RSSThey would love it, just love it, if we blew it
YOU can read the first interview with Martin Taylor here.
One thing that strikes me is that both Taylor and his defenders are employing the age old politician’s trick of pleading his innocence over something nobody has accused him of doing, while ignoring the actual issue.
Nobody ever claimed he set-out to break Eduardo’s leg. But making it a straight choice between premeditated assault and pure accident is an easy way to disguise the real issue of whether it was in fact a studs-up, shin high, get in among ‘em tackle that always ran the risk of doing damage.
Update: I’ve crossed out the above because in the print version of the Independent there is a separate part to the interview where he specifically denies being physical with an opponent and “showing he is there”.
Fair enough. All I’ll say is that I hope the foreigner who puts Wayne Rooney out of the 2010 World Cup is treated with equal sympathy.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the last I intend to say on the issue.
It’s time now to look forward to Villa. But first, a couple of questions:
1) Why was last Saturday so traumatic?
I’d argue partly Eduardo and partly the sense that championship winning sides don’t give away injury time penalties. They score them. That, perhaps more than the two lost points, was perhaps what really threw us.
The thing we have to realise is that the other thing championship winning sides are very good at is bouncing back when things do go wrong.
2) What was Gallas up to?
Myles Palmer summed it up neatly: “If you were emotional, watching that penalty incident, think how emotional William Gallas was.
Gallas is quirky, one-off personality, but he’s been a good captain for Arsenal so far. His competitive concentration has been one of the keys to their Premier League success all season.
“So he freaked out. Or, as we say in polite sporting parlance, he over-reacted. Captains should not do what Gallas did, of course. You don’t walk down the other end of the field while a penalty is being taken.”
And that is the point. It was one very dramatic, very public, very Gallic failing. But it was one failing.
I’m not saying you have to like Gallas (and I sense a fair bit of Fleet Street does not) and we know he can sulk, strop and stage a sit down with the best of them.
But judge him on the season thus far rather than a moment of emotional madness. Judge him on the five minutes of instructions before every game that hold his team-mates in his thrall. Judge him by the defensive focus. Judge him by the breakthrough goal against Wigan, the Chelsea winner and that equaliser against United.
Judge him by the straight out, no caveats, apology he issued in the programme post United. Judge him for always applauding the fans.
And remember: Gallas has won this title twice before. And remember, Chelsea fans cited him as the most important player in their Championship winning sides.
Perhaps the pundits will be proved right. Maybe we have had our day and Gallas’ tantrum was indeed our Keegan moment.
But whatever you do, don’t give up on the team.
I don’t normally go in for tub thumping calls for atmosphere and support, but to anyone who like me is lucky enough to be going to go the game tomorrow, the Online Gooner is completely correct when it says this truly is the time to get behind the side.
Don’t worry about United. They will win at Fulham. Worry about Arsenal. Get behind the team and even if things do go tits-up on Saturday, it’s not over.
One of my very earliest football memories was hearing we had lost 2-1 at home to Derby with three games to go in 1988-89. It wasn’t over then and it wasn’t even over when McMahon got the word from the Kop.
So what I’m trying to say very clumsily is that even if Birmingham is proved to be more than a one-off, stick behind the team because for their Herculean efforts this season, they deserve our support.
I’ve got a fair bit more to say but not really the time to say it. And anyway, I’d only be repeating what I say on this morning’s Arsecast, so head over there for more thoughts.
29 February 2008 at 11:21 am
My opinion of Billy actually went up by several hundred degrees and it was pretty high already. I think he will galvanise the team between now and May just at the time they need it.
29 February 2008 at 11:26 am
The fact is though Goodplaya, acting like Gallas did, and that idiot Chimbonda did on sunday, no matter how we swing it, is completely unacceptable and sums up the rot thats happening to football. When they say ‘we do it cos we care’ is a load of bullshit. They do it cos there fucking idiots.
And dont get me started on Drogba’s diving….
