Gallas Captain

Tottenham's William Gallas may be handed the captain's armband for today's game at West Bromwich. Photograph: Lee Mills/Action Images Harry Redknapp is considering whether to hand William Gallas the Tottenham captaincy when he makes his debut for the club against West Bromwich Albion tomorrow afternoon.

The manager took what has been described in some quarters as the bold decision to sign Gallas, the former Arsenal defender, who played previously for Chelsea, although he regarded it purely as a shrewd piece of business. Gallas joined as a free agent last month, having seen his contract at Arsenal expire.Redknapp has never placed much store on previous club ties – he himself went from Portsmouth to Southampton and back – and he might stick his neck out further in the case of Gallas by giving him the captain's armband at The Hawthorns.Ledley King, the club captain, who has a chronic knee problem, is not expected to play against West Brom as Redknapp holds him back for next Tuesday's Champions League trip to Werder Bremen, while Michael Dawson, another potential captain, is out with ankle and knee damage.

It is unclear whether Robbie Keane, who has also captained the team, will start, despite Jermain Defoe being on the sidelines with ankle trouble.Gallas officially signed for Tottenham on 21 August but, after being ineligible for the Champions League play-off second-leg against Young Boys of Bern, he was not considered for the Premier League fixture with Wigan Athletic because he lacked fitness.

Then came the international break, when he was overlooked by the new France coach Laurent Blanc."There is every chance that I will play William on Saturday and I am even considering making him captain," Redknapp said. "I'm thinking about it. He played 70 minutes [of a training ground practice match against QPR] in the week and he was excellent. He is a good lad as well. I have been very impressed with him as a fellow.

He could easily become a mainstay."Redknapp reiterated how impressed he was with Gallas for his decision to cross the north London divide. "You have to be a strong person to do that," he said. "He could have gone off and played somewhere else."But I've said before, I met Patrick Vieira [the former Arsenal captain] the year before and he wanted to come to Spurs and play. It says so much about the boy that he is willing to put himself on the line, having been a great player at Arsenal and then be willing to come and play at Tottenham. Patrick said to me: 'I loved my time at Arsenal but my life moves on and I want to play for Tottenham.' This boy Gallas is the same."Arsenal and Chelsea were part of his past. You move forward. Who gives a monkey's in 20 years' time about who you play for? Gallas would have cost £8-10m on the open market. For me, it was a no-brainer. He cost nothing, he is not on silly money.

I think he will be a great signing for us."On King, Redknapp said: "If I play him against West Brom, I probably won't play him Tuesday. Both competitions are important to me but we might just need Ledley's experience in an away game in Germany in the Champions League. And if he plays Tuesday, he has got an extra day [next week] and I might also get him for the following Saturday at home to Wolves. It is a juggling act."

I saw that on SSN, very interesting.. Does that mean Keane has been stripped of the captaincy?

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sarflondonar wrote:I saw that on SSN, very interesting.. Does that mean Keane has been stripped of the captaincy?

probably means keane wont be playing, i think redknapp wants rid if truth be known