After watching William Gallas in the first few games playing with a red-and-white jersey, I can’t help but think this is gotta be one of the most underrated defenders of all time.
Whenever people talked about Chelsea’s success, apart from Roman’s cheque book, it’s always Mourinho, Terry or Lampard. When the France national team is mentioned, people naturally think of Zidane, Henry, Vieira, Thuram as their key players. Gallas has never been mentioned in the same class as Thuram, Maldini, Nesta and the like as the game’s top defenders.
But for those who have watched him played on the pitch, they know his worth. No wonder the Chelsea faithful were so upset when Chelsea decided to let him go.
I was impressed by Gallas in the World Cup. The game against Man Utd impressed me even further.
Attacking wise, he may not be as good as Ashley Cole. Yet defensively, he’s top drawer. As solid as a rock.
He’s not the quickest as a full back, and he doesn’t put in too many tackles neither. He doesn’t need to. His READING of the game is top class. He seemed to know what the oppositon attackers were going to do BEFORE they even started the move.
I don’t want to suggest Ashley Cole is a bad player just because he left Arsenal. But this Gallas/Cole deal may yet just turn out to be one of the best Arsenal deals in recent years. With or without Cole, I don’t think it would make such a big difference for Chelsea. Yet the addition of Gallas will steady our defence a great deal.
40 Responses to “Gallas the “Rock””
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September 19th, 2006 at 9:09 am
Gallas is quick, he is quick of mind and quick in the head.
His years of experience in the EPL are the one thing AFC was missing.
I love the way he seems happy to be playing for Arsenal.
He has kept his head down and let his football do the talking.
He will start all the games AW wants to and will help the young players through the tough times.
He will win many things in a red shirt…
September 19th, 2006 at 9:59 am
Off Topic:
A lot of new football rulings I thought it’s useless and pointless. Like the injury player must walk off the pitch before coming back. The purpose of it originally was to prevent time-wasting, yet as it turned out, it goes more like the other way around.
But one new ruling for the new season - when a player is down injury, the decision to continue playing or not is now up to the referee instead of players (kicking the ball out of line) - is one outstanding invention. The best English FA came up in years.
A lot of players used to fake injury in order to waste time, or interrupt oppositions’ play. No more. Now the referees just simply ignore their act and allowing the game to continue. It’s such a refreshing scene to watch, and the game is allowed to flow without interrupting unnecessary.
Whoever came up with this idea deserved a big thumb up! I hope FIFA will soon be following the act.
September 19th, 2006 at 10:02 am
Gallas is definitely worth it. Pity he’s 29 already.
September 19th, 2006 at 10:25 am
If he’s 19 instead of 29, people would by saying let’s stop buying kids!
September 19th, 2006 at 10:31 am
Check out the following story being reported today. Particular Fergie’s remark to Rio after Ferdinand being seen meeting with Peter Kenyon last year.
Ferguson’s remark pretty much sum up what Ashley Cole should expect from fans of his book -
Fergie said to Rio : ‘It doesn’t matter if you were talking about the price of milk, the time of day or the colour of the table you were sitting at. It’s just so stupid of you to go there and meet Kenyon’.’
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Rio feared Fergie axe after meeting with Kenyon
Rio Ferdinand feared being sold by Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson after his chance meeting with Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon last year.
Ferdinand, 27, was pictured with Kenyon at a restaurant, sparking suggestions he could move to Stamford Bridge.
The England international, who served an eight-month ban for missing a drug test while at United, was called to see Ferguson where the centre-back insisted he wanted to stay at United.
‘I feared the worst when the picture was in the papers and decided that I would go and see the manager when I arrived for training and explain,’ Ferdinand said in his book `Rio My Story’, which is being serialised in The Sun.
‘I didn’t need to. He called me in first thing and went absolutely bananas. He said `what the hell’s going on?’
‘He hammered me and quite rightly. I got the treatment. I’d never seen him so angry; it was far worse than when I missed the drugs test. Much worse.
