He pretends the shaving cream is his critics
On Soccernet.com yesterday, Didac Peyret had an article about the rough year Thierry Henry has endured at Barcelona. The story is speculative, draws specious conclusions, and contradicts itself (paragraph 3 questions Henry’s spirit while paragraph 7 is a quote from the Frenchman in which he asserts his willingness to ride the bench if it is in the team’s best interests.)
However, Peyret drops this unsourced bombshell at the end of the story:
Yet, long-term, Henry’s future certainly appears to be away from Barcelona and Major League Soccer now appears the most likely next step
Thierry Henry is having a tough year at Barcelona. Hampered by injuries, the French star has only two league goals to his name and he is probably considering calling Raul to ask where he can buy the most comfortable bench cushions. Even if he’s not in top form, Henry is less than a year removed from a 26 goal season in which he was a key cog during Barcelona’s unbelievable campaign (League, league cup, Champions League winners). The major reason Henry is riding the pine this year is five letters long and has 15 goals this year: Pedro. The Barcelona academy graduate has been spectacular, and his form has been the most prevalent factor in relegating Henry to a sitting position. But be not fooled: Even at his current pace (15 goals in 32 appearances), Pedro would not equal Henry’s 2008-09 output (26 goals in 42 games). As a French soccer journalist version of Mark Twain would have said, the news of Henry’s death has been greatly exaggerated. Despite what Peyret would have you believe, great players like Henry routinely resurrect their careers on top-level teams (see: Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ronaldinho, Nicolas Anelka, Robinho, Wesley Sneijder, Yoann Gourcuff, and Roman Pavlyuchenko (in 2011)).
Henry would be the biggest catch for the MLS since David Beckham, and he is a much more influential player than the England midfielder. However, he would be yet another aging European star to use the MLS as the Warm Down setting on his career’s treadmill. MLS fans: How do you feel about this? Is the prospect of the best French striker in a generation a positive or a negative for the American soccer league?
I love Thierry Henry. I would rejoice if he came to MLS, because I would get to see him in person. Aside from that, I think it will be much better for MLS to get players from foreign leagues to come here before they turn 30, so that the career move is not seen as such a step down. It’s great to have the wattage of big stars playing in the league, but long-term, it’s not a strategy I’d support.
I think the American people would like him alot. I think he would have a much better appeal than if you bring in messi or tevez over here because of Henry’s attitude towards the game as well as his talents and athletic abilities. The only drawback would be that he is past his prime time but if he comes now I think we can still enjoy quite a bit from him. I would be very happy to see him play in the MLS.