Tea, dammit!
I have a long rant coming up so I need to balance it with some happy. Go check out _backpages_'s picspam from the MLS All Stars v. Chelsea game here and feel free to ignore my rage dump below.
When Eidah, Duffa, and Hernan left I was very sad, but I understood their reasons for moving on and appreciated that they did so in amicable fashion and with only the highest praise for the club, their teammates, the good times they'd had, and the fans. When they return to the Bridge I will clap them heartily and with teary eyes. I expected to feel the same way about William Gallas. How wrong I was!
Willy has never been my favourite player personality-wise, but only because he wasn't as easy to know as some of the other lads. I'm sure much of this was due to the language/cultural issue, so I never thought ill of him for seeming rather aloof. As a footballer, I considered him one of our best players, possibly even a better defender than JT, and certainly among the top players in the world. I had very fond memories of his contributions on the pitch, not least the winning strike against Spurs that I witnessed in person last March.
Perhaps because of this I was more inclined to overlook some of his less stellar attributes that surfaced in the background from time to time. I cringed at his sour-grapes comments after losing the WC Final and thought it very poor form that he ripped off his 2nd place medal, for instance. At club level, I was aware that agitating for a pay raise was standard procedure for Willy every summer since he joined Chelsea. I only found out today, though, that he had threatened to go on strike for Marseille when he was trying to sign for us. I never appreciated his penchant for whining to the press, especially the French press, whenever he didn't get his way at Chelsea, and then later saying the exact opposite if it suited him. This may be partially down to bad reporting and agent manipulations, but I have also seen it in Chelsea TV interviews with Willy himself. We can all remember that he moaned about being played on the left, then "clarified" that after talking to Jose he felt very appreciated and flattered the manager thought so highly of him that he could play well in so many positions. It seemed he was always whinging about something: first it was that he wasn't winning things, then it was money, then he was playing out of position, then money again, then he wasn't getting proper recognition for his talents, then money, etc. Most people just laughed it off and said he's the sort of person who isn't happy unless he's moaning about something.
When in a Chelsea shirt Willy was good at insisting he would give his best in any position, but he reserved the right to bitch about it. We all accepted this, because it seemed a small price for such a good performer. Maybe we shouldn't have cut him so much slack. There are plenty of Chelsea players who are more than happy just to be on the pitch, and who would never complain at having to fill in somewhere. Eidah made a go of the midfield, Essien will play anywhere, JT's gone up front, Joey goes out on the wing, and Duffa played left back, ffs. It's supposed to be an honour just to be out there! Willy started every game when he was fit. We lost players like Eidah and Duffa because they couldn't guarantee the same thing, and Willy thinks he's the victim here? I bet SWP would kill to play centre-half or left back if it meant getting a game!
I can understand players wanting to feel valued and wouldn't argue that Willy is worth at least as much as JT as a defender. However, I also recognize that JT's contributions to the club extend far beyond his performances on the pitch. JT is Chelsea. No matter how brilliant a player Willy is, I agree with the club that JT's greater impact deserves greater reward. I don't think Willy is responsible for the feelings of togetherness in the camp!
While I don't entirely agree with some of the wording/tone of the statement about Willy's own goal threat (it smacks of Simon Greenburg and Peter Kenyon, neither of whom I trust), as a fan I feel we have the right to know the truth behind what happened. Of course it's playground mentality to come out with a "he said this so now we're going to hit back with this" approach, so maybe it wasn't the right thing to do. On the other hand, I'm sick of Chelsea getting constantly slagged off in the press without defending themselves or putting the facts straight. In the Frisk case, for example, no one remembers that Jose et al. were actually telling the truth about what they saw. That got covered up pretty quickly in the wake of more interesting stories about Chelsea being the enemies of football. *rage*
But back to my point. Whether or not I always condone the club's actions, I at least want to hear both sides of the story to make a more informed decision. So here's what I know, based on general news sites and not just Chelsea stories:
1) Willy has waffled back and forth about leaving for a while now. Back in May he said that he'd made his final decision and wanted to play abroad.
2) The club responded that Willy was a world class player with one year left on his contract and they didn't want him to leave. In fact they were offering him an improved contract extension. Apparently this means they don't value him. Hello?
3) Willy fails to show up for the Champions parade and later preseason training, despite previously agreeing to the dates.
4) In the meantime, Chelsea receive no serious offers for Willy's sale to another club. If you ask his agent, though, AC Milan are one of a plethora of top clubs beating down Chelsea's door for Willy's signature.
