Has William Gallas gone too far this time?

Frank Praverman

Who should be the next Arsenal captain?

He didn't hold back, did he? "We are not brave enough in battle," William Gallas moaned. "We need to be soldiers. We have to be warriors."

All good stuff, a proper rallying call - right up there with Churchill's "we shall fight them on the beaches" call to arms.

It's unlikely, though, that Sir Winston then went on to mention his troops' pay packets. Or that angry words were traded in the trenches during a heated battle with their most reviled enemy.

What it really sounds like is that Gallas has thrown his toys out of the pram, and not for the first time. Remember his bizarre tantrum at Birmingham after Arsenal conceded a late equaliser? That was back in February which prompted Tony Cascarino to say: "The defender’s becoming a liability, a laughing stock. He’s 30 years old, not 3. I don’t know what the players will make of his antics within the camp, but they can’t feel good about it.

"Gallas has developed the habit of berating his team-mates when they make a mistake, waving his arms theatrically, pulling all sorts of faces. Players hate it when they are shown up publicly like that. The crowd might have missed a mistake, but when one of their team-mates makes a song and dance at them, it makes them look bad."

Nine months on and not much has changed. But are we taking his actions the wrong way? Roy Keane was seen as an old-school leader as he ripped into any underperforming team-mates when he ruled the roost at Manchester United. A flea in the ear from Keano always got the desired response on the pitch and he couldn't care less what they thought of him personally.

But times have changed. Even Keane fell foul of the new, sensitive approach to football when his tirade on MUTV led to his downfall at Old Trafford.

Then there is the sanctity of the dressing-room, which is something that all players and managers cherish. Gallas breached that trust yesterday and all but fingered the culprits, saying that the main troublemaker was 25 years old. That puts Robin van Persie, Bacary Sagna and Emmanuel Eboue squarely in the frame, with most people identifying Van Persie as the most likely subject of his ire.

And how about his leadership qualities in life outside of football? Gallas was fined two weeks' wages after he was spotted leaving a nightclub with a cigarette in his mouth. A player of his profile must realise that he has responsibilities when in public.

How can his peers respect him any more? Is it time for the Arsenal captain to lose his armband or was he right to offer a tongue-lashing to a side who are dropping way short of the standards Arsene Wenger has set?

Vote now and leave your comments below.

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Comments

[henry]

No i don't think he should be but commended for been brave enough to reveal the ailment afflicting arsenal. I think he did the right thig as captain towards the fans, maybe this might be corrected by te players since everyone knows. It would definetly affect the teams pysche and they will start pulling together rather than apart.

[Rob P]

He is not respected. He does not lead by example. He does not inspire his team. He is not a good captain.

[CONRAD]

There's constructive criticism of your team mates and then there's pointing fingers and putting the blame firmly on someone else. Gallas's comments fall squarely in the second.

Gallas needs to look at his own performances before he starts to lay into the younger players in the squad, he's been to blame for a couple of goals this season already and has hardly been the commanding rock at centre-half that he seems to think he is. Would he even get a start for the other top 4 sides? I doubt it.

[TIM]

Gallas is the problem! He has to be the least physical centre back in the Premiership! He appears to loathe any form of physical battle!

[Sam]

Hes a disgrace to football.
The same man who threatened to score an own goal to engineer a transfer.
Leader of men? Hardly.
When compared to the other captains of the top four, you see how bad he really is.

[S. Sohail]

Arsenal aren't the only club in the League who might have some squad problems but it isn't the job of Gallas to make it public without talking about it to his boss - Wenger. He's damaging his own authority with his outbursts and it's time he was stripped of the captaincy. He's just not stable enough and he never was.

[Joy of Cesc]

Gallas shouldnt have made the comments public. But - that said everyhting he said was right. Im not concerned about rows kicking off, I remember when lauren and Vieira squared up on the bus home after a 1-1 away draw in the CL. It didn't do those guys any harm to get things off their chest.

[Doug Bates]

The guy shows no leadership qualities at all and simply seeks to avoid blame and responsibility, which is why the players show him no respect. Keane could bollock people because he was a leader and was never one to shirk his own responsibility and his team knew it; John Terry is the same and showed it by taking the blame for the goal against Germany rather than blaming Carson. Wenger should have dropped him last year Fabregas is the obvious leader and should get the job immediately.

[Tom]

I completely agree with Gallas' comments and can't help thinking that if Roy Keane or Patrick Vieira had said the exact same things, they would be feted by the media as great captains and 'real men'.

Gallas has acted as a convenient scapegoat for Arsenal's problems over the last 12 months while our obvious tactical flaws and gaping holes in our first XI are completely overlooked. We have an average goalkeeper, two attacking full backs, a midfield which comprises of attackers/creative players and then wonder why we are suspect defensively. Yet it's Gallas (and latterly Denilson) that get criticised while others, including the manager, seem to escape censure.

Gallas is right in his assertion that this Arsenal team lacks the fight to mount a title challenge and it's about time our poor attitude was highlighted in public. This team seems to think that it can turn up one week, but then not bother the next.

The players are in the comfort zone and are rewarded for failure. Our annual wage bill is almost equal to that of Man Utd's. Why? What have we achieved? This group of players has achieved nothing. Meanwhile, Arsenal fans are expected to pay extortionate amounts just to watch a side who thinks that it can just turn up and not bother. It beggars belief. It's not surprising that people are more attached to our Carling Cup side than the 1st XI.