‘I couldn’t say a lot because I was in the wrong. I just said again `boss, I don’t want to sign for nobody. I want to sign for Man United. I told you at the beginning I want to sign for United’.
‘For a moment I was worried he was going to say, I’m going to sell you.
‘The meeting went on for 15 minutes and he was going: `You know how people will interpret it. It doesn’t matter what you said.
‘It doesn’t matter if you were talking about the price of milk, the time of day or the colour of the table you were sitting at. It’s just so stupid of you to go there and meet Kenyon’.’
Meanwhile, Ferdinand has revealed how one of his team-mates suffered racist abuse from another player while at West Ham.
He added: ‘If I name the player who came out with the most racist abuse I’ve ever heard on a football field, no-one would believe it. I guarantee you’d be astonished.
‘Legally I couldn’t reveal the bloke’s identity because I couldn’t prove anything in a court of law, but I heard it loud and clear. It involved a black player in our side up against a very well-known opponent.
‘I’m thinking, `Am I hearing this right? I can’t be hearing this right’.
‘But it went on throughout the game and our player told me the defender did the same to him every time they played in order to intimidate him.
‘He even admitted that sometimes it worked, which made it all the more depressing.’
September 19th, 2006 at 11:07 am
Gallas is definitely a world class player and I don’t use that term lightly. He’s a fantastic signing for us. But I don’t think he’s anywhere near under-rated. It just goes to show you can’t believe the hype of what you hear on the news or see in the papers.
The very fact that he’s one of the few players who survived Abramovich’s arrival and then Mourinho’s arrival and retained his starting role proves he’s the real deal. There was only Lampard, Terry, Gallas, and occasionally Gudjohnsen.
An under-rated player was Makelele while at Real Madrid. There were players who made as much as four-times more than he did and when he asked for parity they sold him to Chelsea. I thought, what a bunch of arrogant idiots. But Makelele wasn’t the big name there and they haven’t won jack sh*t since he left. Gallas was never under-rated. Mourinho was simply upset that one of his starters had the balls to stand up to him and wanted to leave. Gallas is World Class.
September 19th, 2006 at 11:25 am
An interesting point is all of Mourinho’s star players were not bought by the special one, he inherited them.
Lampard, Cech, Terry, Joe Cole, Makelele and Gallas.
The players he has bought in have either been sold or dont make such a massive impact. The only player who is begining to shine is 30 mill mann Essien.
September 19th, 2006 at 11:48 am
I meant he is underrated by the media, not the coach. As I stated - those who have watched him play on the pitch, knew his value. And obviously, when Wenger was keen in him trailing back to the pre-Roman A. era pretty much tells us Gallas’ worth to the people who know the game.
Yet in every year’s PFA or Football Writers Association “Player of the Year” awards, has Gallas even made it into the shortlist? Yet we saw Terry and Lampard won a whole lot.
September 19th, 2006 at 12:22 pm
Who cares about what the media thinks? No one else even made a bid to Chelsea for this guy. Does that mean he’s not quality? That sounds like something one of our fellow members would say. I am almost sure that Mourinho didn’t want to see him go; especially not to Arsenal.
It’s too bad for Chelsea that they let him sit there all of this time making pennies while signing others to these big-money contracts. They didn’t even care to talk money to him when he wanted to talk. How much more money do Lampard, Terry, and even Wright-Phillips make more than Gallas did? It was about respect and Chelsea didn’t respect him in the least. What a bunch of ignorant assclowns.
September 19th, 2006 at 12:29 pm
Good point. Robben also
I think that is why he has now gone after establishes stars such as Sheva and Ballack. He is not as good as Wenger at judging talent. But, unlike everyone else, he does not really need to worry about this because he has an unlimited supply of cash.