29 February 2008 at 11:44 am
The walking away from the penalty was not good but i had no problem with him slumped on the pitch afterwards. It seems to be totally acceptable for a player to do it after losing a Cup Final or at any stage of World Cup and this game was more emotional than most of those games.
I have no doubts that Gallas will get a reaction out of the team tomorrow. And I’m with Goodplaya, the atmosphere has grown this season with the fans belief but it will be tested now. I will be singing double loud tomorrow! Come on you Gunners!
29 February 2008 at 11:45 am
It was hard enough as a fan to concentrate on watching the match on Saturday. I had to go and make a cup of tea (Don’t laugh), and I have never done that during the course of a game. Any odd behaviour on Saturday was forgiveable, however this Saturday it will not be.
Let’s hope that the determination to win for Eduardo, overrides any feeling of nerves.
29 February 2008 at 11:55 am
Richard,
Its only acceptable because its accepted nowadays cos players run the show. Would Adams or any of you’re old team players acted like this? No fucking way. And if people say ‘They act like five year olds only beacuse they want to win so much’ then thats even worse.
Surely anyone with half a brain can see that
29 February 2008 at 11:55 am
Myles Palmer actually summed up the Gallas situation very well. Let’s be clear. The only reason we are sitting on top of the Premiership now is because Gallas is captain. It’s because Gallas will not accept that careless attitude that we showed last year, where we let teams take the lead and then we celebrated when we got it back to a draw. That is why we struggled to finish in fourth place. Gallas upset a lot of people in the summer by being very vocal about our shortcomings but he was absolutely right. Captain Gallas will no longer accept the carelessness that prevents us winning any prizes and I am 100% with him on that.
So, coming back to last Saturday, I know his behaviour was bizarre and unseemingly but I am sure he left Gael Clichy in no doubt that taking a kip 30 seconds before the end of a game that you are winning by only one goal is just not acceptable. I am a big Clichy fan and I believe he has had an excellent season but those errors in concentration are quite frequent in his game and can be very costly. He cost us a goal against Man City; he cost us a goal and two points against Birmingham and there was an incident early in that game, as there was against Milan, where he lost the ball as the last defender but was lucky that Senderos bailed him out.
Gallas does a lot of work off the pitch to build the team spirit and he has done so again this week. I am sure he will have galvanised the group and, hopefully, will have shaken that carelessness out of the players psyches.
Time will show that Gallas has been one of Arsenal’s best captains. All that ranting at the end of the game last week is nothing more than froth on the top.
29 February 2008 at 12:11 pm
Spot on Goodplaya - Villa are a good team and are in form, so there are no guarantees, but our team need us and I will be there giving it my all too.
29 February 2008 at 12:19 pm
Blog Head,
Lets be fair, Tony Adams used to go out and get wasted after a match. I loved him as a player and admire him for how he has turned his life around but he’s not exactly to be held up as a beacon of professionalism.
29 February 2008 at 12:26 pm
I think Gallas’ reaction just shows how much we need this title more than anyone else. We dont need to put ourselves under alot of pressure though and Wenger has been clever in diverting pressure into others saying that we’ve been written off since the start
Tomorrow is almost as big as AC Milan we need a confidence booster. Eduardo’s calm finishing will be missed in the run in but we have Van Persie coming back to lift the side. Bendtner, Walcott and Denilson will probably play but we cant afford to rest so many players against a good Aston Villa side
29 February 2008 at 12:27 pm
Richard,
But like you just said, on the pitch he was a beacon of professionalism, even with real problems to worry about. Pampered rich boys like Gallas / Chimbonda have no excuse.
Chimbonda aint even that good yet thinks he’s fucking Stuart Pearce. Cant wait for him to end up at Birmingham
29 February 2008 at 12:36 pm
So you would prefer it if Gallas had not reacted and spent the rest of the week getting hammered??
For the record I wouldn’t. And I don’t buy the ‘pampered footballer’ tag with Gallas, the guy is a winner, he knows what it takes to win, he cares about his career and about the team. As previous comments have mentioned, Clichy had a great season and it wasnt a penalty but it was a shocking error that cost us 2 points in a game we dominated.
