweden to a draw, The Faroe Islands frustrated Serbia who only scored their second goal with two minutes to go and Italy only just squeezed by little Cyprus with a last minute strike from Di Natale. It is getting tough out there to break these sides down.

I remember once coming on for Scotland when we were drawing 0-0 well into the second half against tiny San Marino. As a respected, exasperated journalist was reported to have said, 'I've just realised that after an hour's play our proud footballing nation is scoreless against a mountain top.'

We managed the win with yours truly getting the penalty that broke the deadlock, but my abiding memory was that every time I got the ball there was a wall of defenders in front of me and very little space to create anything.

They might not have been the best players but they certainly didn't hold back in the tackle, which of course was their downfall.

The point is that international matches aren't easy, even the ones everyone else expects to be a walk in the park. They have their own pressures and expectations.

There is also the travelling involved which takes it out of the players, especially if they are playing thousands of miles away as is often the case with our pan continental squad.

Happily it didn't seem to faze Joe Cole who made all the difference when he came on for England at the weekend. Joe is one of those players who can be overlooked at Chelsea because of the other world-class players throughout the squad.

There were even questions about his future in some quarters with the arrival of Deco at the start of the season but a quick look at his history makes it clear that he is up to the challenge of competition.

He has seen off quality players like Damien Duff, Arjen Robben and most recently Shaun Wright-Phillips. His adaptability is one of his hidden strengths in that he is capable of playing on the left or right of the front line and midfield as well as being more than capable of the odd shift as a second striker.

His importance for his country is huge because he has recently filled that troublesome left sided area that a succession of managers have struggled with.

His ten goals for his country aren't bad either considering he is primarily a creative player rather than a finisher. Maybe his only concern on the international stage is that he has been so successful as a scoring sub in his last few outings that Capello might start considering him more as an impact player to be used sparingly.

I think that would be a mistake because his vision and style is different to anyone else available to the Italian and that is also the case at Chelsea. Even so I understand the thinking - a player of Joe's style is fantastic at using space when it develops and that tends to happen more often later on in matches as defenders get mentally and physically tired.

Joe Cole is the classic type whose importance is only fully understood in his absence. When people talk about the England midfield the first names talked about are Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham. All of them to one degree or another are also players who are skilled at finding a little space and using it well.

It does however sometimes take a player who can beat a man or even just draw defenders towards him to develop that space for others. Joe is, by a considerable distance, the best Englishman currently playing at doing that particular job with intelligence.

Let's hope he and the others come back fit and well for the game against the richest club in the world at the weekend. And stop sniggering at the back there, they may well be a force to be reckoned with in as little as six months time.

Talking of Joe reminded me of a former Chelsea player who has a book out this week, left midfielder Mickey Thomas (pictured below). In a career that saw him play for the Blues as well as Manchester United and a multitude of other clubs he was always a bundle of energy and fun and of course a very good player.

He also had what you could only be described as a colourful life which should make for a very interesting read. Chelsea aficionados everywhere may well be tempted by that one, especially after Paul Canoville's recent top class autobiography.

So in that light, who was Mickey Thomas's Welsh team mate who played behind him at left back in his time at Chelsea? He was a much-loved player that all British fans will know well but younger fans from abroad may have to do a little research on the internet.

To win the prize of the book Deep Blue, a collection of Chelsea photos from the 1970s and 80s, including some from Mickey and my time at the club, send your answers to pat.nevin@chelseafc.com

The winner will be picked at random by the girl playing piano upstairs as I write. Earlier on she chose last week's winner who correctly answered that Shaun Wright-Phillips scored only 4 LEAGUE goals in his time at Chelsea. Another wag suggested the answer to how many goals he scored was, 'not enough'. Anyway the winner was Florin Lita from Romania.