Come In Number Ten, Your Time Is Up
Nov 20th, 2008 by 'holic
In the summer of 2003 Arsene Wenger was looking for a replacement for the retiring Martin Keown. Popular rumour at the time would suggest that Arsenal were close to a deal to sign Chelsea defender William Gallas when a certain Roman Abramovich bought the West London club and vetoed the deal.
For a while I remember discussions with fellow Gooners and the general feeling was one of disappointment that the move had collapsed. Arsene instead switched Kolo Toure to partner Sol Campbell and by the end of the season the legend of the invincibles had been born.
Gallas would get his own champions medals in the following two seasons, but his conversion to left-back following an injury to Wayne Bridge would lead to him expressing increasing frustration with life at Stamford Bridge. Following the World Cup in 2006 Gallas reported back late for training, and was said to have refused to play for Chelsea again, among other damaging allegations.
Arsenal had their own problem child at the same time. The deal that took Ashley Cole across town in exchange for Gallas and a reported five million pounds looked a potential solution for both clubs. As we villified Cole I recall a number of Chelsea fans expressing relief at offloading the player they viewed as a troublemaker.
Gallas would surely strengthen the defence? Even one that had produced a record run of ten Champions League fixtures without conceding. His first season, disrupted by injury, would not yield the answer. Just twenty-one league appearances meant he hadn’t really settled. It was too early to judge.
That made his appointment as captain at the start of last season a bit of a surprise. Gilberto had deputised for the now departed Thierry Henry during the previous campaign, but the Brazilian’s close season was disrupted by a call-up to captain his country, and Gallas got the nod.
To be fair the season was an unexpected success through until the new year, and the surprisingly solid combination of Toure and Gallas was a contributory factor. Goals from the Frenchman secured vital home points against Manchester United and Chelsea.
To start with the soundbites were solid. “”It’s very important to be friends off the pitch. So I get all the players to go for meals together. What happens off the pitch determines how we are on it. We are all fighting together now.”
In the spring, however, Arsenal crumbled to a string of crucial defeats and Gallas’ contribution to that fateful afternoon at St. Andrews was the subject of much discussion. A string of poor performances, including a painful FA Cup defeat at Old Trafford, led to tabloid rumblings that the skipper was losing the dressing-room.
In all honesty I found that an over-reaction at the time, although a close-up of the players virtually ignoring his pre-match exhortations at Stamford Bridge did nothing to quell the rumours. Gallas didn’t help himself when being critical of his young team mates inexperience when quizzed by French journalists whilst on international duty.
A stop-start opening to the current campaign has left Gallas exposed and vulnerable once more. His poor form contributed directly to the defeats against Fulham and Hull, when he was caught napping at set pieces, and as of today we have confirmation from the horse’s mouth that stories of dressing room discontent at the North London derby were indeed accurate.
The fact that Gallas has made some of the events of that night public is for me not just a damning indictment of the twenty-five year old player who showed such disrespect to his captain. It is also proof positive that the Frenchman has lost the ‘togetherness’ he claimed last season.
The only question that now needs to be answered about him being relieved of the captaincy is not ‘if’, but ‘when?’. Surely the answer is the sooner, the better. It is inconceivable that any of his predecessors as captain would have made public what he has. His judgement is once again exposed to ridicule, and his authority is fatally flawed.
There will be much exaggerated indignation over the coming hours. Gallas will be on the receiving end of most of it, but I am fully aware that those of us who call for his inevitable dismissal will also come in for some criticism.
I’m just genuinely sad that, at a time when we are desperate for the experience he has, and when we so badly need the occasional goals that he scores, he has chosen to open his mouth and hasten his departure. Maybe, just maybe, the loss of a responsibility that does not sit easily on his badly chipped shoulder will free him up to concentrate on his football and become once again the defender that Wenger sought for so long.
53 Responses to “Come In Number Ten, Your Time Is Up”
Great post. It is a shame that whenever he shows signs of becoming both the player and captain we want him to be, he opens his mouth and ruins it. And it is a shame, because Gallas at his best is a fiercely competitive and talented defender.