5) Jose says that Willy's refusal to join up with the squad shows a lack of respect for his teammates and he will be disciplined with a fine. Willy (or his agent) claims that it's all blown out of proportion and he'll be back with the squad shortly. Can you say cover your arse?
6) When Willy does join up with the squad, Jose says he's shown an improved attitude and is training well. He offers to welcome him back to the group but notes the need for an apology to his teammates.
7) Willy participates in Blue Day Out and receives a warm ovation from the fans. Apparently this means they also do not value him. In the ensuing squad photo, Willy is grinning like a fool, by all appearances quite pleased to be in a Chelsea shirt.
8) The season starts with 3 1/2 fit defenders for Man City. The match notes list the injured/unselected players and state, "Gallas: unwilling." Jose calls for Willy to publicly explain why he is not playing.
9) The Cashley transfer saga kicks off. Midway through, Arsenal make a rather insulting bid of 5 mil for Gallas. Chelsea still have no offers from other clubs.
10) Chelsea and Arsenal play hardball. Negotiations reportedly almost fail when Willy's agent makes last-minute outrageous pay demands for his client. At the final hour, the swap + cash deal goes through.
11) Willy, now at Arsenal, goes off in the press about how awful Chelsea are and how he's so happy to be at a club with the best fans and where he'll be treated so much better.
When it became apparent that Willy didn't want to play for us anymore, I was very disappointed but resolved to suck it up. As no other options presented themselves I felt the club did the best they could to let a want-away player help solve our left back cover problem. However, Willy's willingness to move to a major rival, particularly one who presumably couldn't pay him as much as Chelsea could when that had been his major complaint, was a smack in the face for the fans. Furthermore, if he really wanted to play abroad as he'd said, surely in the absence of any serious offers it would not have been that much a hardship to serve out the final year of his contract with the reigning Premiership champions until someone like AC Milan or Real came in for him next summer.
Players like Duffa and Eidah said they wouldn't go to major Premiership rivals out of respect for the club and its fans. It is a two-way street, Willy. And I don't agree with the argument that Chelsea should just let Willy go wherever because they let other "unhappy" players leave. The ones we let go all played in positions for which we had extra cover, and the deals offered were good for the club. In this case, we are not brimming over with top defensive cover and were entitled to significant compensation for losing what amounts to 2 1/2 players when you consider Willy's diversity. Moreover, we were entitled to expect our player to see out his contract if no satisfactory offers were received. After all, no one held a gun to Willy's head when he signed the original deal. In any case I do not consider 5 mil a satisfactory offer for someone of his calibre and experience, and given Willy's high opinion of himself it's a further insult that he accepted such terms.
So then it comes out that Willy has been on strike and worse. My love for Chelsea doesn't mean I think some of their current ringleaders (Kenyon, Greenburg) aren't capable of lying when it suits them, but in this case, and given Willy's track record of inconsistent statements, I'm inclined to believe the club. From a practical standpoint, they'd be even greater fools than I think to expose the club to possible libel suits if they had no proof. And if Willy is calling the club liars, why isn't he taking legal action? Why didn't he expose the club's allegedly horrible treatment of him when he had the chance before, rather than slagging us off after the fact? Saying he'll explain it all later seems to me a ruse to buy time while he comes up with a suitable excuse for his own behaviour. As for the club, perhaps they should have exposed his antics earlier. I think, though, that given the timeframe the option of least damage was using Willy as a makeweight for the Cashley deal. If he'd kept his mouth shut afterwards, I doubt the statement would have been made. I find it interesting that everyone thinks Chelsea acted without class here, but no one feels Willy was behaving badly by refusing to play and then insulting the club, fans, and manager as soon as his feet were out the door. I'm also intrigued that this is the same manager that Willy has previously praised to the high heavens. As it happens I feel we were lucky to get off so cheaply. We should have paid the Arse way more to take the lying twat off our hands. Of course, we did get saddled with that other bastion of integrity, Cashley, so maybe I speak in haste. :S
Looking back, I have my doubts that Willy ever truly loved the club. Fans could be forgiven for thinking otherwise seeing his goal celebrations against Spurs or Man U, for instance, but now I wonder if that wasn't really him celebrating his own glory rather than team triumph. From all his comments he strikes me as someone in constant need of ego stroking, and if he played well it was probably more down to showing the world how good he was and winning personal accolades rather than trying to benefit the club. Chelsea suited his purposes for a while, nurturing his talents, putting him on the world stage, and providing opportunities for trophies, but once he'd raised his profile a bit with us it was time to see where else he could be worshipped. We happened to reap the side effects of his efforts and that's all. That makes me sad.
