ChristianBaler
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- Aug 13, 2010
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http://www.teamtalk.com/tottenham-hotspur/6520576/Gallas-set-to-stay-as-skipper?
William Gallas looks set to keep the Tottenham armband after leading his new side to their first victory at Arsenal for 17 years.
Gallas took the captaincy for Saturday's Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium, which saw Spurs complete one of the most amazing comebacks in north London derby history to win 3-2.
And so impressed was Harry Redknapp by the 33-year-old's man-of-the-match performance that he is ready to retain him as skipper.
That would cap an incredible four months as a Tottenham player for Gallas, who became one of the most controversial signings of recent years when he crossed the north London divide this summer.
Luka Modric wore the armband last weekend, with regular skipper Ledley King and understudies Michael Dawson and Tom Huddlestone all injured.
But Redknapp said: "William should be captain in all honesty. Luka is a quiet little guy. He just gets on with his own job.
"I made Tom captain, he's been in great form. But he is a quiet boy.
"William has captained teams before, so there is every chance we'll look at that."
Making Gallas captain would have been anathema to some Spurs fans before Saturday's result but he must surely now have won over all but his most hardened critics.
Explaining his reasons for turning to Gallas for the derby, Redknapp added: "I made him captain because he was coming back to Arsenal and it was a good gesture.
"I thought he deserved that, the way he's played. He led by example; he responded well. When I gave him the armband, he just said, 'Good'.
"He doesn't say a lot; he's a quiet guy off the pitch."
Redknapp revealed how he had to fight to bring Gallas to White Hart Lane, despite the France international being a free agent.
He said: "I went out on a limb with everybody - the fans, chairman and everybody else. No-one wanted me to sign him - only me and William."
Gallas picked up an injury towards the end of Saturday's game but soldiered on and was expected to be fit for Wednesday's Champions League clash with Werder Bremen.
As expected, his every touch was jeered by his former fans at the Emirates, while Samir Nasri carried out his threat not to shake his ex-team-mate's hand before kick-off.
The Arsenal midfielder - who fell out with Gallas prior to the latter's summer departure - was branded "petty" by Redknapp, who nevertheless admitted pre-match handshakes were a bit silly.
"Half of them don't look at each other anyway," he said, adding jokingly: "I thought Nasri might be captain for them.
"So they would have to shake hands and then we could get them in a room before the game and William could bash him up or something."
Gallas was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy two years ago for publicly criticising his team-mates.
But Redknapp said: "That's what top players do; it works for great teams; they sort their problems out in the dressing room.
"Roy Keane, Steve Bruce, all these players. You talk to Joe Jordan about the Leeds players - everybody needs that in their dressing room.
"Tony Adams would have done it at Arsenal, with the back four they had. You need people like that who want to win."
And Redknapp revealed he plans to bring in more winners in January in a bid to prove his claim that Spurs are genuine title contenders is not just a pipe dream.
"We need to tweak it to finish it off," he said.
"I think Tottenham have got a championship in them in the next few years.
"Just because they haven't for a while, doesn't mean that Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal or Liverpool will carry on winning it. Why can't someone else win it?
"I feel, with the right ambition, we can go on and win it.
"There's one or two other bits we could do without spending a fortune that could make a difference to the team."
I have no problem with this, however when Ledley/Daws are fit then the armband goes to 1 of them.
William Gallas looks set to keep the Tottenham armband after leading his new side to their first victory at Arsenal for 17 years.
Gallas took the captaincy for Saturday's Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium, which saw Spurs complete one of the most amazing comebacks in north London derby history to win 3-2.
And so impressed was Harry Redknapp by the 33-year-old's man-of-the-match performance that he is ready to retain him as skipper.
That would cap an incredible four months as a Tottenham player for Gallas, who became one of the most controversial signings of recent years when he crossed the north London divide this summer.
Luka Modric wore the armband last weekend, with regular skipper Ledley King and understudies Michael Dawson and Tom Huddlestone all injured.
But Redknapp said: "William should be captain in all honesty. Luka is a quiet little guy. He just gets on with his own job.
"I made Tom captain, he's been in great form. But he is a quiet boy.
"William has captained teams before, so there is every chance we'll look at that."
Making Gallas captain would have been anathema to some Spurs fans before Saturday's result but he must surely now have won over all but his most hardened critics.
Explaining his reasons for turning to Gallas for the derby, Redknapp added: "I made him captain because he was coming back to Arsenal and it was a good gesture.
"I thought he deserved that, the way he's played. He led by example; he responded well. When I gave him the armband, he just said, 'Good'.
"He doesn't say a lot; he's a quiet guy off the pitch."
Redknapp revealed how he had to fight to bring Gallas to White Hart Lane, despite the France international being a free agent.
He said: "I went out on a limb with everybody - the fans, chairman and everybody else. No-one wanted me to sign him - only me and William."
Gallas picked up an injury towards the end of Saturday's game but soldiered on and was expected to be fit for Wednesday's Champions League clash with Werder Bremen.
As expected, his every touch was jeered by his former fans at the Emirates, while Samir Nasri carried out his threat not to shake his ex-team-mate's hand before kick-off.
The Arsenal midfielder - who fell out with Gallas prior to the latter's summer departure - was branded "petty" by Redknapp, who nevertheless admitted pre-match handshakes were a bit silly.
"Half of them don't look at each other anyway," he said, adding jokingly: "I thought Nasri might be captain for them.
"So they would have to shake hands and then we could get them in a room before the game and William could bash him up or something."
Gallas was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy two years ago for publicly criticising his team-mates.
But Redknapp said: "That's what top players do; it works for great teams; they sort their problems out in the dressing room.
"Roy Keane, Steve Bruce, all these players. You talk to Joe Jordan about the Leeds players - everybody needs that in their dressing room.
"Tony Adams would have done it at Arsenal, with the back four they had. You need people like that who want to win."
And Redknapp revealed he plans to bring in more winners in January in a bid to prove his claim that Spurs are genuine title contenders is not just a pipe dream.
"We need to tweak it to finish it off," he said.
"I think Tottenham have got a championship in them in the next few years.
"Just because they haven't for a while, doesn't mean that Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal or Liverpool will carry on winning it. Why can't someone else win it?
"I feel, with the right ambition, we can go on and win it.
"There's one or two other bits we could do without spending a fortune that could make a difference to the team."
I have no problem with this, however when Ledley/Daws are fit then the armband goes to 1 of them.
