They think it’s all over…
It is now. The transfer window is shut and shut along with it are the hopes of millions of fans around the world – hope that the players they want arrive at their clubs and the ones they do not want move on or not come at all. As in everything in life, you win some, lose some and wait until January to hope again.
As a Chelsea fan, I’ve been highly infuriated by William Gallas and his summer antics. While I was one of those who believed he shouldn’t be sold (not to banish him to the reserves, but simply not to let him fall into the hands of our rivals), I must admit that sending him to Arsenal with a paltry £5m and getting Ashley Cole in return is one of the best deals Chelsea have ever done. Considering that Arsenal were asking for nothing less than £20m for Cole and offering £5m for Gallas, if we’d done a deal on their terms, they would have made £15m at least; but in the end, they got only £5m! Even the most optimistic Gunner knows that Gallas in their squad will not win them a title, while the most neutral observer should have no problem admitting that with Cole and Wayne Bridge taking care of our trouble-prone left-back position, we now look the real deal.
Of course, I know the debate will go on and on as to who’s got the better deal between Arsenal and Chelsea, but I won’t bother with it, because events on the pitch will soon put people in their place. Nonetheless, I’ll go as far as saying, from where I’m sitting, Chelsea have made the best deals in relation to every other Premiership team during the window. In terms of the quality of players we’ve brought in, those we’ve sold and the overall effect of the changes in our squad today and what these portend for our future, I believe we got it right. I think despite the press speculation that Mourinho is building a Champions League team for this season, it would seem that in truth, Chelsea set out this window to prepare for the future, but with a view to minimizing the impact the loss of experience would have on the team.
For me, the best of the lot is what’s happened to the Premiership. This transfer window finally confirms the Premiership as over and above the best league in the world and potentially the most exciting. Chelsea’s so-called domination of the domestic front obviously isn’t bad for the game, judging from the array of stars that have found their way into the Premiership this window. Now, clubs like West Ham, Portsmouth, Newcastle, Spurs (and potentially Aston Villa) have joined Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal as big players in the transfer market and they can boast equally impressive squads that can rival any out there. Without a doubt, these developments have simply made Chelsea’s mission of retaining the Premiership crown tougher, but I don’t think we would have wanted it any easier! The Premiership, without a question, is now miles ahead of the rest. Thanks to Abramovich and Chelsea for being huge catalysts in that regard.
So, now that we know that Gallas’s Milan is no further than North London, let’s hope that he finds the happiness he craves in that part of France (but not enough of it to disrupt our own inexorable march through history). As it is, he’s won all the trophies he needs - he’s finally got the opportunity to play club football with his bosom friend, Thierry Henry. The only problem, of course, is that he’s forced the Ashburton penny-pinchers to break their salary cap. Slowly but surely, the exceptions to the Arsenal money rule are growing and with it also the potential for trouble. On the other side of town, Chelsea do not have that problem. Sourpuss Gallas is gone and we have a happy camp!
We welcome Ashley Cole with open arms to the Chelsea family. He may have grown up an Arsenal boy, but now he’s about to see another life. He’s now in a team where cliques and clannishness make no sense, where Englishness is cherished but not oppressive and where a multicultural unity of purpose is driving us to conquer the world. Of course, there will be a handful of Chelsea fans who need time to warm to him, but I have no doubt that he’ll grow to be a Chelsea great and his time in Arsenal will be but only a footnote to his time at Stamford Bridge. The Chelsea fans who understand the business are solidly behind him. Today, he’s a better footballer and a better man just by becoming Blue!
Welcome Ashley, welcome to civilization!
I think that both sides can claim to have won this transfer battle,with some justification.
Imagine this scenario,we refused to let Gallas join Arsenal and they in turn blocked Ashley Cole from joining us.What do you think the reaction would have been if Bridge got injured while playing for England,like he has done before.That would leave us without one recognised left back at the club.It’s all very well to say that we have alternatives,but we should never have to juggle players to fill gaps.I would not be very comfortable to see Essien or Diarra playing there,or even Ferreira come to that.I couldn’t imagine Gallas having a change of heart and deciding to play,not after all his tantrums and lack of total respect to the club,players and fans.Don’t get me wrong,I think Gallas is a better all round player than Ashley Cole,but we wouldn’t have benefitted in the slightest by keeping him here.