What I think really happened is that Willy attempted to blackmail the club to secure his dream move to AC Milan and it backfired when the Italian scandal hit. Then he returned to training and played nice, presumably to show his great professionalism for any clubs who might be interested and to keep himself fit for them and France. He's always been quite adept at looking out for number one. Maybe he thought there was still a chance AC Milan might come for him. As the transfer deadline approached with no foreign rescue in sight, he'd already stuffed up his relationship with Chelsea so badly he had to get out, and who better to join than fellow Frenchies and bestest bud Titi over at the Grove? There he could be big man on campus amongst all the spotty youngsters and finally get the star treatment he deserves. Apparently he now has the No. 10 shirt after rejecting the No. 3, so I guess he's planning to be a playmaker, too. I hope he plays at left back all season. I'm sure he'll be happy to do so since Arsenal have "the best fans" and he wouldn't want to disrespect them by moaning, would he? *apopleptic fit*
But wait, I see I must be entirely mistaken since French coach Domenech has said that the Chelsea story is scandalous and the team had a good laugh about it in training. I'm glad they find such disgusting behaviour amusing. I'm certainly in stitches. I like how Gallas' word is gospel and Henry doesn't dive but Maka must be a liar because Domenech didn't know he wanted to retire. I guess the public announcement and formal letter sent directly after the World Cup don't count. And I'm sure Raymond "Tarot" Domenech is entirely to be trusted when he claims he never received said letter. Oh, wait...
On the whole, I feel everyone involved has shown a want of class. Even if the own goal threats were false or just "heat of the moment" comments, Willy's other behaviour has been less than exemplary. Chelsea should have taken the moral high ground, but either way the press would have our heads and Willy would not only win what he wanted but get away with backstabbing the club and fans to boot! Besides, everyone already assumes we have no class. I think this is true of Kenyon and the PR people, but not necessarily Jose. He has always treated the players fairly and honestly. Whether they reciprocated in kind is another matter.
Ugh. I'm disappointed, angry, sad, and frustrated that Willy has spoilt my memories of his time at the club. I wish Saturday would hurry up so I can get back to cheering for players who actually know what it means to wear Chelsea blue.
ETA: This guy on the Chelsea blog wears blue-tinted spectacles a lot of the time, but he makes some valid points here. The comments are interesting as well.
When Eidah, Duffa, and Hernan left I was very sad, but I understood their reasons for moving on and appreciated that they did so in amicable fashion and with only the highest praise for the club, their teammates, the good times they'd had, and the fans. When they return to the Bridge I will clap them heartily and with teary eyes. I expected to feel the same way about William Gallas. How wrong I was!
Willy has never been my favourite player personality-wise, but only because he wasn't as easy to know as some of the other lads. I'm sure much of this was due to the language/cultural issue, so I never thought ill of him for seeming rather aloof. As a footballer, I considered him one of our best players, possibly even a better defender than JT, and certainly among the top players in the world. I had very fond memories of his contributions on the pitch, not least the winning strike against Spurs that I witnessed in person last March.
Perhaps because of this I was more inclined to overlook some of his less stellar attributes that surfaced in the background from time to time. I cringed at his sour-grapes comments after losing the WC Final and thought it very poor form that he ripped off his 2nd place medal, for instance. At club level, I was aware that agitating for a pay raise was standard procedure for Willy every summer since he joined Chelsea. I only found out today, though, that he had threatened to go on strike for Marseille when he was trying to sign for us. I never appreciated his penchant for whining to the press, especially the French press, whenever he didn't get his way at Chelsea, and then later saying the exact opposite if it suited him. This may be partially down to bad reporting and agent manipulations, but I have also seen it in Chelsea TV interviews with Willy himself. We can all remember that he moaned about being played on the left, then "clarified" that after talking to Jose he felt very appreciated and flattered the manager thought so highly of him that he could play well in so many positions. It seemed he was always whinging about something: first it was that he wasn't winning things, then it was money, then he was playing out of position, then money again, then he wasn't getting proper recognition for his talents, then money, etc. Most people just laughed it off and said he's the sort of person who isn't happy unless he's moaning about something.