29 February 2008 at 12:45 pm
Richard,
He threatened to score an own goal at chelsea because he didn’t want to play.
Go on, come out with some silly point just like a Desperate parent does to defend there evil little wanker of a child.
‘He’s a good boy really’
29 February 2008 at 12:57 pm
How is the Gallas strop any different to the multitude of Henry sulks. I agree part of his rant was uncalled for, especially the going to the otherside of the field, if Almunia had saved and there was a chance to clear the ball , Gallas would have felt a complete mug. As for the tears and sitting, I can completely understand and accept. hell most of us Arsenal fans were close to tears when Eduardo had been injured.
29 February 2008 at 1:01 pm
So Blog Head believes the Chelski propaganda machine that Gallas would score an own goal on purpose. Seriously get a life.
And you didn’t say whether it would be better for him to go and get wasted all week instead of getting the team back on track???
29 February 2008 at 1:06 pm
What I cannot understand that NO-ONE has mentioned McLeish’s part in the Eduardo incident. It is obvious that HE told his players to go out and get “stuck in”. Taylor didn’t mean to break Eduardos leg but I believe he was following his managers orders and the result is now evident!
29 February 2008 at 1:11 pm
Villa looks threatening guys. but ive got trust and belief in our young gunz!! http://www.latest-arsenal.blogspot.com
29 February 2008 at 1:13 pm
Richard,
I dont remember Gallas denying it, and maybe Adams is not the best example but thers a million other players I could mention. My points the same, these players hurt the team in the long run, they dont help. Only opinion of course
29 February 2008 at 1:16 pm
Irish Gooner,
Telling your team to get ’stuck in’ is a normal thing that any footbal person says. We all say it on the stands. What happened to Eduardo was Tragic but things like that happen in contact sport. Taylor has a record of being a decent sportsman so you have to give him the benefit of the doubt
29 February 2008 at 1:26 pm
If Arsenal win the league this year it will be nothing short of a miracle.
No Toure, No Van Persie, No Eboue(stupid cunt)
No Djouro(who is not as bad as people think)
No Song (most improved player)and when is Rosicky coming back?
Instead we have Diaby. Not a bad player but final ball is crap.
Hoyte who is crap. JD would be better cover at RB.
Bendtner who at the moment is nothing more than a target man.
Traoure who will never be a left back as long as he has a hole in his bum.
I’m getting a bit pissed off about this. This is the third season in a row where we have been desimated by injury.
I hope I’m wrong but I think that the reason that Gallas was crying last week was because as things stand currently. We will be lucky to get a draw at old trafford and at stamford bridge.
I agree with goodplaya. The fans now need to do their bit.
COME ON ARSENAL
29 February 2008 at 2:32 pm
Gallas is a Don, Leave him alone. Has anyone noticed now when arsenal are lining up in the tunnel how he’s totally focused, not having a laugh & smile with the opposition captain like another captain we had a little while a go(TH14). To be a captain of a title winning team you got to be a cold miserable bastard out there and thats what he is !
29 February 2008 at 2:33 pm
Bloghead, so what if Gallas didn’t deny the chelski besmirching of his integrity? Why should he have to refute such a patent load of bollocks from a ‘club’ that compiles dossiers on the supposed utterances from other managers about the beacon of moral rectitude that is Spartak chelsea?
Looking back I was annoyed and bemused at the Captain’s protest at the end of the match, but I think that was more a combination of my feelings about Eduardo, ruing less than clinical finishing, and shipping a penalty that never was. It’s your opinion that Gallas’s antics were unacceptable, but it’s my view that his reaction was the sum of all that had gone on that afternoon.
We want three points tomorrw and we will get behind the team.
29 February 2008 at 3:05 pm
Re Taylor’s comments to the press yesterday: Not one word of apology. He just said that he didn’t mean it and that it was an accident.