That we may never see the best of him is hard to explain. At a time in his career where he should be peaking, he is becoming impatient and frustrated all the quicker. Perhaps his intentions are good but his perceptions awful.
Defensive mistakes can be excused, all our defenders have made them, and the world’s best have too. But the sort of naming and shaming he has done today is simply unprofessional, and wouldn’t be tolerated in any line of work. That he specifically stated the player’s age – such an unnatural sentence – makes it seem, unfortunately, like he really was lashing out.
I’ll be honest, I can’t see him at the club after losing the captaincy, and I’d still be surprised if he was stripped of it during the campaign. If I was to bet, I could envisage him picking up a series of ‘knocks’, perhaps losing his place if the replacements do well, and then moving on in the summer.
Either way, this has left a sour taste.
In fairness, most of his comments were actually about young players in the French national side, not the Arsenal side. However, the sheer amount he gets misinterpreted means he should have learned just not to bother with the media anymore. We once had a captain who got pissed and drove into someone’s garden, spending three months doing bird during a crucial stage of the title run in. Perhaps some perspective is needed here. Plus, maybe damning Gallas with faint praise, but who do we give the armband to? Toure is a flapper and Rice had to shout at him from the touchline three times during the Stoke match in a vague attempt to get him to act like a captain. The Spurs game showed Cesc is still a little too immature, Clichy is too quiet. I think Gallas’ captaincy suffers on the pitch because he has nobody around him to help, Gilberto and Lehmann are gone so there’s npbody to help himout. Adams was flanked by lieutenants Dicon, Bould, Keown, Smudger and to a lesser extent the calming influence of Paul Davis. Vieira had colonels Campbell, Keown, Bergkamp and Gilberto. Who does Gallas have?
i don’t think it is only the gallas’s captaincy but his performances has been very inconsistent and poor.surely now wenger should get rid of him and toure and buy two great central defender also wenger should make fabregas as captain as soon as possible because we need someone who loves arsenal from heart and have the qualities of vieira and also in order to prevent him from moving away.
Fair point Dutch, and the events of the season have shown the decision not to give it to Cesc was the correct one. However, I don’t believe the lack of an obvious leader should mean Gallas retains the job. I really am not prepared to excuse him once more on the old interpretation angle.
For me Clichy could well grow into the job, or give it to Almunia for six months. Gallas, rightly or wrongly, has been a ‘dead man walking’ in the job since February, and for me the proof of that is in the performances of the team.
How I would love to be proved wrong. You know I wouldn’t be critical for the sake of it. I have felt it for some time and today was the final straw.
Hope to see you soon.
I’ll have a drink, thanks.
“The calming influence of Paul Davis”? Are you taking the Schmeichel, LD??!?!
I am not enamoured with Gallas’ comments, not because of what he said, because not one word he has said is not true and not one of his concerns hasn’t been articulated by everybody that will line up to have him hanged. However, Friedrich Engels had a saying that an ounce of action is worth a ton of theory. I’m sick of listening to Arsenal players talk, talk, bloody talk. They should shut up and rectify the problems instead of ruminating over them all the time. Gallas as skipper did not need to make this public to defend himself, as skipper he should have broad enough shoulders to take the flack and sort whatever problems there are internally. I think Gallas is the most overly criticised Arsenal player I can remember, however, on this occasion, I think the brickbats are justified. My only problemis that people will drag up a whole history of forged quotes and half truths to go with this story. The funny thing about the Birmingham incident where he committed the despicable crime of, erm,sitting down, is that those of us that were there saw it and not one person around me or that I have spoken to since even bothered mentioning it at the time. It shows how easily the media can shape and manipulate people’s perceptions and how easily people take the bait.
Davis was a classy player Fab, one of the many who was shabbily treated by Graham. He was a very calming influence on the side much in the way Gilberto was.
According to She wore a yellow ribbon:
Gallas will be stripped of the captaincy. I don’t know if its reliable though, so don’t bite my head off!
No biting here Daz, just some decent debate I hope.
Damn right about Davo, Dutch. The thing about him whacking Cockerill is it was so out of character, and the punishment in no way reflected what happened before or since.
Graham left him out for far too long.
