Paul Parker Article

Paul Parker

Time to end Gallas captaincy

Thu Nov 20 04:50PM

William Gallas 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.

  1. Team &ss-&nal are a bunch of lame excuses and the biggest rectum is wenger.
    parker has the right to speak the truth and that is all he is doing. Gallas has'nt got a pair and he has to go. And as for wenger, he should be shown the same door as Gallas. Time for &ss-&nal fans to face facts that wenger is &ss-&nal' weak link

    g71p3_th353sFrom g71p3_th353s on Sat Nov 22 06:44PM

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  2. arsenal has come a long way. the likes of chelsea and liverpool can ride high today. arsenal has been there before and for long they stayed. whether arsenal go down or stay up , true gunners remain with them. just as we have individual ups and downs so does football clubs. this is arsenal's down and certainly they will soon be on their way up. trust arsenal,trust arsene wenger, trust the skillful players. lets not destroy our beloved club arsenal further with negative comments. we need to encourage the guys now.
    up gunners!

    vicoumFrom vicoum on Sat Nov 22 08:37PM

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  3. Well Paul thats your opinion, Gallas may have broken the rule by telling the media but there is not even one person (in Arsenal team) refutting what Gallas said hence its all true i guess.Instead of sacking him and not picking him for Man City game, i think Arsene should be sorting out the troubles in the team other than acting like all is bliss in the club. The club management or whoever is responsible should investigate the issues raised by Gallas and have desciplinary actions taken. Gallas was right to let the world know how dissintergrated the Arsenal team is. Those young kids should learn to respect each other and not feel on top of the world just because of their lucrative contracts. Gallas i support you and thank you for letting us know.
    FROM AN ARSENAL FAN.

    esperance_hpFrom esperance_hp on Sat Nov 22 09:53PM

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  4. jouer sur le terrain est autre chose superviser une equipe est aussi autre chose,gallas peut etre fautif mais en temps que cap wenger a droit a sauvegarder l.entente et la cohesion de l.equipe aulieux de minimiser, voila le resultat 3/ 0 face a man city

    landdav21From landdav21 on Sat Nov 22 10:23PM

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  5. Who gives a s*** what this United scumbag has to say about Gallas anyway.Let Arsenal sort it out who needs so called experts like you sticking your nose in where its not wanted. British Journalism is full of this @#$% they like to build you up just to kick you down again, f*** off and get a real job scummer.

    terdoFrom terdo on Sun Nov 23 02:41AM

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  6. Gallas go before you score own goal, Toure or Cesc for Captain. Wenger it took you long to discover there was problem with the team, Why?????? Time to act is now or Arsenal will face the axe

    taritkimFrom taritkim on Sun Nov 23 07:58AM

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  7. Looks like Mr Parker was right I guess Gallas will end up in Legoland after the next transfer window :-)

    arttidescoFrom arttidesco on Sun Nov 23 10:53AM

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  8. Gooners proved to be complete pants anyway so looks like another year of child molesting for Arsne :-)

    arttidescoFrom arttidesco on Sun Nov 23 10:54AM

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  9. What are you doing on here SS?

    anne_helmFrom anne_helm on Mon Nov 24 03:44PM

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  10. Could ask you the same Helmster!

    danny_saksFrom danny_saks on Mon Nov 24 03:46PM

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  11. hello peeps,

    i feel like my home has been flooded and am dirty and living in temporary accomidation!

    iamevzFrom iamevz on Mon Nov 24 03:47PM

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  12. Me too Johhny. A bit like camping out. We can all sit round the fire singing songs...

    danny_saksFrom danny_saks on Mon Nov 24 03:49PM

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  13. lol danny how's it going, ed is well and trulyfucked and it's gone way to tedious to sit there and try and find a comment

    iamevzFrom iamevz on Mon Nov 24 03:51PM

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  14. hey hey hey

    mattymogoFrom mattymogo on Mon Nov 24 03:52PM

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  15. I have no idea whats going on. Someone has obviously well and truly thrown their toys out of the pram. Anne says it isn't Jude, but someone is sure going to lengths to make it look like him.

    danny_saksFrom danny_saks on Mon Nov 24 03:53PM

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  16. Matty! So you were still lurking then? lol Is FBF out there too?

    danny_saksFrom danny_saks on Mon Nov 24 03:54PM

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  17. i thought it was him, anne how do u no it wasnt?

    mattymogoFrom mattymogo on Mon Nov 24 03:54PM

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  18. matty your quite funny. but which one of Rod, Jane & Freddy are you???

    iamevzFrom iamevz on Mon Nov 24 03:58PM

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  19. Bad Matty!

    danny_saksFrom danny_saks on Mon Nov 24 03:58PM

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  20. Matty must be very young then Johnny.

    danny_saksFrom danny_saks on Mon Nov 24 04:01PM

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  21. 143 - rod, Jane & Freddy are off of Rainbow fout of the '80's. Sorry fella i must be showing my age!!!! Is 27 old???????

    iamevzFrom iamevz on Mon Nov 24 04:01PM

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  22. So have you two kissed and made up then Anne?

    danny_saksFrom danny_saks on Mon Nov 24 04:02PM

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  23. with Bungle and George Johnny

    anne_helmFrom anne_helm on Mon Nov 24 04:02PM

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  24. im 20 :)

    mattymogoFrom mattymogo on Mon Nov 24 04:02PM

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  25. oh god look who is on here!

    iamevzFrom iamevz on Mon Nov 24 04:03PM

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  26. Google 'rainbow' Matt. I must say you do remind me of Geoffrey... getting shafted by Bungle.

    danny_saksFrom danny_saks on Mon Nov 24 04:04PM

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  27. lol danny, i do feel old i thought i was one of the younger cast members of the regs!!! Is it me or does it update quicker on here too!!!

    iamevzFrom iamevz on Mon Nov 24 04:05PM

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  28. Yeah we have thanks Danny

    anne_helmFrom anne_helm on Mon Nov 24 04:05PM

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  29. i thought George was the rentboy in Rainbow???

    iamevzFrom iamevz on Mon Nov 24 04:06PM

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  30. ive heard of zippy, bungle, geoffry

    but i aint never heard of Rod, Jane & Freddy

    mattymogoFrom mattymogo on Mon Nov 24 04:06PM

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