I wonder what will happen when Wenger has a problem at left back,do you think Gallas will happily play there.I also read that he’s said “I want to experience new sensations in a brand new stadium, cheered on by the best set of fans in the country”.Does that sound like a quote from someone who was nearly a Chelsea legend?
I’m really pleased that the premiership will be tougher this year,at least when we win it again,we can point to so many teams who have got stronger and the fact that we are a club with players who want to leave,have an unhappy manager and are constantly being charged by the F.A. with some charge or other on a weekly basis.You all know the saying”When the going gets tough”
LETS PROVE IT!!!
Good article. Nice and positive which is refreshing. As for the Gallas/Cole saga, it’s not a question of who got the better deal. The important point is both clubs ironed out their niggly problems. Gallas didn’t want to play for Chelsea and Cole didn’t want to play for Arsenal, problems solved.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/articl.....50,00.html
Lynn, you’re absolutely right. If Gallas had his head in gear, the first thing he ought to have done was pay tribute to the Chelsea support and coaching staff for how they’ve supported him all these years, even if he can’t bring himself to say anything nice about the management. But no, the first thing he does is to insult us by claiming Arsenal have “the best set of fans in the countryâ€. No, I can’t say I have an idea of who’re the best set of fans in the country, but I think Newcastle have the best set of fans in the Premiership. Newcastle is a one-club town and it shows when you’re at St James’ or with their traveling support. Arsenal fans are certainly not better than Chelsea fans. If that’s how Monsieur Gallas wants to begin his suck-up career at the Ashburton desert, that’s his business; but I’m not going to need any encouragement to tell him where to stick his vacant head anytime he touches the ball. Whether he likes it or not, Chelsea made him. Whether he likes it or not he’s already given his best years to us; from now on, it’s downhill. But we still have to tell him what an ungrateful wretch he is! And that is irrespective of his differences with the Chelsea hierarchy.
Well, if that is teh way Gallas wants to start it is his problem. I just hope that his new challenge will not go far than keeping his new club at the third or fourth place in Premiership.
Did Henry influence Gallas’ decision to move? They’re supposed to be best mates from the “academie”. I reckon he spent the whole world cup convincing him. They’ll probably conduct training in French now that it is the majority’s first language.
Just a wild conspiracy theory,what if he was “tapped up”while playing for France at the world cup,stranger things have happened.
Ken was correct in saying that we should welcome Ashley Cole with open arms.He is not responsible for Gallas leaving and joining Arsenal,there is only one person we can blame for that.Yes Gallas was a great player for us,but that is now history.I hope everyone who wanted Gallas to stay,myself included, can now move on and welcome our new player.
He at least offered to play for Arsenal and in fact turned out for the reserves,that showed far more respect to his club,than Gallas did for us.
To start off with I support neither of these clubs but have been interested in this whole thankfully now ended saga.
I think both did ok out of it, although to say chelsea did better due to the cash involved is pretty short sighted, Arsenal need Gallas more than Chelsea need Cole (whats wrong with Bridge??) and so really the cash is not the issue, although I’ve read various articles suggesting that the fee could rise to 12million over 2 years depending on appreances etc which if true would change some people’s views on the whole thing.
At the end of the day a team can be great without a great leftback, Cole hardly played in the CL last year when Arsenal got to the final and Liverpool won it with Jimmy Traore playing there (I think??). Centreback is a totally different proposition and Chelsea now seem to have left themselves a bit thin on the ground there and have strengthened one of their biggest rivals, who although highly unlikely to really challenge for the title itself will still aim top 4 etc and could easily take points off Chelsea.
Finally no credit should be given to Cole for playing in the reserves and that is not to say Gallas’s behaviour has been any better, but Cole did that to stay fit for england and his subsequent transfer which, lets face it, was never really in doubt. His behaviour (from a so called lifelong arsenal fan), along with his hideous agent is I’m afraid a very sad indictment on the game today, which I fear will only get worse with the recent activity at Upton Park, which I’m sure you’ll agreee is the oddest football business for quite some time.