September 19th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
I think gallas is one of the best there is…a very very natural defender, hence he can play all over. i also think his attacking play is under-rated, while not being the lung busting run down the flank ala cashley cole type…he still did add a dimension to our attack against manure.
being a defender myself something i notice a lot about quality defenders is, they hardly ever have to go to ground. as much as sliding tackles are oohed and ahhed a sliding tackle always means that a defender was caught out (or covering for someone else). and gallas hardly ever goes to ground, and he is not just quick of mind but also has pace…i remember him always giving henry a hard time whilst at chelski scum
September 19th, 2006 at 2:17 pm
Hi ho.. registered to this site long time ago, but never write anything here. Well, I’m a Malaysian living in East London currently. And recently the Hoyte’s family became our client, got her kitchen designed and fitted :). Well the mother came by today, talked to her ’bout the game obviously, and a few other things regarding Arsenal. Hmm, apparently, she said, according to her son that Gallas is not just a great defender, he is also very very helpful.. teaching the young lads on the training ground every now and then.. Heh, so yeah good for him and for Arsenal :). He’s settling rather effortlessly with ARsenal.
September 19th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
The ref-injury rule will benefit The Arsenal a great deal. Teams will have to play, and that’s always good for us.
Good call, Andez.
September 19th, 2006 at 3:13 pm
Yeah … Yeah… thats the ticket.
Gallas is Under-rated. He’s a rock. The best there is.
Cole is Over-rated. He’s a jerk. Not that good.
I understand now… classic!
September 19th, 2006 at 3:15 pm
Well, Pires and Lehman are examples of veteran players that lived in relative obscurity until they came to Arsenal. After the move they enjoyed the best years of their careers and received much acclaim. Let’s hope it works out the same for Gallas.
September 19th, 2006 at 3:51 pm
But Cole isn’t as versatile and he’s a massive, massive c?nt. Easy math for me. ;^)
September 19th, 2006 at 4:50 pm
I think this is CLEARLY… use of the JEDI MIND TRICK.
Gallas good, Cole bad.
September 19th, 2006 at 4:59 pm
Reading your comments, I have always felt drawn to the dark side!!!!
September 19th, 2006 at 5:50 pm
My comments about Wayne Bridge being a better left back than Cole don’t look as absurd now as they may have appeared a couple of weeks on. Cole is just carrying off from where he left off- the road of mediocrity. Again, someone please tell me what is so special about him. I think his rudeboy glare and wiping of sweat from forehead with his forearm gives this honest-days-work impression which amplifies quite straighforward defending. Plus he is another reyes- so left-footed he goes round in circles.
Gallas is in a different class. Better player and he has a presence and charisma that Cole did not possess.
Ashley Cole- Best clear-off-the-line defender in the world.
September 19th, 2006 at 8:40 pm
If you don’t want to see Cole skinned and rolled in salt, yours will be a very lonely Gooner planet.
He’s “probably the best left back in the world”. Whoopee.
September 19th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
All I can say is that I am very happy with the deal.
Gallas + 5m for Cole = great business
The only thing Cole has over Gallas is his age?.and at Arsenal, at center-back, if he looks after himself, Gallas could play on for another 5 years so who give a rats about the age differential?
I?d also maintain that a world class center-back is on a different level on the football-importance-scale to a world class fullback.
CB?s win you things and hold the team together ? like some say they are part of the spine.
Haven?t even mentioned the versatility Gallas brings?.
Stagg, much of the comments re Cole are just fans letting off steam. We?re disappointed that he chose to leave but snotted at the way he acted and continues to act. Sadly he acts with immaturity, and chose to go to a club that mirror that failing. What is particularly sad for Cole is that in life some decisions shape your character and future?.I doubt he will be a better person for the way he has chosen to act.
September 19th, 2006 at 9:45 pm
He has not all of a sudden gone from… “one of the best left backs in the world”… as I have seen repeatedly on THIS SITE…
to …
he’s not that good anyway…
simply because he is now wearing Chelsea Blue.
it baffles me when this non-sense occurs.
Take the Wenger point of view…
he was great for us.
Sorry he left.
Good Luck Ash…
Just not against us.
He is still one of the best in the world at his position… its really that simple. He IS much younger than Gallas.
I am happy with Gallas. I think he’ll help the team a great deal. He is very solid. AND… he wants to be here. Nothing else matters. No need to bash at Ash… he’ll make an ass of himself.