What worries me more is what a moron this guy is. What did he think would happen after airing our internal discourse to the media? The majority of the press despises him and attempts to vilify him at almost every turn (admittedly wrongly most of the time). Did he think that they would sit there, pen in hand, and relinquish him of all the blame which they have made a living of burdening him with?
All he is doing is applying more pressure upon himself and amongst his team-mates. I know if I was a player in the squad I’d view Gallas as a bit of a whiny pussy after this outburst.
Rothem, the Paris st Germain winger, has given us his own examples of why Gallas is borderline retarded and now he has provided us with more proof himself.
Make no mistake this is a crisis.The way Arsene handles this will define the direction of the club over the next few years.The fact there were rows in the dressing room is hardly surprising.
Some of the players do need a reality check but it should be kept in house.As for Gallas taking the blame I thought that was what captains were meant to do.
The press can print what they like(and usually do) but when you hear criticism from ex players like Lee Dixon,Ray Parlour and Martin Keown you know something is not right.
It`s just as well Arsene has got a ruthless side because he has some hard decisions to make.
Sometimes life is all stalks and seeds.
P.S.I think Glenn Cockerill got exactly what he deserved.Even the most mild mannered can be pushed to far.
Whats the big deal with what he said? Does the truth hurt that much? It seems like he is throwing out a last ditch attempt to get the ball rolling with this young squad of inconsistent children. Keeping things internal hasn’t motivated this team so lets see if airing dirty laundry out in the public will make a difference. I sure hope it does.
Can you imagine another of the top four clubs not being able to identify a substitute captain?
It’s incredible really, that there are not two or three players that we would accept wearing the armband.
We all knew that removing all the inspiring, experienced players from the team was not the best way to start a long and gruelling race. How can the youngsters learn motivation with only the monosyllabic and defeatist Gallas as inspiration?
The bodywork has been rattling all season, and now the wheels have started to come off.
If we can limp over the line into fourth place in May we’ll probably be relieved, but now we’re four years into this project, serious questions need to be asked about when it’s expected to bear fruit.
Why haven’t Alum & Gael been torched by the fans for there comments?
A liquer coffee with Benedictine please `holic and a jazz cigarette.
Because what they said wasn’t anything like the shameless, blindingly obvious self-deflective and fingerpointing drivel Gallas spouted out.
And goonermassive, I think everybody was quite aware of the turmoil that’s brewing in the dressing room. It is commonplace for any relatively unsuccessful or under-achieving team (which we now are) to have confrontations amongst themselves.
What I believe is glaringly more obvious to most fans, or at least those of us who don’t lap up the milk from Wenger’s palms, is that this team will win nothing unless solid and dependable recruitments are made next summer and an alternate and more practical direction for the club is conceived to start being a serious contender for major trophies once again.
*slurs*
I’ll have a can of White Lightning please ‘holic.
*dribbles on bar*
Angelos, you are arguing your case well, cheers. I’ll point out that we are still in the top four, well placed to qualify as Champions League group winners, and progressing to the quarter-finals with a young side in the Carling Cup during what we agree is a period of ‘turmoil’.
Down the years I could recount numerous tales of dressing-room barneys and they do tend to occur, naturally, when points are being thrown away. I was aware of the situation shortly after the Tottenham game and in all honesty it isn’t that unusual for feelings to spill over in the way they did.
What is unusual is the way that the skipper has made a selective recollection of it public. Captains in the past have accepted the responsibility that goes with the job and resolved these issues their own way, and out of the public eye.
…and hello Snail. Good to see you again.
Appreciated goonerholic but I wouldn’t associate this period as one of turmoil but as an extension of the mediocrity we are increasingly becoming accustomed too.
I remember a time when we saw the Carling Cup as nothing more than an event to rest our first team and get a glimpse of our youth sides…now we are using it as grounds to justify our season? I personally believe that with the way most Arsenal fans dismissed it and patronized Tottenham for winning it last season they have lost the right to procclaim it as a trophy of any real significance (which it isn’t anyway).
Arsene had not finnished outside the top two since Wengers arrival and over the past four years he hasn’t been able to sneak in there once. The fact we are now patting ourselves on the back for being above teams like Villa makes me squirm.