When in a Chelsea shirt Willy was good at insisting he would give his best in any position, but he reserved the right to bitch about it. We all accepted this, because it seemed a small price for such a good performer. Maybe we shouldn't have cut him so much slack. There are plenty of Chelsea players who are more than happy just to be on the pitch, and who would never complain at having to fill in somewhere. Eidah made a go of the midfield, Essien will play anywhere, JT's gone up front, Joey goes out on the wing, and Duffa played left back, ffs. It's supposed to be an honour just to be out there! Willy started every game when he was fit. We lost players like Eidah and Duffa because they couldn't guarantee the same thing, and Willy thinks he's the victim here? I bet SWP would kill to play centre-half or left back if it meant getting a game!
I can understand players wanting to feel valued and wouldn't argue that Willy is worth at least as much as JT as a defender. However, I also recognize that JT's contributions to the club extend far beyond his performances on the pitch. JT is Chelsea. No matter how brilliant a player Willy is, I agree with the club that JT's greater impact deserves greater reward. I don't think Willy is responsible for the feelings of togetherness in the camp!
While I don't entirely agree with some of the wording/tone of the statement about Willy's own goal threat (it smacks of Simon Greenburg and Peter Kenyon, neither of whom I trust), as a fan I feel we have the right to know the truth behind what happened. Of course it's playground mentality to come out with a "he said this so now we're going to hit back with this" approach, so maybe it wasn't the right thing to do. On the other hand, I'm sick of Chelsea getting constantly slagged off in the press without defending themselves or putting the facts straight. In the Frisk case, for example, no one remembers that Jose et al. were actually telling the truth about what they saw. That got covered up pretty quickly in the wake of more interesting stories about Chelsea being the enemies of football. *rage*
But back to my point. Whether or not I always condone the club's actions, I at least want to hear both sides of the story to make a more informed decision. So here's what I know, based on general news sites and not just Chelsea stories:
1) Willy has waffled back and forth about leaving for a while now. Back in May he said that he'd made his final decision and wanted to play abroad.
2) The club responded that Willy was a world class player with one year left on his contract and they didn't want him to leave. In fact they were offering him an improved contract extension. Apparently this means they don't value him. Hello?
3) Willy fails to show up for the Champions parade and later preseason training, despite previously agreeing to the dates.
4) In the meantime, Chelsea receive no serious offers for Willy's sale to another club. If you ask his agent, though, AC Milan are one of a plethora of top clubs beating down Chelsea's door for Willy's signature.
5) Jose says that Willy's refusal to join up with the squad shows a lack of respect for his teammates and he will be disciplined with a fine. Willy (or his agent) claims that it's all blown out of proportion and he'll be back with the squad shortly. Can you say cover your arse?
6) When Willy does join up with the squad, Jose says he's shown an improved attitude and is training well. He offers to welcome him back to the group but notes the need for an apology to his teammates.
7) Willy participates in Blue Day Out and receives a warm ovation from the fans. Apparently this means they also do not value him. In the ensuing squad photo, Willy is grinning like a fool, by all appearances quite pleased to be in a Chelsea shirt.
8) The season starts with 3 1/2 fit defenders for Man City. The match notes list the injured/unselected players and state, "Gallas: unwilling." Jose calls for Willy to publicly explain why he is not playing.
9) The Cashley transfer saga kicks off. Midway through, Arsenal make a rather insulting bid of 5 mil for Gallas. Chelsea still have no offers from other clubs.
10) Chelsea and Arsenal play hardball. Negotiations reportedly almost fail when Willy's agent makes last-minute outrageous pay demands for his client. At the final hour, the swap + cash deal goes through.
11) Willy, now at Arsenal, goes off in the press about how awful Chelsea are and how he's so happy to be at a club with the best fans and where he'll be treated so much better.
When it became apparent that Willy didn't want to play for us anymore, I was very disappointed but resolved to suck it up. As no other options presented themselves I felt the club did the best they could to let a want-away player help solve our left back cover problem. However, Willy's willingness to move to a major rival, particularly one who presumably couldn't pay him as much as Chelsea could when that had been his major complaint, was a smack in the face for the fans. Furthermore, if he really wanted to play abroad as he'd said, surely in the absence of any serious offers it would not have been that much a hardship to serve out the final year of his contract with the reigning Premiership champions until someone like AC Milan or Real came in for him next summer.
Players like Duffa and Eidah said they wouldn't go to major Premiership rivals out of respect for the club and its fans. It is a two-way street, Willy. And I don't agree with the argument that Chelsea should just let Willy go wherever because they let other "unhappy" players leave. The ones we let go all played in positions for which we had extra cover, and the deals offered were good for the club. In this case, we are not brimming over with top defensive cover and were entitled to significant compensation for losing what amounts to 2 1/2 players when you consider Willy's diversity. Moreover, we were entitled to expect our player to see out his contract if no satisfactory offers were received. After all, no one held a gun to Willy's head when he signed the original deal. In any case I do not consider 5 mil a satisfactory offer for someone of his calibre and experience, and given Willy's high opinion of himself it's a further insult that he accepted such terms.