So let’s get this straight: he commits a reckless, irresponsible tackle (foregoing the concept of “duty of care”) that is potentially career-destroying, causes untold hurt to the player and his family. He destroys the hopes of an entire nation for their national team’s fortunes in Europe’s most prestigious int’l football tournament…
…and is incapable of simply saying “I’m sorry.”
Ben Thatcher: “Sorry, Pedro, didn’t mean it, it was an accident.”
Stephen Hunt: “Sorry about that, Petr, almost causing you fatal brain damage and all, it was an accident.”
Drunk driver: “oh, so sorry, Ma’am, didn’t mean to put your kids in the hospital like that.”
It just beggars belief.
29 February 2008 at 3:40 pm
“The fact is though Goodplaya, acting like Gallas did, and that idiot Chimbonda did on sunday, no matter how we swing it, is completely unacceptable and sums up the rot thats happening to football. When they say ‘we do it cos we care’ is a load of bullshit. They do it cos there fucking idiots.”
You Brits are a fucking joke. The reaction to Gallas’ actions is a perfect example why anglos are the subject of so much joking among latinos. Maybe I’m just an emotional, cheating Brazilian. In Brazil or Argentina or anywhere in Latin America Gallas’ actions would’ve been just shrugged away as a good captain losing his control during a very traumatic game during a season where he’s been rock solid throughout. It’s been a fucking joke to watch the British media and fans like Blog Head get all neurotic and hysterical about this. Get some fucking therapy.
Emotion, esp. of the intense kind, freaks you people out like no other nation on earth. The real, level-headed, RATIONAL reaction to Gallas’ actions at Birmingham is SO FUCKING WHAT? It was a momentary lapse, quite understandable, a bit of self-indulgence from a deeply commited, intense player, he’s been a good captain, now let’s move on. Get the fuck over it.
29 February 2008 at 3:48 pm
And, btw, I DO remember Gallas’ agent denying he’d ever threatened to score an own goal.
29 February 2008 at 4:00 pm
What do you expect of Taylor when he has the backing of whole English media, players and managers? The media has indeed make him look so good, so innocent, one big angelic figure.
So guess what? He think he is right and he has the right to destroy a player career and walk away just like that.
I support Gallas all the way. He may blow it, he may be called unprofessional. But he is human like us, full of emotion. It’s his passion and love for the club that was unfortunately shown in the incorrect way.
Gallas is the sort of captain every team want to have. Passionate and fully committed.
29 February 2008 at 4:08 pm
marcus,
Would you like me to tell you why you latino’s are the subject of much joking amongst us Anglo’s?
29 February 2008 at 4:12 pm
ps7, u r right…
last Saturday was indeed a difficult moment to swallow for Arsenal fans… the game is well over after Eduardo “unfotunate” career ending tackle blow.
i am unable to sleep without the images of Eduardo foot flying on the air, crooked and broken… repeating on my mind for a few days
up until today, it hit my nerves when I watch a footbal match when a tackle coming in… i almost decided to end my “football watching” career… i am almost have had enough of the brutality
sorry if it sounds over-reacting… but it is real and happening
29 February 2008 at 4:18 pm
2ps7,
Are you taking the piss?
29 February 2008 at 4:29 pm
you should know if 2ps7 is indeed taking the piss, bloghead, being the arch piss-taker you are.
29 February 2008 at 4:41 pm
Pleb,
Great use of the word ‘bismirched’ by the way. Could you please tell me what it means cos I’ve always wanted to use it. Seriously.
29 February 2008 at 6:06 pm
in that context, it’s to bring in to disrerpute. I’ll see about getting in ‘umbrage’ in the future.
29 February 2008 at 6:57 pm
Marcus - nice.
29 February 2008 at 7:27 pm
I would take the “petulace & unsporting behavior” of Gallas any day of the week. We need passionate players to rally the team together after the drain of the last few fixtures, and the rash of injuries. We don’t have RvP to provide that spark, so I fully endorse Gallas.
