My mate OnlineArsenal would liek to post some questions here but he only registered recently and can't make a new thread for him so I'll do this as a courtesy for him.
Thanks Barciur! OK, here's the deal. I want to hear the opinions of NYRB fans on Thierry Henry, now that he has ended his load and returned to your club. Ideally this is aimed at people who aren't already Arsenal fans and well aware of what he means to Arsenal. I'll pose a few questions and I'd love to see your responses. The best of which will be collated and put into a blog on www.onlinearsenal.com for everyone there to read. With references of course to this site and the fans who helped out. You can say anything you want but try to cover these questions in your replies. How did you feel when you first heard that Henry was rejoining Arsenal on loan? Did you keep a track of Henry's games back at Arsenal? Before he rejoined the Arsenal, did you quite realise how much he meant to club and the fans and did this loan make it even clearer to you? Have you ever looked back over Thierry's career and watched online videos or DVDs of his goals? If so, what are your opinions? Did you know much about Thierry before he signed for New York Red Bulls? Now that the loan period has ended and he back as the NYRB captain, what are your opinions of the loan? Even if you hated the idea to start with, did you change your mind when you saw how well he did? Thanks in advance for anyone who helps out with this!
[*]How did you feel when you first heard that Henry was rejoining Arsenal on loan? [R] No happy at all... [*]Did you keep a track of Henry's games back at Arsenal? [R] Time by Time...We don't have those chances every game like today, if you mean this time, absolutely, every one of them.... [*]Before he rejoined the Arsenal, did you quite realise how much he meant to club and the fans and did this loan make it even clearer to you? [R] Yes [*]Have you ever looked back over Thierry's career and watched online videos or DVDs of his goals? If so, what are your opinions? [R] Nope [*]Did you know much about Thierry before he signed for New York Red Bulls? [R] That in his time he was one of the best, yes... [*]Now that the loan period has ended and he back as the NYRB captain, what are your opinions of the loan? Even if you hated the idea to start with, did you change your mind when you saw how well he did? [R] Hell no....Henry isn't the yesterday boy, he has slow a lot and he have not the fast reaction of yesterday and can get hurt easily, in a fast system "futbol" like the one in England....
[*]How did you feel when you first heard that Henry was rejoining Arsenal on loan? happy for titi and excited to see him play. In my opinion, it was important to him and therefore important to RBNY to support him. It also was a great chance to train and get closer to match fitness. Training/playing in England did more to get Titi ready for our season than training in Mexico would have. [*]Did you keep a track of Henry's games back at Arsenal? Yes [*]Before he rejoined the Arsenal, did you quite realise how much he meant to club and the fans and did this loan make it even clearer to you? I understood. [*]Have you ever looked back over Thierry's career and watched online videos or DVDs of his goals? If so, what are your opinions? Yes many times. He is the greatest striker of his generation and certainly one of top 10 or 20 players of all time. Trophy record speaks for itself, can't find someone with a comparable record. [*]Did you know much about Thierry before he signed for New York Red Bulls? yes [*]Now that the loan period has ended and he back as the NYRB captain, what are your opinions of the loan? Even if you hated the idea to start with, did you change your mind when you saw how well he did? I think it was great. Great to watch him score goals. Most importantly, I hope RBNY fans were watching closely. The same things that RBNY fans here complain about: Vehemently chastising teammates Being aggressive in tackles Showing disappointment at not getting a pass Seeming disinterested at times (conserving energy, waiting to pounce in my opinion) Titi was doing at his beloved Arsenal. It is how he plays, and how he has won all the titles he has. You won't have much luck in this forum, too many RBNY fans lack good knowledge of the game and of Titi's place in it. They want him to worship the supporters, scored 50 goals, and coddle Juan Agudelo. That is all.
I thought it was a good idea for him to stay fit during the MLS off season and that the fans of Arsenal would enjoy having him back for a while. I didn't watch some of his play at Arsenal and when I didn't I at least read the match report and looked at the highlights. I was aware of his importance to Arsenal and didn't need the loan to make it clearer to me. I've seen video of a younger Henry. He seemed to be faster, hungrier, and sharper in his youth. He is still a very good player. Just not the same. Yes. I'm glad that he was able to stay fit, NOT GET INJURED, and hopefully his time over there and his relationship with the fanbase has put him mind in a good place coming into the Red Bulls season.
