In fairness, Cole was not one of the major contributors to lacklustre England's misery last night, either.
He produced a solid if unspectacular display after being asked to forge a new partnership down the left with Aston Villa's Ashley Young.
With Young enjoying a lot of the ball, Cole had few opportunities to get forward on the kind of lung-busting runs that have been the trademark of his last two seasons at Stamford Bridge under Carlo Ancelotti.
But he did provide the most controversial moment of the night when one of his deep crosses was clearly handled by Montenegro defender Milan Jovanovic — but German referee Manuel Grafe refused to give a penalty.
Afterwards it was doom and gloom in the post-match mixed zone where Cole predictably refused to give any interviews to journalists — as he has done all season.
But he did pose for photographs with Montenegro reporters who called his name from behind the barriers; and when their English counterparts jokingly asked him to do the same for them he even managed a smile.