I much prefer Gallas' straight talking over the sanitised media speak that we seem to hear every week. It's about time we had a break from the usual 'we're tough mentally', 'we're so talented' diatribe is trotted out.

It might hurt. But Gallas' statment/rallying cry/whinge/moan, whatever your opinion, is 100% correct. Whether he is sold or stripped of his captaincy is moot. This current Arsenal squad, for all its talents, is flawed and it's about time that we stopped blaming all our problems on one person and examined the attitudes of the whole squad. It's about time that they had a reality check.

[Dan]

problem is that Gallas' own performances have not been that good ( with the odd exception)
Chelsea better understood how to use him, but being the big head he is he thought he knew better.
He was prolific for the Blues, but Wenger allows that spirit of Gallic arrogance to prevail at Arsenal and while that works well when they're winning, in true French style once the cracks appear they can't resist bitching and carping at each other.
I think they've just hit the self destruct button with a vengence. If so - the only solution is to get Gallas out before he does further damage.

[Sam]

Arsene Wenger has dug himself in to a hole on this one. I rate William Gallas as a defender and anyone who does not needs to examine his performances better. The trouble is I do not think his ego could take losing the captaincy and as a result he would have to leave the club.

If Arsene could replace Gallas with a better defender, preferably one who is not a sulk, then great. The trouble is, who could Arsenal realistically buy to replace Gallas?

[Iain]

As a Chelsea fan im glad we sold him, everyone thought we got a bad deal....

[Emery Spencer]

And who exactly would be the new captain? 21 year old can't control himself hothead Fabregas? I think its in Arsenal's best interest to keep him as far away from the referee as possible. Clichy? He doesn't seem the type to say anything - unlikely to be captain material. Almunia? He should be fearing for his place! Toure? It seems to me that he's no longer first choice either. Everybody else is either made of glass (Van Persie, Rosicky, Diaby) too new (Nasri) or wrong personality/ not first choice (everybody else).

[Goonter]

Most of what Gallas said was true, its the fact that he didnt say this to them in the dressing room but said it to the press in France. That was wrong. The problem is that there arent that many choices for captain, Fabregas has enough pressure already, Kolo Toure cant seem to hold his starting place. Wenger will have to rein Galas in, but i still dont think he will be stripped of the captaincy!
I see the press are having a field day, they do rejoice whenever it seems Arsenal are in trouble!! I wonder why

[James Binks]

Keane will always be superior to Gallas as captain. When he got released by Man Utd for those comments, it was only because he wasn't the player he was and whereas he could get away with those in the past when he was at his best, now he wasn't there was no alternative.

Keane was always critical on others, and like Gallas quite vocal, but unlike Gallas he he held himself accountable by his own standards and was equally vocal too. Not once hs Gallas been critical of himself, he never apologised for his antics in Birmingham as an example. And his interview was all about his team mates playing like soilders, how one of his team abused HIM, not how about he screams and shouts at hs players on the pitch when they made a mistake.

Keane always led from the front an only got forced out when he could no longer do so. Gallas has never had that ability and in my, s opinion, should never of been captain

[Monkey Moo]

Must agree with the comments that he has been made a scapegoat.

Let's go back to where it started - at Birmingham.
He's just spent a week with a teammate who's father had died.
He's just seen another teammate (Eduardo) badly injured.
He's led his team, from a 1-0 deficit in these circumstances, to a 2-1 lead, only to see a penalty wrongly given (as acknowledged by all at the time) to the opposition in the last minutes of the match.
So yes, his reaction may not have been that of the perfect professional machine, but it was hardly surprising and frankly a legitimate protest in the circumstances.
And the action of someone who really cares, which I prefer to the laisser-faire (or bland "it was a game of two halves Bob") comments of many other club captains.
Since then, every mistake has been laid at his door. He has been pilloried left right and centre - mainly by Arsenal fans (can't blame the press for instigating this one, for once!) - well beyond any sensible justification. So he deserves to be able to stand up for himself.

I'm a Gooner through and through and I think Gallas is a far more important player for us than my fellow fans seem to appreciate, but I wouldn't blame him for a second if he chose to leave.

By the way, allowing for v minor slips on age, the obvious candidate for the "mystery" player is Adebayor, not RvP. Just because the press say it's RvP doesn't mean they're right - they're wrong.

[erick nick]

yes he has gone too far.he is no longer a leader of men.but ar there any men left at the emirates?mayb it is time to compliment arsenal"s inconsistent form by having rotational captaincy.is it illegal?tough times call for any mitigatary measures i believe.erick.Nairobi,kenya.

[Jarmo Peltonen]

Absolutely correct by Gallas to speak out. He is one of the few Arsenal players (about only..) who has actually won something in his career. There has been enough of this media jargon when nothing is said and reporters are acting as fan club members of players. Wenger´s silence tactics is surely ok among the players who only care how they look and if their cars are bigger than others. Nothing is demanded and failures are overlooked season after season. And then, those who have seen different days (=players over 30) are thrown aside and replaced by these me,me,me teenagers.It was about time for someone to speak openly, sadly it had to be the one of the very few internationally true players and the common scapegoat, Gallas.

[danno]

Why are we trying to overanalyze this Ar5ena1 crisis? Let's just sit back and enjoy it.

After all, it won't be long 'til the real scrapping begins - in the boardroom.