“a better man just by becoming Blue!”, what an extraordinary comment, better because he’ll play for a team with no class and where money means everything and loyalty and decency have no place, it will undoubtedly suit the little chav, but “a better man” your’e having a laugh!
‘jw’ and ‘ashoff’ - It would appear from your IP address that you are one and the same person? Me thinks you’re a bitter Arsenal fan…
i am very hapy that cole is a blue now we have the best full back in the world now
JW,
You’re obviously a closet Arsenal supporter. The first thing you have to sort out is your patently contradictory stance. On one hand, you’re claiming “both teams did okâ€, but on the other, you couldn’t wait to put the boots into Chelsea for supposedly acquiring a player they do not need, while giving out one of their best if not their best centre-back plus £5m to Arsenal. Worse still, you’re inventing stories of “various articles suggesting that the fee could rise to 12 million over 2 years depending on appearancesâ€! You must think you’re talking to kindergartens!
Why didn’t you apply that same handy logic that says Arsenal didn’t need Cole to make the record clean-sheets run in the CL last year to Gallas? Why couldn’t you say Arsenal didn’t need Gallas, because last year they did just fine? And why didn’t you further support that view by claiming they did fine without Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell and Pascal Cygan, who happen to be the only defenders they’ve let go? Did you consider how, in spite of Wenger’s noises about salary caps, they’re now going to pay Monsieur Gallas a weekly king’s ransom?
You don’t have to tell us how great a team can be without a left-back; we have first hand experience already. We’ve won two titles without a stable left-back and there’s nothing that says we wouldn’t win a third with or without a good left-back. The huge point you’re missing is that it’s Arsenal who wanted to sell Cole, while we didn’t want to sell Gallas. Cole kept his head down and waited patiently for Arsenal’s decision about his future, but Gallas was bleating all over the place, promising mayhem if we don’t let him go. You obviously have forgotten that Gallas is 29 and Cole is 25, one is on his way down and one is on his way up. It’s not about form or skill, just the law of nature And Cole being English isn’t bad at all! As much as I admit that Gallas was one of the best centre-backs around, I don’t rate him as a left-back, even though he did a good job for us when called upon in emergencies. One key minus for him in that role is that he’s got no left leg. Cole and Bridge are better left-backs than Gallas and we have them. Whatever you say about our centre-back situation, in Carvalho and Terry, we have two of the best in the world. And now that Boulahrouz has joined, I don’t think, we’ll be that bad. And yes, there are truckloads of some promising young things lining up to take over.
The point I’m making is this – Chelsea have a more balanced team now than they’ve had in years. Other teams (including Arsenal) are equally stronger, but only a fool will bet against Chelsea retaining the title now. And if we can achieve that, what is the use of keeping a disruptive, ungrateful wretch like Gallas? I personally wouldn’t begin now to judge what they bring to their new teams until I’ve watched them play a bit and adapt to their new clubs. But I’ve listened to many fans, including many Arsenal fans and one recurrent point everyone makes is that they’re surprised Chelsea didn’t pay double figures in millions plus Gallas for Cole. There are even Arsenal fans who believe Gallas would be a disruptive influence and that his arrival would unsettle Toure, Sanderos and Eboue.
Ashoff,
All you have to do to see the truth of my statement is look at our players and how they carry themselves on the field and outside it. If class walks up to you and gives you a dirty slap, you still won’t recognize it, would you?
JW/Ashoff,
Why the double-face? We don’t eat people for saying what they really think here. That isn’t a very classy behaviour. Be yourself!
And now for an unbiased analysis of the transfer, read this article in the Times: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/a.....56,00.html
Seriously, read it.
