Time to end Gallas captaincy
Thu Nov 20 04:50PM
Following William Gallas's revelation of divisions within the Arsenal dressing room, the time has come for Arsenal to find a new skipper. Gallas proved he was not the man for the job at Birmingham last season and his latest outburst has only added more weight to the argument that he should be stripped of the armband.
He was a poor choice of captain even before his infamous sit-in at St Andrews; nine months later and he is million miles from being an ideal leader. He is too much of a disruptive influence.
Arsene Wenger should have acted after the Birmingham game but now he has no choice: Gallas must be ditched as captain - and maybe even offloaded elsewhere in January - if Arsenal's season is not to fall apart.
The last thing Arsenal need - or any team for that matter - is a whistle-blower in the ranks, least of all the man who is supposed to gel the squad together and motivate the players to get the best out of them.
What is said in the dressing room should stay there. If there is a problem, no one else needs to know about it. It is not for public consumption.
Whatever happens needs to be contained there and dealt with in an appropriate way, either at the time or at a later date.
But once it becomes public, you have a big problem on your hands. Now everyone knows that Arsenal's current on-pitch problems - and by that I mean their inconsistency - is not just down to injuries or bad luck or the 'rough-house' tactics employed by opponents.
Their troubles are more deep-seated than that; as a team Arsenal are not united. And considering football is a team game, that will be perceived by opponents as a major weakness.
Gallas has betrayed his team-mates - whatever their faults - by using the international break as an excuse to go to the media and spill the beans.
He may be a vastly experienced player, but some of his decisions beggar belief. Put simply, the latest outburst lacks professionalism.
With the captain's armband comes a certain amount of responsibility for your team-mates. But Gallas has shown no sign of that - he has even admitted he is passing the buck because he does not want to accept the blame any more.
The disruption stemming from this could now have a knock-on effect on the team's performances on the pitch - and with Arsenal struggling to maintain a head of steam this season, that is the last thing they need at the moment.
Arsenal do not need someone like Gallas at the Emirates. In a way he is a selfish player, always looking after number one. His ego is suffocating Arsenal at the moment and not allowing the club to move forward.
Wenger needs to take a long, hard look at the situation and make a decision with the best interests of Arsenal at heart, and not those of individual players.
dear paul "anyway" is a word but "anymore" is not. any more is the correct usage.
From lanegold on Thu Nov 20 05:33PMlanegold who gives a goldenballs whether anymore or any more is a word, have you nothing better to do with your life?
From some_steam on Thu Nov 20 05:35PMI think you'll find "anymore" is the correct way to spell that - if you have nothing to say about the article don't.
From mitz_007 on Thu Nov 20 05:38PMP4Ãtor
From mitz_007 on Thu Nov 20 05:38PMdamn right. i say give toure captaincy with either fabregas or rvp as vice.
From dannydwilton on Thu Nov 20 05:43PMdamn right. i say give toure the captaincy with either fabregas or rvp as vice
From dannydwilton on Thu Nov 20 05:44PMsure... captaincy to Cesc who hasn't been the same since the Euro's or RVP who is serving a 3 match ban for blowing his lid... Keep it with Kolo, Cesc as vice
From mode_too on Thu Nov 20 06:17PMI think their right because Gallas is not the right man for the job... Fabregas or RVP like it was before
From joeleht on Thu Nov 20 06:28PMKolo Toure For Captain!!!
From aaronvianno on Thu Nov 20 07:08PMshut up parker,what do u know about being a captain?do u feel its an easy job?those asernal kids could be a pain to handle too.look at the issue before on bendtner and adebayor.please look for more intresting topic to write and leave galla alone.Or are u now more intelligent than wenger that put gallas there.
From emmaph2k on Thu Nov 20 07:15PMwhat does parker know about being a captain?wenger that kept gallas as captain is parker more intelligent than him?please leave gallas alone
From emmaph2k on Thu Nov 20 07:19PMNo. The problem isn't just Gallas. It is Wenger. Hleb left, Flamini left, Adebayor fought tooth and nail to leave, Fabregas has intimated that he will leave next summer. Arsenal is falling apart and it is simply because Wenger has got it wrong.
If your team doesn't win a trophy for 3, going on 4, years, you can't expect team morale to be high. Wenger is not the sort of manager to deal with problems of this nature and that is why, as compared to SAF, he is a loser.Wenger has developed a great youth set-up at Arsenal which pretty much guarantees that they can finish top 5 every season without spending much. However, this youth set-up, transfer policy and all round footballing ideology is a failure when it comes to winning trophies. If Arsenal, are willing to view themselves as no. 4 in the premiership and have no aspirations beyond that, this is fine. However, the present set-up will never win them the major trophies; ultimately, what use is there in having a great youth set-up if the best it's ever going to get you is runner up in the Carling cup every other season?
Wenger has failed. He must be sacked immediately.
From spear1616from1566 on Thu Nov 20 08:03PMI totally agree with post 9, Kolo Toure for captain!!!
