Arsenal will win nothing with Whinging William Gallas as skipper. So who should Arsene Wenger give the armband to?
William Gallas is a fine player, but he is not a leader of men. Arsene Wenger undoubtedly made an error of judgment when he handed the armband to the moody Frenchman. There are many things wrong at Arsenal right now, but a lack of on-pitch leadership is arguably the most serious issue Wenger has to deal with.
Gallas’ ill-timed outburst is typical - indeed, there are more revelations about spats with team-mates in his autobiography, published in France today; Gallas has a pop at some of the younger players in the French national squad at Euro 2008, in particular a player who he identifies only as “S”. Hmm, see a pattern emerging here?
So Arsenal need a new skipper, clearly. Gallas must be stripped of the captaincy, before he does any more damage to the morale of the team.
That’s where you come in. Put in Wenger’s shoes, who would you give the armband to? Vote below or leave us a tasty comment to snack on:
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16 responses so far
1 CLB // Nov 21, 2008 at 2:47 pm
I am glad that reports have surfaced that Gallas will lose the captaincy but why now of all times? Better now instead of later though…
People also need to give up the thought of Fabregas getting the armband anytime soon. He’s way too young. Despite his vast experience for his age, he still has a lot to learn and there’s not too much he can pass on to his teammates. I like Almunia. I think he’s a genuine guy and has the right ide about the team. I want him to wear the armband.
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2 fourstar // Nov 21, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Clichy for the rest of the season, on the understanding that Cesc takes it for 09/10.
If Cesc is still there…
3 Mike // Nov 21, 2008 at 3:29 pm
The scum in the media have been pushing and pushing for this for yonks.
They have no credibility and should not be tolerated.
Joe Kinnear was right, the media are vermin and should be dealt with accordingly.
4 fourstar // Nov 21, 2008 at 4:04 pm
@Mike: Maybe so, but the media are not driving this change. Spoken to any fans lately? Gallas is no captain. Some of the more outrageous ones have suggested that he is in fact a Chelsea ‘Trojan Horse’ designed to unsettle our young team. Ridiculous? Sure about that?
We are imploding and whilst the media are taking great delight in it, the drivers are coming from within.
5 Mike // Nov 21, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Fourstar
If you actually read what Gallas has said, it’s no different to what many fans are saying, and there’s very little wrong with it either.
The media are twisting and spinning this like crazy.
Why should Gooners be stupid enough to believe rubbish and twist spewing forth from the biggest community of outright liars on the planet?
6 fourstar // Nov 21, 2008 at 6:55 pm
@Mike
What he said may be true, some of it. But he shouldn’t have said it. That needs to be sorted out behind closed doors, by the club captain - not trawled through the press, surely?
The media are not just twisting it, they are printing direct quotes. You do not start to point the finger at your fellow professional (and make it damn clear who you are talking about) which can only drive a wedge between you and the rest of the team. He complains about having to trake all the blame, but he, as captain, is the representative of the club. That is part of his job, to stand up for his team. Unfortunately, his words indicate to many that he is only interested in Willia Gallas, not Arsenal Football Club.
7 fourstar // Nov 21, 2008 at 6:56 pm
@Mike
What he said may be true, some of it, but he shouldn’t have said it. That needs to be sorted out behind closed doors - by the club captain - not trawled through the press, surely?
The media are not ‘twisting’ it, they are printing direct quotes. You do not start to point the finger at your fellow professional (and make it damn clear who you are talking about) which can only drive a wedge between you and the rest of the team. He complains about having to take all the blame but he, as captain, is the representative of the club. That is part of his job; to stand up for his team. Unfortunately, his words indicate to many that he is only interested in William Gallas, not Arsenal Football Club.
8 Mike // Nov 21, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Direct quotes?
All of them?
Are you sure?
We ARE talking about the media here, the largest body of liars in the known universe.
I don’t have a problem with what he’s reported to have said anyway.
It’s exactly what many fans have been saying for some time.
All the faux hand-wringing and angst by the media is laughable imo, they shouldn’t be trusted or even taken seriously.
I think Gooners who fall for this drivel aren’t amongst the brightest.
Take a listen to Roy Keane, a man who thinks for himself instead of all the rent-a-quote halfwits the media wheel out from behind whatever trashcan they’ve been stored near every time they want to punt an agenda.