Or how about this one in the Independent: http://sport.independent.co.uk.....319253.ece
Both clubs got rid of players they needed to move, but Arsenal needed Gallas much more than you lot needed Cole. There are also reports that you will be paying upwards to 15 million depending on appearances/success also.
finally cole transfer saga ended.sme people say arsenal got of better of it. i feel tht both teams got good deals.the biggest worry is tht of centre backs.we hve only three established CB.already carvhlo was not good in the 1st 3 games.i think we shouldnt sold huth.during the january transfer window they will hve to buy one more centre back….
most of the people crticise chelsea for buying players with huge amounts of money and they sell t players cheaply..they shld let t players on loan(which is better option)
one thing i do not understand is if you think that we cannot challenge you then why the animosity toward us. my theory is that u realized that in the past even with manure millions they could not stop us winning the league three times as well as numerous fa cup. soon arsenal will have revenue which can match most clubs,except chlesea of course, and with wenger acumen in the transfer market that could be an issue for chelsea. it is also a bit rich talking about the frenchness of the club when u are own by a russian,managed by a portugese and only has three starter in your squad. terry,cole and lampard. as for joe cole will he be a starter.
It seems after months of being unable to communicate his feelings at Chelsea,Gallas has now caught a severe case of verbal diarrhea.These are the comments he made in one Sunday paper.
” I am happy that I have joined Arsenal.I’m sure I’ll be treated better by their coaching staff than I have been by Mourinho in the last year”
“I wish Cole luck and hope he has the patience to put up with his manager”
“Mourinho is a good trainer but he is fickle with his players”
“He uses us for his convenience,Mourinho has pressured me constantly as if he wanted to get the press and fans against me”.
I am just an ordinary fan who has Chelsea running through his veins and I find Gallas’ s comments totally distasteful and unnecessary.
We will never know how good a player and how many international caps he would have won if Chelsea hadn’t bought him.But if I had to hazard a guess,he wouldn’t be the player he is now,for that he should be grateful at least.
Quite agree Lynn, no class whatsoever, he should have read what Eidur had to say about Chelsea before bleating off!
I find it insulting he’s had a go at the Chelsea faithfull by calling Airline FC supporters the best.
Anyway he’s history and we move on, Wiliam who?
Baz,
You and your prophet-journalists will have all the opportunity to grub your sour words when the serious business of the Premiership resumes. We’ll see how far wide off the mark or accurate they are then. For now, you just take your seat, grab a coke and a bucket of popcorn, and watch very closely. Hope to see you back here at the end of the season, your bag of excuses in tow!
http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?HLID=413826
I’m not surprised that the new member of the lunatic fringe at Ashburton Grove is now running his mouth against Mourinho. First, it was the Chelsea directors (and that was even before Mourinho came to the club), then it was Ranieri (for playing him out of position), then it was again Chelsea directors of the Abramovich-era (for not giving him the contract he wanted when he wanted it) and now it is “fickle†José. Well I just hope Mourinho ignores him totally – he should just go on working with those who really believe in Chelsea.
Gallas was and still is a mercenary, who though was a good footballer, yet thought he could use his talent to blackmail the club. The same José he was praising to high heavens when he resurrected his whining in May is now the devil’s incarnate. José is bad because he acted promptly and firmly against his unprofessional conduct when he didn’t turn up for pre-season training in America. José wants the press to hate him, yet he Gallas was and still is the only one that runs to the press with crappy anti-Chelsea and now anti-José stories. Mourinho wanted to get the fans against him and yet the same club went out of their way to urge fans to give him the loudest ovation on the club’s Open Day after his show of ordinarily unpardonable disrespect.
Fortunately, he isn’t the only player to have left Chelsea or José and none of the rest is spouting his mad version of events. He should concentrate on playing for Arsenal and he better be very, very prepared when they meet Chelsea on the pitch, because every stupid utterance of his would be rammed down his gullet until it bursts! Those self-hating Chelsea fans who want to continue worshipping him can continue doing so; but to me, he’s the enemy. I have more or less wiped his Chelsea history from my consciousness, because he himself has injected the killer-poison into it and all that remains now is for him to drink it. I will forever see him as a shameless liar and an ungrateful wretch!
Kenn
Your words have summed up perfectly what true Chelsea fans think of Gallas.
Huth and Duff have spoken with total respect to the club and it’s fans,when they return to the Bridge they can hold their heads high and we can give them the respect they deserve.
I’m afraid Gallas’s behaviour has forever ruined what good memories we have of him and whatever torrid reception he gets,he fully deserves.
