Leading the way: Former Arsenal defender William
Gallas is set to skipper Spurs on his debut for the club
Saturday, September
11 2010
West
Bromwich v
Tottenham
10:00 Mio
Channel 106
Harry Redknapp is ready to make William Gallas captain
on his debut for
Tottenham
on Saturday.
The controversial move will stun many Spurs fans given that
Gallas has only recently completed a free transfer from bitter
rivals
Arsenal.
In addition, his spell as Arsenal skipper ended in ignominious
circumstances after he was stripped of the role by Arsene Wenger
for a public attack on his teammates two years ago. That followed
an infamous sit-down protest after a game at
Birmingham.
But the Spurs boss has been hugely impressed with
Gallas' character and attitude in training.
Redknapp said he was 'deadly serious' about handing him the
armband for the trip to
West Bromwich if, as
expected, Ledley King is kept in reserve for Tuesday's Champions
League trip to Werder Bremen.
Discussing the impact that Gallas has made, Redknapp said: 'You
have to be strong as a person to do that. It is easy not to have
done that. He could have gone off and played somewhere else.
Arsenal and
Chelsea are part of his past.
'You move forward. Who gives a monkeys in 20 years about who you
play for?
'He was a great signing. In the open market, he would have cost
£8million or £10m I suppose. He played 70 minutes in the week and
he was excellent. Just having watched him in training and a
practice match, you can see how good he is.
In and out: Gallas comes in for his first start but
injured England striker Jermain Defoe is sidelined
'You don't play in teams that win championships like he
did at Chelsea or play for your country (France) as many times as
that unless you are a top player. He has pace and is a great
defender. He'll be a big asset.
'I have been very impressed with him as a fellow. He could
easily become a mainstay. I am even considering making him captain,
I'm certainly thinking about it.'
Pressed on whether he was really considering the controversial
appointment, Redknapp responded: 'I'm deadly serious.'
King's chronic knee complaint means he likely to be rested.
Take a break: Ledley King is expected to be rested
by boss Harry Redknapp
'I have got to make that decision and it is a difficult
one,' said Redknapp. 'Both competitions are important to me but we
might just need Ledley's experience on Tuesday night in an away
game in Germany in a Champions League game.'
Redknapp's injury concerns deepened yesterday when the club
announced Jermain Defoe is likely to be out for three months
following ankle surgery.
Jonathan Woodgate will have an injection on Monday to try to
relieve the groin pain which has seen him unable to kick a ball for
10 months.
