Vive le Gallas!
Fri Nov 21 08:44AM
Early Doors is not one to sit on the fence. We absolutely love the French. Without them the Premier League would be a dull, cliché-laden insult to our intelligence, and Arsenal would be a Championship side managed by Bruce Rioch.
It all began with Eric ‘Ooh Aah' Cantona, who bizarrely landed on our shores in the colours of Leeds United. But Cantona was a genius. A quick hop into bed with her off Men Behaving Badly (allegedly), who happened to be Lee Chapman's wife, and he was off to Manchester United. Gabriel Heinze, listen and learn.
Then there was the moment Cantona attacked a fan at Selhurst Park. It wasn't the first time such an incident had happened, but while Brian Clough and alike had opted for clips around ears and old-fashioned fisticuffs, Eric launched a kung-fu kick. Timeless. And then he talked about sardines.
The subject of ED's next French love affair was David Ginola, a player so impossibly groomed he literally sexed his way past defenders. Lee Dixon, Gary Neville and Stuart Pearce were among the grizzled full-backs he seduced, each overwhelmed by the shiny tones of his perfect hair.
"It never ceases to amaze me the lengths that some people will go to try and speak to me or meet me," said Ginola. Really?
Many more have followed in his wake. Unlike Mark Hughes, Thierry Henry was both a scorer of great goals and a great goal scorer. Patrick Vieira was a colossus and the only man in the Premier League who could match Roy Keane for intensity. Nicolas Anelka has been inconsistent, but occasionally inspired.
But the French invasion has not only ushered in a generation of brilliant footballers. By its very nature this influx of free-spirited personalities has led to a new openness in the ranks. As William Gallas proved yesterday, the French are a refreshingly honest bunch. And ED is eternally grateful.
After all, Arsenal are the most guarded club in the Premier League. Pay a visit to their media centre and PR people hover like Stasi agents ready to pounce on anything untoward. London Colney is like the former Soviet Union, and anybody who breaks ranks should be treated like Boris Yeltsin.
For this reason ED loves Gallas unconditionally. While Theo Walcott was studying the guide to footballing clichés, Gallas stood up, took aim and shot from the hip. He didn't call his team cowards to raise his own profile; he did it because he felt it needed to be said.
Ultimately what difference can it make to Arsenal? If Gallas and Robin van Persie hate each other, they hate each other. As any good psychiatrist will tell you the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one. And Arsenal clearly have plenty.
Predictably, Wenger is furious. He will almost certainly strip Gallas of the captaincy and Arsenal's media centre will probably ban everybody but Arsenal.com from making the annoyingly complicated journey. But having filled his squad with Frenchmen, surely Wenger should have seen this coming?
- - -
Fabio Capello has been hit by the credit crunch. The England manager apparently does his banking in Italy and with the pound diving like Steven Gerrard has lost about £1 million from his annual salary.
ED would advise putting a substantial amount of money on England not winning the next World Cup to make up the deficit.
- - -
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "He just lost it because we snuffed him out of the game. He had the nerve to say he didn't touch me but that's only because I got out of his way. Then he realised he was in the wrong and tried to apologise but I wasn't accepting that." Tiago Silva shoots down Cristiano Ronaldo in the wake of Brazil's 6-2 mauling of Portugal.
TALKING POINT: Top of the Pops is back for Christmas, but which football show would you like to see reinstated? Jossie's Giants? Saint and Greavsie?
FOREIGN VIEW: Forty million German men wince at Bild's report of Saarbrucken fan Dirk Zimmer, who was bitten in the penis by a police dog as he attempted to take a shortcut through a park before a local derby against Homburg.
The result was a two-centimetre wound and a four-day stay in hospital - and Zimmer has the bloody pants to prove it. No really, Dirk, you didn't have to.
"I am a peaceful fan, but the police treated me like a hooligan. It is absurd that the dog was let loose on me," moaned Zimmer.
Saarbrucken police chief Peter Becker hit back: "The park was closed because we feared there could be rioting. We communicated this through megaphones and also told Mr Zimmer. He insulted the dogs' leader. Colleagues without animals told him to get back. He obeyed at first, but then came back and the dogs were set on him. The animal got him by the jacket and - because he tripped - also in the abdomen."
COMING UP: All the team news ahead of a packed weekend of football action and LIVE coverage of the Premier League all weekend.
Mr kgh_r i see your still jealous. Your not a very good loser are you, i take it you're in moods most of the day then yipppppppppppeeeekiiiiiiiiiiiiiyaaaaaaaaaaayy
From grant.brown51 on Fri Nov 21 10:12AMI win i win i win this why i overshadowed my older brother throughout childhood.
From grant.brown51 on Fri Nov 21 10:12AMblargh, being still drunk from last night and having to work sucks.
As do most of you.
From rob_snaith on Fri Nov 21 10:13AMMornin' all.....Come on Ketterin'!!!!
From johnl.trish on Fri Nov 21 10:13AMhello kgh, do you still want to love me long time. my shift were good, i made 43 baht in tips, i am saving up for my operation yes to have my lady bits done
From thaibride16 on Fri Nov 21 10:13AMgrant you cheated so you won nothing so why would i be jealous?
Am i jealous coz your a 55yr old @#$% knobjockey who is even uglier than his obese gaypornstar older brother? No.
From kgh_r on Fri Nov 21 10:15AMvilla to do man U on sat i reckon
From mattymogo on Fri Nov 21 10:15AMhello kgh, do you still want to love me long time. my shift were good, i made 43 baht in tips, i am saving up for my operation yes to have my lady bits done
From thaibride16 on Fri Nov 21 10:15AMthaibride16 i thought you were a virgin? what op are you referring to?