Gallas wasn’t a success in chelsea until mourhino came and brought out the versatility in him. A fact is that chelsea success has been due to team work and thats is the way we are still going this season. Other players are still going to develop their versatility.
Although Gallas is a good player doing the simple things, his continued stay would have destroyed that team work ethics he thrive on. Moreover, he has just one year left and keeping would have been a bad one year recipe for us. he his not motivatable in that state.
His dig at us is unwarranted. he was here prior to mourhino and he surely knows he did not achieve anything before then and wasn’t a known force either. There is no need for bad blood and i wish him well.
We welcome ashley Cole and one cannot but feel for Bridgey. Ashley will cultivate the team work ethics and enter the chelsea strides easily.
Should we have injuries to Calvalho and Terry partnership, i believe we have boulhourouz. versatility will come into play when all our players are fit mentally and physically as the seasson progresses.
Kenn, you lot have already lost to Boro. A result like that should pipe down the arrogance just a little. It is far too early to talk about end of season excuses, unless you are have a crystal ball or are simply being disrespectful to the chances other teams have. Lets all just enjoy how the season plays out.
I think Man Utd have a great chance at the title. They have moved into a higher tempo attack after selling Ruud, and Heinze’s return will strengthen their backline along with Neville Vidic and Rio. Saha is on fire and with Rooney and Ronaldo they will not starve for goals. Whiel Carrick may not be Keane, he will improve their side over last season. I think Arsenal also have a decent look about them. They have been second only to Man Utd in chances created, but lack a sharp finish. With Henry finding his form and Baptista about to link with him and RVP, the goals should be on their way. Coming from midfield, Rossicky, Fabregas and Hleb will create a host of chances for themselves and the forwards. Thanks to Chelsea, the backline has solved a major problem by acquiring Gallas. He and Toure will deal with whatever comes their way, giving Eboue and Clichy/Hoyte/Flamini more license to bomb forward. In addition to those two team, Liverpool could well get back on track shortly, as well as West Ham and Spurs. In short, it is waaay to early for trash talk, especially after a loss to this Boro side.
In the famous words of the Terminator “I’ll be back” indeed.
Gallas was one of those players who never seemed happy with his lot. There was always a problem of some sort, albeit that many of the quotes attributed to him during his time at Chelsea may simply have been twisted to suit the headlines (as is often the case, especially with French players talking to the media in their homeland).
It has been suggested that Billy was never really part of the team spirit that has served Chelsea well during the Mourinho era - despite being a hugely important player, one wonders whether his general attitude off the pitch was a contributory factor to him not being offered an improved deal earlier in order to help speed his departure.
His comments are interesting, if a little sour, albeit that they may well have been slightly reworked in the interest of stoking the fire. I have no idea, as I suspect most people don’t, but maybe he has cause to be bitter in this instance? Much as I’m a big fan of Mourinho, there is no doubt that there is his way or the highway which may work for some better than it will with others.
At present, I have little time for Ashley Cole - not because of his former club, but because he seems a thoroughly unpleasant individual from what I can gather. His bleating and whining (and that of his agent) after the tapping-up saga and general inability to accept responsibility for his actions marked him out as a player who I hoped I’d never see in a Chelsea shirt. But, now he’s here, best of luck to him and I hope he plays well for us.
Love or hate willy gallas, that was a cracker in injury time against the spuds…
Baz,
You’ve obviously lost focus in this debate.
(1) You joined a discussion of my article by providing us two links, which you consider unbiased analyses of the winners and losers in the transfer deal between Chelsea and Arsenal over Gallas and Cole. It didn’t matter to you that there have been other reports that indicate that Chelsea had a better deal in the papers as well. More importantly, you couldn’t discern that the Times article was more a very subjective analysis of Arsenal’s overall transfer dealing during the window than their single dealing with Chelsea. It’s not rocket science to know that if a proper Chelsea versus Arsenal dealing(s) in the transfer market is to be made and to be taken seriously, you either compare Chelsea’s gains and losses with regard to the specific Gallas-Cole deal with that of Arsenal or you compare both teams’ dealings throughout the window. These are the two alternative ways to arrive at a credible conclusion. You therefore couldn’t see that the basis of the analysis is wrong in Jonathan Northcroft’s piece. You jumped at it because it supports your bias.