The group stages of the Champions League have never been a gruelling test for any of the top teams and they have never given any indication of the eventual outcome of the competition so I think bringing it up is again almost like putting your hand up to a rhetorical question.
The truth is I am beginning to despise what Arsenal are becoming. I used to laugh at Liverpool with my friends for their sense of grandeur while they often battled with distinctly mediocre teams for the Champions league spot. Liverpool realised their faults (better late than never) appointed a new manager with a conservative approach, not something Liverpool fans cared for, but a successful one. They flexed their muscle in the transfer window and are now reaping the benefits. Seeing as we are following Liverpool’s decline perhaps we should now trace their blueprint for success.
I have said numerous times on here that the side lacks any true leaders. Sadly I include Gallas in that. The days of having a true captain with more that a few able lieutenants by his side to assist in times of need are long gone. Paddy makes a great point about other top 4 clubs having a problem to identify a number 2. We do not have one. Cesc has the potential, but considering it was only a few days ago that we were debating sending him on holiday to recharge his batteries I do not feel that he should be burdened just yet.
I have a tad of Sympathy with Gallas in the fact that the lack of leaders has meant a great deal falls on his shoulders. But any true leader would not belly ache about it. They would consider it just another challenge that needs to be met and dealt with. Not Willie. His latest outburst (if accurate) is unacceptable. It is childish to the extreme and reminds me of my younger sister when I was 9 and she was 6. The kind of thing she would have said whilst running off to Mummy. If there is a problem in the dressing room then deal with it. That is what his job is. I accept that feelings can run high after a game. I would be very disappointed if they didn’t. But to moan about it in this way is shocking.
I am no fan of John Terry but did you see his interview after the England game? The mistake involving him and Crason was shocking. Both equally to blame in my book and both should have done much better. Carson would already be feeling the heat after the Croatia game. So what does Terry do? Comes straight out, says the mistake was entirely down to him and nothing to do with Carson. That is the kind of comment I want to hear from a captain. Have big bollocks, big shoulders and stand up and be counted. Not moan about one player. What is even more cowardly is that he has stated that the player is 6 years younger. That only leaves a few possibles. The press will have a field day.
I will be surprised if major changes are made before the end of the season. It saddens me to think that we will never see the true quality that Gallas has to offer as a defender. That said I will be quite happy to see him sold in the summer and money spent wisely on suitable replacements.
Steve T – I have often compared the role of a football captain to one of an office manager, the protective sort that (internally) demands a lot from those under him, but (externally) takes the ultimate responsibility when things go wrong.
So I’d completely agree with your Terry example. He is showing good captaincy by backing Carson and taking it on his own chin.
I can’t imagine it’s been much fun being vilified as much as Gallas has, but a sensible man would realise that he gave the press that opportunity, and the only way to turn it around would be to perform and lead on the pitch, staying quiet off it.
Unfortunately, the man seems completely unable to just keep quiet. I would be surprised if the captaincy is taken off him (although I’d like it to), for two reasons. One, I don’t think Gallas is as professional as someone like Gilberto, who was able to give 100% even after losing the captaincy (I know technically he never had it, but unofficially he was captain). And two, we don’t have an obvious replacement.
My vote would be Clichy, who is incredibly mature. Cesc can do the role later in his career, but he has enough on his plate right now, while Toure isn’t a regular.
It sounds daft but I just want someone to be a true leader. We have an amazingly gifted crop of young players. But they are rudderless. My fear is that unless we find one sooner rather than later then they will just stagnate. That is why the Gallas outburst is so poor. I want him to turn round, accept responsibility and then tell us all how it is going to be put right. Not start moaning to the press.
I like Clichy a lot but feel he may be just a bit quiet to take the role. I hope I am wrong on that because his attitude is always spot on. He is the one player where medicocrity is just not acceptable.
I tend to agree with LD here. Gallas is an easy target for the media and the fans, however this time around he has got it horribly wrong.
Washing dirty linen in public was never the way to get things back to normal.
