Team Spirit At A Tangible Low After Latest Setback
Add comment April 10th, 2008
William Gallas is the Captain of Arsenal Football Club. Part of that role is being a spokesperson not just for the players, but the entire club. The reason the captain is afforded programme notes is so they can, like the manager, set the agenda and establish the party line. Which makes it pretty infuriating that Gallas has been quoted this morning as saying:
“It will be hard to bounce back. Morale is low.”
That’s really not what we need to fear. Contrast that with the following from Kolo Toure:
“We will get together at the training ground and talk about it. Now we have to look at the Premier League. It will be hard, but we can do something.”
That’s a bit more like it. I know that Gallas is probably speaking honestly, but I don’t think that’s always a captain’s role. Sometimes, it’s far more important to say the right thing than to say the truth.
Head over to arseblog tomorrow to hear me discussing not only Gallas’ role as captain, but his future in a back four that just doesn’t seem to function.
Still, at least Jens Lehmann is cheerful. Oh no, wait…
The one bright spot in everyone’s week seems to be Theo Walcott. It’s a great shame that his wonderful run didn’t prove to be a match-winning moment, but a friend made the sage point that had it done so, the hype might have become uncontrollable. Theo’s form seemed to improve just as expectation-levels fell. Hopefully he can continue to make those strides without the scrutiny that has dogged him in the early years of his career.
More tomorrow, possibly with some news on the injured Mathieu Flamini. Here’s hoping he hasn’t played his last game for Arsenal…