(something else he is one of the best in the world at!!!)
September 19th, 2006 at 10:33 pm
So, is she going with the standard Arsenal red in the kitchen, or the Red Current of last season?
September 19th, 2006 at 10:47 pm
Speaking of CBs, Sol is looking pretty good for Portsmouth. Now, I think that Toure+Gallas will be better than Toure+Campbell, and I can understand why Wenger wanted to get rid of Campbell. But, I thought we could have gotten some money for him. As I understand it, we bascally paid him 1 or 2 mil to void his contract. Our only gain was to get free of his high salary.
September 20th, 2006 at 12:19 am
A lot was written about why Gallas wanted to leave Chelsea - mostly he didn't like being played out of position, and didn't get paid as well as he should have. But I have to believe that he got tired of the egotistical manager. He got tired of having to demonstrate his obedience. As a proven international he got tired of being treated like he didn't know how to play. He got tired of being treated like he couldn't make a decision for himself and wanted to be treated like a grown up.
I don't think any of the players there are treated especially well, I bet everyone of them has moments when they wonder why they are being yelled at. Some less often than others, but even Terry and Lampard have to kiss the ring from time to time.
So for Moronho it was a miserable position. Gallas won't cower and behave. He's too important a player to try to force to submit (it didnt work anyway - the squad number to Ballack thing.) And worse, he knows he's important so he has leverage. Kenyon made the decision to put Moron out of his misery, and to let all the Chelsea supporters be mad at him rather than the manager.
So I'm not worried about Gallas playing left back for Arsenal. I think he's just happy to be treated as a human being, as a responsible adult, as someone with an opinion that matters. He was shrewd and bargained to get a big paycheck, and Arsenal held up their end of the deal; and so far at least, he's happy holding his end up. Long may it continue.
September 20th, 2006 at 1:12 am
Gallas is underrated. Isn’t that why he wanted to leave Chelsea in the first place? Let’s hope it has the same effect as Makelele leaving Real. They haven’t won anything since.
I see Gallas as the permanent left back this season. Hoyte hasn’t coped well and we don’t know when (and if) Clichy will be fully fit again. Djourou has shown that he can handle the pressure and Senderos will also be back soon. With Gallas and Cole playing in the same position, it should not be difficult to judge who does better.
September 20th, 2006 at 2:41 am
stag ur nuts!
who said anything of tht sort…gallas IS under-rated and he is a ROCK. no one said anything about cashley, tell me man vot has to happen for u to stop cryin like a lil baby on this site….sometimes ur comments provide a good balance to excessive optimism and blind faith but most of the time they are really crummy, irritating, unobjective and in poor taste!
September 20th, 2006 at 3:46 am
stag:
sometimes i really don’t know what u want. You wanted a new signing, and we got one in Gallas… You didn’t want another “kid”, and Gallas is not a kid, a seasoned veteran in fact… You didn’t want AW sold A.Cole without bringing anyone in, now your wish is granted…. And the best of all, this new guy Gallas can play, and been performing well, not a flop…
So the way i see it - all your previous wishes are granted now. Yet u still not seem to be very happy do u? What else do u want?
September 20th, 2006 at 5:07 am
bringing gallas in and restoring our defence …while removing a cancer - Cole - in the process was a good thing. how anybody on earth can hint that it isn’t is beyond me.
STAG, please find some positivity in your life.
are you a fan of gothic music or what?
September 20th, 2006 at 5:11 am
no need to bash cole??? why not???
he is a F—-KING C—NT that is what he is - and arsenal fans have a right to bash him! full stop.