Make no mistake, Arsene has a real crisis on his hands. If the second rung leaders like Cesc, Almunia, Clichy and Sagna cannot stand up and counted during this period of crisis, I guess we better start planning for the future – a future with some leaders and a prooper backbone.
For all the criticism, lets not forget that Gallas has been the best defender for last few games running when the so called prima donnas at Arsenal have lost it time and again.
We need his quality as a player.
Gallas should look at himself before accusing others of lacking the fight. He is a ggodtime captain….when the going is good he willbe there; BUT, when it gets tough he disappears. Lacking in stomach. A fine example for the lads. Surely our worst captain todate.
He definitely has to go. My feeling is that Le Boss, would not comment but ship him out in January. Good riddance.
DUMP GALLAS IN JANUARY, NO MATTER WHERE AND FOR WHAT EVER PRICE…………………ITS FUNNY IF CAPTAIN CANT KEEP IT TO HIMSELF…HE SHOULD HAVE TALKED TO ARSENE ABOUT THT 25 YEAR OLD GUY RATHER THEN MAKING IT PUBLIC……
So who the hell was Gallas referring to??
i think arsene might have somewhat idea about what was about to come he already made a comment on DJ pushing senior for regular start………..it will be quite a relief to see gallas nowhere in mancity match
Djourou will start against City – but at right back. Kolo is out, as are Eboue and Sagna.
AW should move Gallas to RB and play Djourou in the middle. I doubt that will happen.
Midfield – Nasri, Denilson, Song and Diaby I suppose. Geez.
Spot on article.
Great stuff ‘holic.
Cheers,
Sw bstrd
Sorry ‘holic, but how exactly is it a damning indictment of a player when we don’t even know what was said?
If he told Gallas to fuck off, I agree it’s disrespectful, but Gallas needs to grow up and be a bit bigger than that. It’s Arsene’s job to deal with it. In private.
It’s an emotional game. This sort of thing happens all the time in football, on the pitch and in the dressing room.
Thankfully Phil Senderos (don’t laugh!) is only on loan. He should have been made captain when Paddy left, young as he was. Thierry was a disaster as skipper but at least kept his counsel when it came to team mates. Gallas, whenever the chips have been down, is/has been an unmitigated disaster and should be relieved forthwith.
RvP sniff.
Was thinking what a good captain Gael might make, ‘holic.
Can you put the kettle on if you have a minute.
I see Gallas out and about all the time in London. One time, in Movida, I went up to him and got my photo taken with him. He couldn’t have been more unfriendly. He was sitting by himself sucking on a lollipop and brooding moodily. He didn’t say a word.
Meanwhile, Cesc and Hleb were at a different table nearby having fun together. I got a photo with Cesc as well; what a ledge. He made a monumental effort to be friendly to an Arsenal fan, took 30 seconds out to have a chat, smiled and shook my hand and off I went.
Gallas commands no respect. He just tries desperately to deserve it. He’s poisonous. No one likes him at Arsenal. Screw the Birmingham game, that just showed he was a selfish, sarkey prick (reiterated by his recent comments). You can tell every time, EVERY TIME, that they walk out at the Emirates that the team pays him no respect as a captain. RVP is not alone. No one listens to him. Those painful teamtalks he gives in the warm up for the cameras demonstrate his supreme vanity (reiterated by his recent comments) and his total lack of a grip on the side. No one likes him, respects him and plays for him.
im going with arseblogger on this one… making Gallas captain was the worst decision of reign as boss.
I agree that not givng cesc the armband was the right decision, but at the moment any decision would be better than leaving it on gallas’ arm. GIVE IT TO CESC ARSENE!!!!!!! and do it now!!!!
ok, whatever, i am so tired of having to speak about the negative about the team… lets hope that all the anger can be channeled int the city game!!! lets get back to wining ways boys!!!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS!!!!!!!
Never mind – John Sergeant is available in the January sales.
I said to a buddy of mine – a little after the Fulham game – that William Gallas was a cancerous growth that needed to be cut off forthwith. His is the sole reason that Cesc has dipped in form. He is the sole reason that our defense is a porous sieve. He is the sole reason for the team’s general lack of gusto and self-belief.
