September 5th, 2006
Gunnerblog can reveal that William Gallas will wear the number 10 shirt at Arsenal this season. The club initially offered the French defender the number three shirt, and foolishly went on the assumption that he would accept. They even began printing and retailing the shirt.
However, on Sunday evening Gallas reported back saying he had no intention of wearing the three, and wanted to wear number ten. Having already produced a large amount of “Gallas 3” shirts, the club withheld an announcement until today, continuing to sell the pre-printed shirts. I am told they will now offer a refund or exchange on all the incorrectly numbered shirts.
Why exactly Gallas has rejected the number three is an interesting question: perhaps it’s to cut his ties with Chelsea (he was given that shirt this season). Perhaps it is to distance himself for the shirt’s previous incumbant, Ashley Cole. Or perhaps it is so he is not regarded as a full-back.
Whatever the case, he has asked for ten, and got ten. As a comfort to those of you with “Gallas 3” shirts, they’ll probably be fairly collectable in the long run…
September 5th, 2006
Well, that’s perhaps a bit much. But he did pretty much everything else an evil person can do, according to Chelsea. He:
- Wanted to leave “purely” because of money
- Refused to play for the club on several occasions
- Threatened to score own goals and get sent off if selected
- “Failed to recognise the role Jose Mourinho and Chelsea played in helping him become a double Premiership champion for a player whose only league title prior to that had been in the French Second Division”
Classy stuff from Chelsea on that last point. It’s hard to know what to make of it all. I personally have no idea of how true what they’re saying is, but I don’t think they’d be so specific if they didn’t have a case. For example, they cite last season’s FA Cup Semi-Final as a match Gallas refused to take part in (a match in which, ironically, he made one glaring error).
Let’s get one thing clear: if any of the accusations made against William Gallas are true, then he is completely out of order. Whatever Chelsea have supposedly done against him, he is a professional and should respect his contract. Terrible though Ashley Cole’s conduct was, he at least always declared himself available for selection.
But Chelsea have also acted in a completely unprofessional manner. This is not the way to deal with such a problem. In fact, surely it has already been dealt with? Gallas was agitated, he sought a move, he got it. The same goes for Cole. This whole matter has been completely sordid from start to finish, so why not allow it to be put to bed?
For Chelsea, there are two reasons:
By releasing a personal and vitriolic statement on Gallas’ behaviour, Chelsea hope to turn their fans against a man who always gave his best in spite of recieving paltry financial reward compared to some of his more celebrated team-mates.
Gallas himself says:
“I am surprised and shocked by these claims. I never said that I would score own goals if I had to play for Chelsea again. I was firm about my wanting to leave, that is true, and I will explain in due time why I wanted to. But I never went that far. But if people want to hide behind false accusations in order to give a reason for why I left so they can calm down the club’s supporters then they can.”
I’d be tempted to suggest Gallas should sue, but frankly I’d rather the whole thing was just left alone. Chelseafc.com is not a private blog such as this one – it is a professional website with responsibilities. Look at the way Arsene handed Ashley Cole’s departure: with dignity, and composure. The more the likes of Kenyon and Mourinho bleat, the less respect people will pay them.
In many ways, I feel guilty for giving this horrible matter further publicity. I, for one, can’t wait till the actual football kicks off again.
Ps. Denilson is quite good, apparently + Almunia for England!