The ad kicking and lack of presense on the PK is unacceptable, yes, but the desire he has to see the gunners victorious is unquestionable. The goals he has scored and the rock he has provided this season to an otherwise contantly-changing set of center defenders, has been priceless.
What would you of wanted him to do upon that eduardo injury and pointless penalty, headbutt a brummie and get a little bit of english “revenge”? Jeeeeezus, put yourself in his boots for a minute.
29 February 2008 at 7:32 pm
blog head is a spud on a wind up - just ignore him.
It doesn’t matter what the papers say, what matters is the performance on the pitch. Time to get back to business.
29 February 2008 at 7:36 pm
Blog head is a wind-up merchant but you have to say he or she is pretty good at it. I reckon it is really Goodplaya in disguise.
29 February 2008 at 7:43 pm
Good stuff again, good playa, and indeed the team will need unwavering support now, no moody groaning moaning supporters. We fans also need to give 100%, even if there’s a misplaced pass, even if we go a goal behind, and even if, heaven forbid, we don’t win tomorrow.
Great performance on the arsecast too!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS!
29 February 2008 at 9:20 pm
Don’t be too harsh on my boy, slowly but surely my tragic bastard son is turning red and white. He’s the most prolific poster on this and many Arsenal boards by a country mile. No longer will i have the shame of having a virgin, pervert, Lilywhite son….I’m welling up here…
29 February 2008 at 10:23 pm
At least, he just kick on the adveritsing board.
He does not do a career ending tackle like Taylor did to Eduardo.
He deserves to throw tantrum, cry or anything alike.
Did you guys remember how many points he rescue and win for Arsenal?
If not for him, we lose to MU in Emirates… and he win it for us against his old team Chelsea.
He isthe Captain of Our Heart. We’ve yet to se any Arsenal captain as good as him when comes to total commitment and passionate.
29 February 2008 at 11:30 pm
Hear Hear Goodplaya. I’ll be up singing for the Arsenal tonight come what may, my cricket season has come to an early end so 2am Aussie time I can firmly turn my attention towards the game against Villa and sing my lungs out (even if my girlfriend thinks I’m crazy).
And guys, remember earlier in the year when we were nervous about going to Villa and felt that the win proved we were up for a title fight? There are a lot of parallels between the two games, Villa are in fine form at the moment and a win would give everyone a boost. We would be right back on track.
Come on you Arsenal !!!
1 March 2008 at 2:03 am
[...] has been talking about the trauma of Saturday and the Gallas situation and agrees that he’s made a difference this [...]
1 March 2008 at 12:09 pm
I remember that Derby game. I said to a mate the other day that I hadn’t been so peed off about a game (last Saurday) since Derby in 1989. I remember feeling sick to the core.
1 March 2008 at 1:39 pm
I think Gallas was jus showing us his love for the club, i dont see anything wrong with that…http://www.latest-arsenal.blogspot.com
1 March 2008 at 1:42 pm
Come on Gunner’s lets teach these small Villa boiz how to play soccer
http://www.latest-arsenal.blogspot.com
2 March 2008 at 2:42 pm
Having Blog Head on these message boards is like having herpes in your corn flakes. Get lost over on beefbagel.com or somewhere will you?
Gallas had been counselling Sagna over his brother’s death all week, saw his mate get violently put out of the game for a year, then witnessed a cast-iron non-penalty given against his team in the last seconds of the game to steal 2 points. It’s enough to make anyone kick the advertising boards in sheer release of anger.
2 March 2008 at 2:45 pm
And, by the way, happy Saint Totteringham’s Day everybody.
2 March 2008 at 3:47 pm
We can manage to draw 2 games in a row and still stay at the top. how great is that guys…For all the latest Arsenal News Updates please check this site
http://www.latest-arsenal.blogspot.com
3 March 2008 at 1:59 pm
Ade and Ben should sort out their difference SOON otherwise we going to loose this title race. http://latest-arsenal.blogspot.com their feuds should be off the pitch