I cannot over-emphasise the urgent need to tell this clown to f* off forthwith. Every other Arsenal player is brotherly, good-spirited and ambitious (for the team). He kills the spirit completely – and compounds is sh*tty effect with his sh*tty performances. Performances which, because he’s captain, other players find it difficult to criticise. He consistently f*cks up – and that frustrates the other players all the more.
It’s time for Arsene to stop the rot or suffer the consequences.
I agree with GF60 bring back Senderos and make him captain.
He has the potential to be as good as John Terry and Tony Adams and I can’t imagine anyone telling him to fuck off without being put back in his place.
Malt whiskey, please (Islay).
In a situation as volatile as this, I would go for rotating the captaincy monthly for the rest of the season. Give Clichy, Fab, Kolo and Almunia (them at least) a shot at it.
Has been tried in many team sports before. A way of finding out who is true captain material.
And make Gallas resign as captain, have him say he shouldn’t said what he said and he understood that too late.
mfra, a good point well made. I am persuaded by what I have heard that Gallas’ recollections of the affair may be, shall we say, ‘selective’. It is possible that more than one player has been critical, or dismissive, of the skipper, and what form that has taken I do not know for sure.
At the same time do not be surprised if repairing what is wrong in the dressing room requires the removal of more than one cancerous growth.
Interesting, cheers ‘holic.
Any chance you can put the light on for the pool table while you are here?
Holy Moly! now we’re bemoaning the loss of Senderos as our next potential skipper! Things really are that bad though aren’t they? I must say that sending him out on loan seemed like a particularly dumb idea at the time – with a squad as thin as ours, and wasn’t he the consistent presence in a back four that led us to a champions league final? Having said that, the gaffer made a lot of really crap decisions over the summer…..
Very good article & some interesting observations in the comments. The Captaincy has been a big problem since PV4 left.But lets not forget that he learned the Arsenal way from such luminaries as Adams, Keown, Bould, Dixon, Winterburn et al & early in his arsenal career they would reprimand him & petit for not tracking back & therfore show how things should be done thus provide a shining example of leadership & togetherness. I think wenger was incredibly lucky to inherit such qualities from the Graham era players & create a wonderful blend of style & substance. But now their legacy & teaching has gone we no longer have any bollocks, who tracks back & helps out the TEAM? Who runs that extra mile? Who gives 100% EVERY game?This team has NO spine & spirit & is basically a complacent half arsed bunch of ‘precious’ also rans! Gallas is not SOLELY to blame for this-:Arsenes has made poor decisions, he has pampered the players & they think they are bigger than they really are, satisfied picking up big pay packets & playing pretty football when they feel like it. He is ultimately responsible if sadly his spoilt little children never develop into men.
This man is a disgrace to the number 10 shirt.
Nicely done ‘holic.
I just hope that rather than booing the cunt, when his name is announced fans just turn their back on him, much like he has to this club.
I like that idea BG. Couldn’t boo a current player. If Gus Caesar didn’t drive me to it this pillock won’t either 🙂
I used to think that the most frustrating thing about Gallas being made captain was that it made him essentially undroppable, and on his Arsenal form there is no way that is deserved.
Public comments like he has made (again!) on the other hand are actively damaging to the team and need to be dealt with. However I agree with many others who expect no major action before the end of the season.
I love Phil and I desperately hope they bring him back (not necessarily as captain, but we could do worse (are doing!)). If you want to talk about a centreback who’s received undeserved criticism, Senderos is it.
Could I have a celebratory lager please ‘holic?
I’m in New York reading the UK Guardian on-line – they are going with the story that Gallas has been stripped of the captaincy:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/21/gallas-arsenal-france-premier-league-football
Clichy or Almunia to get the armband
I love Cesc but Gael has to be the man for the next 5 years +.
Clearly Eboue will be the next Captain and Denilson as Vice. I kid of course but can the Gaffer pick a non-frenchman to hand the band? He seems a bit bent that way, to Arsenals detriment. I think this is pushing Arsenes’ hand to pick Cesc before Arsene felt he would be ready. I fear he may not be ready either. But clearly its the only chance to keep him here if we again win fckAll this season.