9 fourstar // Nov 21, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Well, amazing as this may seem, and I think you may be surprised by this, there are rules and laws about putting words into quotation marks and implying they were said by a living person within the context of a news article.
I know, amazing isn’t it?
Mike, as a Gallas apologist, I suggest you get one of these: http://www.universalposter.com/arsenal/posters/view/id/65/artist/gallas - it might be worth a few bob in a week’s time.
“It’s exactly what many fans have been saying for some time.”
Utter drivel, mate. Stop flaming.
What many fans have been saying for a long time is “What the f**k is Gallas doing as captain of our club?”
As for not being the brightest, well let us see. If the rest of the team get behind him and deny all the ‘quotes’ as media nonsense and back him to the hilt and Arsene comes out and stands side by side with him and they launch into a two-part harmony accapella Marseillaise, I shall come on here and apologise :)
But I reckon not.
10 buba // Nov 22, 2008 at 3:13 am
cesc fabregas should captain for arsenal so he wont move
11 Mike // Nov 22, 2008 at 5:59 am
Quotation marks? Really?
Like Freddy’s quotes? Or any of the numerous other”quotes” that we’ve seen?
Newspapers NEVER get sued, and NEVER take chances that they might be?
Uhmm, suuureee…..
I am NOT a Gallas apologist, but I will kick he media in the nuts way before I kick one of our own players.
Unfortunately, intellectually challenged Gooners love to get the boot in themselves, providing the scum in the media with the amunition and foothold they need.
What I am having a go at started over a season ago, not this latest fiasco.
THAT’s what is stupid, and btw this is not flaming, this is a debate, unless you’re incapable of that?
12 fourstar // Nov 22, 2008 at 8:03 am
Mike,
Of course I am capable of a debate, I believe this is what we are having.
I simply disagree that the /first/ place to look for blame, if we need to do so, is the media. Surely Gallas has to take responsibility himself. His latest “don’t blame me” tirade signifies (to me) that he is not captain material.
I think his on-pitch behaviour back at Birmingham was unusual but not the sign of a deranged nutcase - I do agree that on that occasion, the media seized on it and did a pretty good character assassination job. But it was also not the controlled powerful leadership you want to see from your football club captain.
I’m sorry, but even if the newspapers had not written a single line about him or Arsenal in the last 18 months, he would still not be a good captain just looking at results - and that is why he has to go.
Arsene is too intelligent to have his every action dictated to by the media. If he wants to do something, he will (cf: playing the youth team in the Carling Cup). Let’s see what /he/ decides to do - and back him.
13 Mwepu Llunga // Nov 22, 2008 at 10:16 am
Good to see the camaraderie and togetherness shown by the players is also shown by the fans. Is it just me or is the title of the article quite simple. Vote for who you should be captain and then shut the f*ck up. For my money it SHOULD be Toure but as AW has obviously gone insane in his preference for Silvestre the only candidates left are Almunia and Cesc (Clichy’s too young). Cesc is worth waiting as giving him the captaincy should get one more season out of him so the unanimous choice has to be Almunia…even if he is sh*t.
14 fourstar // Nov 22, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Read the article, Mwepu, it clearly says, “Vote below or leave us a tasty comment to snack on.” which is what we have done. No need to be rude.
15 redMist // Nov 23, 2008 at 6:52 pm
The sad thing for arsenal is they dont have a capable captain on the playing squad. Fabregas has heart and ability but he is too impetuous; Adams was captain at the same age but there was less scrutiny then. Toure has been awful ever since the African Nations; a shadow of his former self. Clichy is a quiet little mouse; Almunia is only a default by virtue of the fact that he is older than the rest. Wenger has a bad record of this - remember Henry’s captaincy (awful!). No-one thought he should have passed over Silva for Gallas… he shoudl t least admit he was wring
16 jen // Nov 24, 2008 at 1:17 pm
As a lot of the quotes are picked direct from gallas’s autobiography it is difficult to call media manipulation. Add to this his little tantrum at Birmingham - disgraceful behaviour, and if there was a genuine captain in the side, he would have been gone then. However, needs now must. Cesc is too young and too under pressure anyway - the dependence on him now has hurt his game, and the captaincy would really damage him. Clichy is a child. Alumnia is a possibility but his lack of understanding of hair colourant or the country he’s from perturbs me. Give it to Kolo for a season - his game could well pick up on it…