From kgh_r on Fri Nov 21 10:16AMi am saving up to have new boobies so someone will love me long time. what did you think i was on about
From thaibride16 on Fri Nov 21 10:18AM124 - I hope you are right!
From kevin1985kane on Fri Nov 21 10:19AMWould love to agree there Matty, but I won't in case I jinx it again like I did last week..
From danny_saks on Fri Nov 21 10:19AMwhy do you always pick on stevie gerrard ? the worst divers ronaldo & drogba never get mentioned.
From nigelphysick on Fri Nov 21 10:19AMjude think more of the usual stuff im fading again
From roxydgurl on Fri Nov 21 10:20AMJay - Are you serioulsy saying that if both Spain and France are on top of thier game, France are better? Torres, Fabergas, Ramos, Villa, Alonso, Xavi, Riena / Casillias
From kevin1985kane on Fri Nov 21 10:20AMkev, be a good game though, i think villa will kick it 2-1
gabby is on fire at the mo.
also LFC to ruin fulham 3 maybe 4 nil
From mattymogo on Fri Nov 21 10:21AMnigelphysick....Were we seperated at birth?
From johnl.trish on Fri Nov 21 10:22AMnigelphysick yeah fuckingright on they are ten times worse
From fitbutfrustrated on Fri Nov 21 10:22AMNigel #136 - Ronaldo and Drogba are too obvious, calling Gerrard a diving cheat is funnier.
From jay8my on Fri Nov 21 10:22AMjude.surf lighten up a bit, remember if all the great footballers play for Man Utd what a sad world it would be! Who do you think will take over after Alex Ferguson is carried out in his coffin?
From jonathangrosskopf on Fri Nov 21 10:23AMJay sto p stirring you France have been cack for some time mate and having the Arsenal spine its hardly surprising
From fitbutfrustrated on Fri Nov 21 10:24AM#145, roy keane i reckon
From mattymogo on Fri Nov 21 10:25AMIf you know a thing or two about man management, then you know it is not Gallas to be blame~ he is only on level term with his piers which means there is always limited things that he can influence~ the problwm is simply out of his control and the responsibility lays on the manager~ he should have policies to deal with players not listening to the captain or for causing conflict~ it's hierarchy and power that impower someone over the other~ but when there is no policies~ there will only be very limited things Gallas can do~ and it's normal to be frustrated~
Just imagine you a manager at work and you have a lazy colleague under you who does nothing at work, if there is no policy that allow you to give warning to this particular employee and you get the blame when things don't work out~ it's just normal that you become frustrated and feel betrayed~~
So the problem lays with Asrene Wenger~ not Gallas.
From vitorlam on Fri Nov 21 10:26AM2-1 is a good shout as United are inconsistant at the back this year!
I'm going to put a £1 on 4-0, 5-0, 6-0 on the Liverpool game but the post international / rotation is a concern for me!From kevin1985kane on Fri Nov 21 10:26AMkev, don't let the sex op chat bother you. i'm just SO BORED in work!
lpool have a few easy games comin up so they should still be at the top by christmas.
villa v man u maybe a draw but man u have a great record there.
nigelphysick, you are right, but i guess gerrard gets the most abuse coz he's the type of guy who will speak against it and deny he does it.From kgh_r on Fri Nov 21 10:26AMGot a lot of time for Roy Hogdeson but we will trash em still
From fitbutfrustrated on Fri Nov 21 10:26AMKev - no i wasnt saying that, i think they're miles apart at the moment. However, if france had a better coach i think they would at least compete. I think Ribery will have a special world cup come 2010, the main problem france have, has been replacing legends of the game and not bedding in new players well enough.
From jay8my on Fri Nov 21 10:27AMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!Right, before we start arguing can we all justfuck up and i do say all of us. What's the point in it, this is really doing myfucking head in.
Go on Jude, say i'm part of the bumbangers ball whatever you called it, because to be honest i really don't care what side i'm put on, i am here as my own free spirit and will talk to anyone that i damn well please and create fakes to my hearts content but trying not to offend anyone!!!!!
Can't we just go a fuckingday where there is no arguements!!! I know this sounds like i'm sticing up for Jay but it's not everyday Jude you start it!!!!! rant over, as Jack nfor says Peace!!!!
From iamevz on Fri Nov 21 10:28AMForty million German men wince at Bild's report of Saarbrucken fan Dirk Zimmer, who was bitten in the penis by a police dog as he attempted to take a shortcut through a park before a local derby against Homburg? "In" the penis? Did the dog scamper in through his japs eye and chomp on his todger from the inside?
From johnl.trish on Fri Nov 21 10:29AM4,5,6-0 for liverpool!!!!!!????????
if fulham sit back and defend then liverpool will struggle to break them down and probably win 2-0 with both goals coming after 70 mins.From kgh_r on Fri Nov 21 10:29AM
Comment on this article
Please sign in to add your comments.
Early Doors – Your morning briefing
Sport Newsletter
Catch up with all the latest news
Sign up to our free daily newsletter to recieve the latest news straight to your inbox. Make sure you don’t miss a thing.
Sign up now
This site is Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! and Eurosport. All rights reserved.
- Terms of Service
- Updated Privacy Policy
- Copyright/IP Policy
- Remarks and Suggestions
- Corporate info
- Jobs at Eurosport
Notice: We collect personal information on this site. To learn more about how we use your information, see our Privacy Policy.