(2) The second article by Tim Collings in the Independent didn’t go far before it began to self-destruct with comments like this: “That Arsenal, on the pitch at least, have come out on top by receiving a fee of £5 million, as well as a French World Cup finalist, in exchange for a one-footed, one position-only specialist, albeit a world-class one, can be confirmed only if they end Chelsea’s run as championsâ€. So, if it is yet to be determined that Arsenal have had the upper hand, isn’t it a little early then to celebrating “a triumph of Wenger’s acumenâ€, at least in relation to the deal with Chelsea? Personally, I mentioned that I’m not going to join the debate of who’s made the better deal in the Gallas-Cole business, because only events on the pitch would sort these out, yet this man is saying the same thing, only to contradict himself by celebrating Arsenal precipitately.
(3) In your desperation to ‘prove’ Arsenal have got the better deal, you’ve continued repeating the misinformation first perpetrated here by the double-faced JW/Ashoff that there are reports of the deal netting more for Arsenal “depending on appearances/success alsoâ€. Please, let’s see these reports.
(4) Your last post is an unnecessary exercise in false accusation, evasion and circumlocution. If there’s arrogance, we need look no further than your attempt to come in here and thump your puny chest for Arsenal supposedly outdoing Chelsea in the transfer deal. You remind me of our loss to Boro, conveniently forgetting Arsenal’s loss to Citeh and the fact that they’ve only got one solitary point so far compared to Chelsea’s six (though, we’ve played one game more). You’ve conveniently forgotten that losing to Boro, Man U, Newcastle, Blackburn and Fulham last season didn’t stop us from winning the title. Of course, I don’t need you to tell me other teams are stronger as well, because I’ve acknowledged that in my head-post. As I’ve inferred, what you should be doing is working on your excuses when the usual end of season celebrations break out at Stamford Bridge.
Jonathan, I personally would like to hear Cole’s side of the storey before judging him - and hope that his book is released uncensored and un-sued.
For me there HAS to be something there that we don’t know about which caused him to desert the club he has always loved, and move to one of their biggest rivals. And if there is some maltreatment or deceipt then I think we have to put ourselves in his position and say ‘if this happened to me by my Company, would I act any different from Cole??’.
Anyway, he is a top youngish English international and so hope he can perform well for us. Can’t see him walking into the side at the moment though with the way Bridgey is playing. He may have to wait his turn.
“In terms of the quality of players we’ve brought in, those we’ve sold and the overall effect of the changes in our squad today and what these portend for our future, I believe we got it right.”
I think Jose made too many changes to the team.
Out: Duff, Eidur, Crespo, Gallas, Huth, Del Horno.
It is a new Chelsea, and it is anyones guess if the team will jell as well as in the past two seasons.
What a debate…Lovely I must say lovely…
Now to those not debating but rather offering ignorance and narrow mindedness pity pity pity…
Chelsea got cole in the left back position where we have been having problems. From our system play am begining to piece together the special one’s intent- to win the league yet again…. Our format play is so variant I pity the teams we will play when it starts flowing…Hope it kicks in high gear against Arsenal…
This will be my line up:
Cech
Boulhouz Carlvalho Terry Bridge/cole
Maka
Essien/J. Cole Lamps
Ballack (442) /Robben (433)
Shev Drogs (Kalou Substitute)
Now you may have any other variantion to the team above. Boro hit us because of our own complacency and trust me that is not going to be showing it’s head soon.
Bring them on bring them on!!!
Hope they serve Gallas at Ashburton Groove (with a french accent) because we want some!
Kenn, a needlessly long-winded post there, only to end with the precise evidence of your arrogance that I alluded to earlier: “As I’ve inferred, what you should be doing is working on your excuses when the usual end of season celebrations break out at Stamford Bridge.”
The banter is good though, so I’ll pick my visits here to remind you ever so often of this comment in the hope that it will reintroduce you to the word “humble” that you’ve so quickly forgotten in the wake of Abromovich’s ruble revolution.
Then, that means you won’t be back then. Bye!