So then it comes out that Willy has been on strike and worse. My love for Chelsea doesn't mean I think some of their current ringleaders (Kenyon, Greenburg) aren't capable of lying when it suits them, but in this case, and given Willy's track record of inconsistent statements, I'm inclined to believe the club. From a practical standpoint, they'd be even greater fools than I think to expose the club to possible libel suits if they had no proof. And if Willy is calling the club liars, why isn't he taking legal action? Why didn't he expose the club's allegedly horrible treatment of him when he had the chance before, rather than slagging us off after the fact? Saying he'll explain it all later seems to me a ruse to buy time while he comes up with a suitable excuse for his own behaviour. As for the club, perhaps they should have exposed his antics earlier. I think, though, that given the timeframe the option of least damage was using Willy as a makeweight for the Cashley deal. If he'd kept his mouth shut afterwards, I doubt the statement would have been made. I find it interesting that everyone thinks Chelsea acted without class here, but no one feels Willy was behaving badly by refusing to play and then insulting the club, fans, and manager as soon as his feet were out the door. I'm also intrigued that this is the same manager that Willy has previously praised to the high heavens. As it happens I feel we were lucky to get off so cheaply. We should have paid the Arse way more to take the lying twat off our hands. Of course, we did get saddled with that other bastion of integrity, Cashley, so maybe I speak in haste. :S
Looking back, I have my doubts that Willy ever truly loved the club. Fans could be forgiven for thinking otherwise seeing his goal celebrations against Spurs or Man U, for instance, but now I wonder if that wasn't really him celebrating his own glory rather than team triumph. From all his comments he strikes me as someone in constant need of ego stroking, and if he played well it was probably more down to showing the world how good he was and winning personal accolades rather than trying to benefit the club. Chelsea suited his purposes for a while, nurturing his talents, putting him on the world stage, and providing opportunities for trophies, but once he'd raised his profile a bit with us it was time to see where else he could be worshipped. We happened to reap the side effects of his efforts and that's all. That makes me sad.
What I think really happened is that Willy attempted to blackmail the club to secure his dream move to AC Milan and it backfired when the Italian scandal hit. Then he returned to training and played nice, presumably to show his great professionalism for any clubs who might be interested and to keep himself fit for them and France. He's always been quite adept at looking out for number one. Maybe he thought there was still a chance AC Milan might come for him. As the transfer deadline approached with no foreign rescue in sight, he'd already stuffed up his relationship with Chelsea so badly he had to get out, and who better to join than fellow Frenchies and bestest bud Titi over at the Grove? There he could be big man on campus amongst all the spotty youngsters and finally get the star treatment he deserves. Apparently he now has the No. 10 shirt after rejecting the No. 3, so I guess he's planning to be a playmaker, too. I hope he plays at left back all season. I'm sure he'll be happy to do so since Arsenal have "the best fans" and he wouldn't want to disrespect them by moaning, would he? *apopleptic fit*
But wait, I see I must be entirely mistaken since French coach Domenech has said that the Chelsea story is scandalous and the team had a good laugh about it in training. I'm glad they find such disgusting behaviour amusing. I'm certainly in stitches. I like how Gallas' word is gospel and Henry doesn't dive but Maka must be a liar because Domenech didn't know he wanted to retire. I guess the public announcement and formal letter sent directly after the World Cup don't count. And I'm sure Raymond "Tarot" Domenech is entirely to be trusted when he claims he never received said letter. Oh, wait...
On the whole, I feel everyone involved has shown a want of class. Even if the own goal threats were false or just "heat of the moment" comments, Willy's other behaviour has been less than exemplary. Chelsea should have taken the moral high ground, but either way the press would have our heads and Willy would not only win what he wanted but get away with backstabbing the club and fans to boot! Besides, everyone already assumes we have no class. I think this is true of Kenyon and the PR people, but not necessarily Jose. He has always treated the players fairly and honestly. Whether they reciprocated in kind is another matter.
Ugh. I'm disappointed, angry, sad, and frustrated that Willy has spoilt my memories of his time at the club. I wish Saturday would hurry up so I can get back to cheering for players who actually know what it means to wear Chelsea blue.
ETA: This guy on the Chelsea blog wears blue-tinted spectacles a lot of the time, but he makes some valid points here. The comments are interesting as well.