On his loan: Number one concern for every NYRB fan was injury. Henry has had a nagging achilles injury since he signed with us and it kept him out of a significant number of games last year. With that said, once it became clear that Arsene wasn't planning on using him as anything more than a late second half sub I wasn't concerned. I watched all of his appearances and the moment that sticks out for me was his FA Cup goal against Leeds, because we don't have any midfielders who can play the kind of through ball up to the strikers that Song did on that goal. For us Henry is constantly forced to drop back to the midfield to receive the ball because our two central players, Marquez and Tainio, play very deep. It was good to see that he can still bag goals in a more traditional striker role especially with rumors swirling that we're bringing in a playmaking midfielder over the summer. On Henry and his career: Anybody who has been following the sport for more than 5 minutes knows what Henry means to Arsenal, and what the club means to him. When we signed him I knew that he was no longer the same kind of player he was when at his peak since I followed him at Barca. He obviously didn't have the same pace and his hunger for goal gave way to a more possession oriented game. I think he took this mindset a little too far when he first showed up though, constantly claiming that he "no longer needed to be the one who scored" as if scoring was no longer part of his job description. There were times where you wish he'd just take a blast at goal or take on a defender but he'd end up passing. That all passed once he broke his scoring drought though, he scored 3 goals in 2 games towards the start of last season and you could tell afterwards that he was playing with a lot more passion.
this makes no sense to me. Henry would have been at much greater risk to injury toiling in the heat of mexico than getting his body in shape in the cold of england.
I think the much higher intensity of English training sessions and games is a more significant injury concern than the weather...
The Red Bulls are in training camp. They are building up base fitness. England is in mid-season form with games at 100% speed. The risk for injury would have been much higher in England than in training camp. That said, an injury can happen anywhere.
*don't get hurt* *don't get hurt* *don't get hurt* Read the headlines, didn't watch the games Sort of, but it was reading his thoughts on returning back that made it clear. I'd watch the Champions League matches and some National Team games; can't say I was a Titi expert, but I knew his general history and what we'd be getting. I was mildly against it, but you do what you have to to keep your stars happy. As long as his aging legs don't break down mid-summer, it's all good.
I believe Titi was training with arsenal for roughly a month before loan deal? and he played a couple 10-20 minute stretches and one 45 minute stretch. he didn't go from sitting on a couch to an EPL run-out. This attitude is typical of fatalistic RBNY (and MLS) fans, suffering from EPL inferiority complex. Having MLS stars featuring in the best league on the planet is only a positive.
Its not about having an inferior complex, every player that goes to Europe to train comments on how much more competitive and demanding the training sessions are, its simply the reality of the situation... And whether or not he was there training before the loan deal was finalized is irrelevant because when he showed up he was in off season form and the rest of the team was fully fit, Wenger said so himself... Arsenal are a desperate team this season, it was not outlandish for RB fans to fear that Wenger would expect to much from Henry. Luckily this did not end up being the case but the concerns were justified.
I missed where I said it was bad. I only commented that it was more likely that he would suffer an injury @ Arsenal than at RB training camp. You ever notice how MLS teams beat European teams in mid-July? You know, when those teams are just beginning training camp and aren't at full speed yet and MLS teams are at mid-season fitness. The training is different.
I liked the idea. I realized that Henry was going to train and play with Arsenal. I also believed he'd have more chance getting hurt in preseason by some scrub trying to make our team than he would in training and playing with Arsenal. People here forget our history of preseason injuries. Of course. Well, probably not. I know he's loved and respected, but I'm not an Arsenal fan, so I won't pretend to know what he means to one. Not really. I've seen him play enough over the years, but I'm not a "relive the glory" kind of guy. Yes. I watched him play for Arsenal for a few years, and I even saw the documentary on him when he moved to Barca. Didn't see too many Barca games, though... I'm very happy with the way this turned out. It was completely positive. He's in better fitness and form than he would be if he went to Mexico, and he's added to the legend in Arsenal. He has stepped up once again, pointing to the name on the back of his jersey (figuratively speaking, that is.)
I know I'm not your ideal demographic due to me being an Arsenal supporter in addition to being a RBNY supporter, but I thought I would chime in anyway. -How did you feel when you first heard that Henry was rejoining Arsenal on loan? I thought it was a good move for both Arsenal (who were very thin in attacking options) and RBNY (allowing Henry to jumpstart his offseason by playing in high pressure games). -Did you keep a track of Henry's games back at Arsenal? Every minute of every game. I am not ashamed to say that I got a little misty eyed when he calmly slotted home against Leeds. -Before he rejoined the Arsenal, did you quite realise how much he meant to club and the fans and did this loan make it even clearer to you? Yes. I needed no reminders of what Thierry means to the fans. -Have you ever looked back over Thierry's career and watched online videos or DVDs of his goals? If so, what are your opinions? I do go back and watch his goals from time to time. At his peak he was absolutely devastating and I appreciate the marriage of athleticism and technique. -Did you know much about Thierry before he signed for New York Red Bulls? He's one of my all-time favorite players, so yes. -Now that the loan period has ended and he back as the NYRB captain, what are your opinions of the loan? Even if you hated the idea to start with, did you change your mind when you saw how well he did? I think it was a unique situation where a player was able to not only avoid tarnishing his reputation, but actually add more credence to his legacy as the best striker in Premier League history. I hope he is re-energized by the loan and it helps him become the locker room leader needed for RBNY to finally add some hardware to the trophy case.
Thanks for all the reponses guys, much appreciated. I'll leave it open for another day or 2 and then round them all up.
Thank you everyone. The article is now online http://www.onlinearsenal.com/forums/blog.php?b=769 Sorry if I didn't use your comments, obviously I can't get everyone in otherwise it would be too long! Massive thank you to everyone who participated!