September 20th, 2006 at 5:19 am
seriously, this guy is one of the least objective posters on this site. maybe thts where he gets his kicks from moaning!:)
September 20th, 2006 at 5:25 am
exactly Andez u hit the nail right on the head….
what EXACTLY do you want?? … what can arsenal EVER do to make you happy and kick you out of your all-out negative routine?
after the Boro game you have said we have ZERO chance of winning the league, we are “no-hopers” this season, henry will soon bugger off to barca. etc. you were even canvassing for us to play aliadere of all people.
then we play two BIG games and win them both. i would think this should put some smile on here. this past week hardly ANYBODY was posting on this site anymore cos it was just all filled with negativity and ppl dont comment when they are filling down…..but now, there are a lot of comments back.
this is an arsenal fansite, we are only on here because the club is one of the things that makes us happy - however this hardly ever reflects in your comments.
the accusation is not of being negative, EVERYBODY here is negative sometimes!
the thing is that you ALWAYS find something negative to say. seriously.
September 20th, 2006 at 5:37 am
and for the record, we dont have a zero chance of winning the league.
i think we have about 5 percent chance. i said this earlier in the summer and i say it again. but i will never say or think we have “NO CHANCE” of winning the league. never.
we are not the finished article, cos we still have flaws….but we DO have a good bunch of quality players - despite what you try to make us believe.
September 20th, 2006 at 6:12 am
Right on the spot Indian_G (on the sliding tackle issue)! Perhaps u play the game yourself so u really know the stuff. Another point i wanna add is - with all the rule changes, today if a defender only relies on sliding tackle, it’s difficult for him to last for a whole 90 minutes without being sent off.
The game is so quick today, chances are getting higher for a mis-time tackle. And a mis-time tackle could easily result to a booking today. Like we saw during the world cup, many players were booked or sent off merely due to the mis-time tackle.
If a defender can read the game well, it’s definitely a bonus.
September 20th, 2006 at 8:01 am
Worse. He’s a Red Sox fan.
September 20th, 2006 at 9:13 am
We weren’t talking about Cole until this one girl that posts on here mentioned his name but did anyone see the Chelsea/Liverpool game on Sunday and hear the Stamford Bridge Boo-boys doing their thing everytime Cole touched the ball? Was it me or were they really booing him.
September 20th, 2006 at 10:07 am
joshuad, maybe it’s the Liverpool fans. Anyway, i wouldn’t suprise if either Chelsea or Liverpool fans booed him. i mean, though loyality pretty much has died in football today, fans still hold loyality to a high regard. Nobody likes players who’s unfaithful to their clubs, and to did it in a fashion like what Ashley Cole did was probably the worst the football world has ever seen.
When fans look at player like Ashley Cole, even they are not Arsenal fans, i don’t think they would have any respect on him. ‘Cos whatever he did to his old club, he could easily repeat it again to his new club. If he tells the Chelsea fans I love Chelsea and I love the Chelsea fans, do u think the Chelsea fans would buy it?
September 20th, 2006 at 10:22 am
Yep, Arsenal fans are perfectly entitled to rip into Cole, but as Wenger indicated I don't like to hear homosexual chanting on the terrace, because it's pathetically childish and degrading to the many gay men and women who probably attend the games. If they started singing he was a retard or a nigger there would be an outcry.
At the end of the day, anyone who thinks Cole is an average defender now that he has gone to Chelsea is talking bollox. Unless he allows all of this to affect him, which is possible, he is one of the best 5 left backs in the world at this point of time no doubt. He's miles better than Bridge, although personally I think Utd's Heinze is better.
It would be great to have a normal Cole AND Gallas, but the deal is definitely stacked in our favour as it is.
September 20th, 2006 at 10:31 am
Personally I would have no problem with ANY player going to the manager and saying I want to leave because I am not happy at Arsenal. I don’t care if they say it’s because of the weather, they don’t like their position, want more money, or they are just want a change of scenery - there is a right and a wrong way to go about things.
Ashley Cole couldn’t have got it more wrong, he went behind the clubs back, then lied about it, then wrote a book - seething with greed and hypocrisy - attacking the board and unnecessarily ripping into his own team mates. How idiotic and disgusting. That’s what you call the wrong way to behave and I would say the same about any player in world football.
September 21st, 2006 at 4:01 pm
You are totally on the money…there is a right way and a wrong way of doing this…