Source: Team_Talk
Harry ponders handing Gallas armband
Harry Redknapp is considering risking the wrath of some Tottenham fans by making William Gallas captain at West Brom tomorrow.[LNB] Redknapp ignored the critics last month by signing Gallas on a free transfer following the defender's release by Arsenal.[LNB]And so impressed has Spurs boss Redknapp been by the 33-year-old, he is thinking about handing him the armband on what would also be the former Gunners skipper's debut.[LNB]"I have been very impressed with him as a fella," Redknapp said ahead of tomorrow's Barclays Premier League clash.[LNB]"He could easily become a mainstay.[LNB]"I am even considering making him captain on Saturday. Thinking about it."[LNB]Redknapp is ready to rest skipper Ledley King ahead of Tuesday's Champions League Group A opener at Werder Bremen to protect the defender's notoriously fragile knees.[LNB]Redknapp said: "Both competitions are important to me but we might just need Ledley's experience on Tuesday night in an away game in Germany in a Champions League game.[LNB]"If he plays Tuesday, he has got an extra day and I might get him for Tuesday and the following Saturday. It is a juggling act."[LNB]The sight of Gallas wearing the armband so soon after defecting from Spurs' arch rivals may be too much to take for some supporters.[LNB]But Redknapp reckons Gallas has proven he has mental strength simply by agreeing to move to White Hart Lane.[LNB]"You have to be strong as a person to do that - it is easy not to have done that," he said.[LNB]"He could have gone off and played somewhere else."[LNB]Redknapp believes a player of Gallas' calibre would have cost up to £10million on the open market.[LNB]"If you want a player who is a top centre-half to play in the Premier League, you have to play that money, surely," he said.[LNB]"I think he will be a great signing for us. For me, he is a no-brainer. He cost nothing. He is not on silly money."[LNB]Rafael van der Vaart could also make his debut tomorrow and Redknapp must decide whether to play him instead of or alongside Luka Modric, perhaps by fielding only one striker.[LNB]He said of Van der Vaart: "He can play in behind one striker, two strikers, if you want to play that way, or if you want to play a diamond. He can come off the wide areas."[LNB]