From emx_80 on Thu Nov 20 08:19PMThanks Paul, It was a perfect analysis of Gallas as a captain for a team like Arsenal. Your comments apply not only to Gallas to any football captain. I believe, Gallas suffers from unknwn atttude problem since we know him at premiar league. Luckily, he has been given several lives by great managers like Arsene Wenger, unlike Mourinho who punished him till he threatens to score on his own goal. Time is up for gallas at Arsenal. He is weak, slow, mental and out of touch. He shall quit football and whin somewhere else.
From woulita on Thu Nov 20 09:02PMi dont think toure is good enough to be captain. i know a captain doesnt have to be the most talented on teh field, but it seems his judgement is poor. he is a great defender when being told where to be, what to do. almunia is a @#$% goal keeper and a @#$% captain as well. fabregas would be the perfect candidate but for his age. i think captaincy will stifle his creative game. rvp is still too immature as a footballer to be handed the armband. adebayor would make a decent captain because it seems most of the team likes him (even bendtner is making the effort to gel with him on the field, perhaps a little too much) but i feel his head would get too big and he would become henry with the armband, expecting the ball too much.
the rest of the squad is too young and inexperienced, except clichy. he plays the most minutes of a season besides the goalkeeper and has done this consistently since ashley goal departed. he is a defender, which is wengers preferred position for captaincy. he is an international player (albeit not much playing time) and is the transition between the "old squad" and the "new squad". he is very calm with the ball, and i know he has made some bad decisions trying to play his way out of trouble in the corners but overall he is consistent at what he does (generally considered the best LB in the premier league). clichy for captainFrom o0okiato0o on Thu Nov 20 09:42PMGreat news for my dream team, Robinho for a hat trick on Saturday
))From h.worley on Thu Nov 20 11:18PMGallas = average, arsenal = mid table team, what happened to the english spine? My money is on Keown to be manager this time next season.
From iandenilson on Thu Nov 20 11:45PMI agree that Gallas should keep it in the dressing room. I don't see him as a leader. When things go wrong you need someone who will gee up the players, give them confidence etc. Gallas has the'blame' mentality and the irony is that he makes more mistakes than other players. I questioned Wenger when he named him as captain. I saw it as a ruse to keep them at the club, similar to Henry. Neither are captan material. They are not in the same mould as TA or Paddy. I think it would put too much pressure on Cesc. If Kolo was more voluble or Clichy is a good call.
From annierobb123 on Fri Nov 21 12:10AMArsenal should never have signed Gallas.He was a troublemaker at Chelsea and Wenger showed weakness by naming him skipper.Arsenal will never ever win anything again under Wenger.A BRILLIANT manager in his prime but that is now history.
From belmullet16 on Fri Nov 21 12:49AMШჴor
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From sexymodeeere on Fri Nov 21 12:59AMGallas should be sold in Jamuary
From alee60my on Fri Nov 21 03:48AMI think Wenger is just trying to maintain the French presence in that team 'cos there was no basis naming gallas captain after his move to the emirates. Gallas should be strip of the captaincynof the club, he is making the club look ordinary anbd the earlier the club management change its philosophy to winning trophies the better otherwise the club will keep on grooming players for other clubs to buy.
From ozioruva1 on Fri Nov 21 04:08AMarsenal - gallas = victory
From puva2011 on Fri Nov 21 04:16AMi wonder what's wrong with that guy. Rid of him for good. Get that gall-4ss out while he still have some market value, i say.
From eg_lewll on Fri Nov 21 05:40AMDear Mr Parker,
You are absolutely correct. Being an Arsenal fan and watching what they did last year what beautiful yet horrible at the same time. The youth they have is phenomenal and to have somebody like Gallas lead them is the reason why they already amounted the same amount of losses this year then they have all of last year. Wenger needs to realize that his methods can only go so far now since we have other clubs like Chelsea and Man City putting money on big players. He must somehow impliment the youth and some big guns on the same team, then I think Arsenal will get to that level.
From ragegabe on Fri Nov 21 05:45AMGallas is @#$% we need to get rid of him asap
From lata_arsenal on Fri Nov 21 06:39AMyou put a team of brilliant kids together and what happens? Every one of them thinks they are good enough and wants to run the show and when things don't go their way they blame others. No experience, no guidance for the kids.
From llxll_wesley_aka_twes_llxll on Fri Nov 21 06:43AMi agree that gallas is not the man for the captaincy job, but i still reckon he has an important role in the arsenal setup. o0okiato0o, what you're saying is true but i still don't know if clichy is mentally strong or experienced enough to take over the armband. in actual fact, there are no real candidates. arsenal has been in a transition period for 4 years now, and the problem with having such a young squad is that there seems to be no leadership structure. solution: wenger to stay and squad to mature for a season and a new captain to take over in 2009
From carlsberg_kahuna on Fri Nov 21 06:58AMkeep toure as captain and almunia is vice
From rundoderun on Fri Nov 21 07:47AM
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Paul Parker
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