Goodbye Gallas and don’t forget your dirty linen

NEVER a dull moment is there? Last Monday I had filed my copy only a couple of hours before all hell broke loose when Chelsea released their explosive statement that Gallas had threatened to score an own goal, get sent off, or play badly to try and force the club’s hand over his contractual bickering.

This certainly does explain a lot. What Gallas threatened to do was not only an act of betrayal to the club, but it showed a complete lack of respect for the game and all the fans that have ever chanted his name.

The airways this week have been jammed with supporters of other clubs (unsurprisingly, mainly Arsenal) claiming that the Chelsea statement is a spiteful pack of lies. But just stop and think for one moment. Does anyone actually believe that the club would make such outrageous allegations up? Knowing full well that it would leave them open for the mother of all law suits?

Some people feel that the club should not have made this all public. Washing dirty linen in public is rather frowned upon. But this isn’t some little prima-donna spat over a contract. I believe that we, the supporters, had a right to know why the club decided to sell such a talented player.

And before the flood of emails drawing comparisons with Ashley Cole let’s remember a couple of things about him . . . he didn’t refuse to play for his club, threaten to score an own goal, and didn’t ask for £5m a year.

What IS interesting is how the FA don’t seem to care that William Gallas threatened to score an own goal — effectively throw a game. Why not? It’s got nothing to do with the fact that this repulsive individual has hung his hat at the Dein-governed Camel Dome, purveyor of non-playing strikers for the England team, has it?

The hypocrisy of Arsenal fans has also made me smile this week. I lost count of the amount of times that I had to hear that William Gallas was an “over-rated” player — suddenly he is a “power-house.” His ability cannot be denied, but now his character has been laid bare for all to see, I am glad he is gone.

Certain parties have had a lot to say about “class” this week, and our perceived lack of it. “Class” is obviously the new “history.”

But I will tell you what class is all about. Class is about giving a standing ovation to a goal scored against your team, despite the possibility of that goal denying you points. Class is about respect. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has more class in his little finger than Gallas has in his whole being. That’s why we sang his name and applauded him when he chose not to celebrate his goal on Saturday. Instead he kissed the very ground on which he played and pointed at the Chelsea crowd.

I’m writing this before Tuesday night’s Champions League opener with Werder Bremen. How did we do? I’d hazard a guess that it wasn’t the walk-over that many Chelsea fans thought it might be.

Liverpool await this weekend. I don’t know if it has been the summer break, or the traitor moving to Arsenal but the loathing I had for them last season has mellowed somewhat. I personally don’t think they have bought particularly well in the summer and there are already rumours that Bellamy has been involved in a training ground bust-up. Gosh! Both they and ourselves are not playing particularly well. Perhaps they have stage fright after so many have tipped them for the title.

With us, it looks as though we are trying to bed in too many new players all at once. We are also missing Robben and especially Joe Cole. Hard to call this one — so I won’t.

[e-mail]