Henry changes his tune

[Skizz]

I'm just trying to give him the BOD. It's a big thing to me if someone kisses the badge. Especially considering some people throwing it back in the fans' faces.

It's just not a way to endear yourself to the fans anymore IMO. People like Hleb, Rosicky and Ade have all come out saying they want to stay here for life. That means more to me now.

[KirbyNYC]

I'd say that's pretty close to the badge. You may be overanalyzing here. ;)

Maybe :D. But I'm also sure he's kissed the badge a few times.

[biggonez]

He didn't kiss the badge, he kissed the shirt. Subtle, but very different.

Kissing the shirt says "I love playing for Arsenal"
Kissing the badge says "I love Arsenal"

Don't make excuses b/c you were wrong. He kissed the badge. He grabbed the badge and he kissed it clear as day. I saw him do the exact same thing against
Spurs and Man City and probably more.

Is there something wrong with that? I don't see why you should be denying it. Cesc loves Arsenal more than anyone else on the team. That's a good thing. He probably loves Arsenal more than Henry ever did. That's a good thing. Adebayor, Toure, Van Persie; they all love Arsenal and Arsene Wenger an incredible amount for giving them shots at such a young age. That's a good thing. There's more team spirit in the locker room now than ever.

[Skizz]

If you like. You win, put one mark on your wallchart for the year.

Moving swiftly back to what we were actually discussing...

[ArsenalGooner]

Kissing the badge is a show of love for the club. If a player is waxing lyrical about his old club whilst kissing it for his new one, he's obviously making something up, but how do you trust him him for his words when his actions say the opposite...

Well, bear with me for a second as I try to draw a parallel with a sport other than soccer- I feel it's relevant, as I've been on the "Barca side" in the NFL.

Joe Montana is arguably the greatest quarterback ever in the NFL. He played for the San Francisco 49ers for most of his entire career. Montana played on some of the best NFL teams ever- won 3 Super Bowls (I think) with the 49ers- and is a San Francisco legend. This was back in the day prior to free agency becoming huge, where players were perceived as being more loyal than they are now (mostly because it was very hard to move teams). He was eventually replaced in San Fran by Steve Young, and ASKED to be traded. He was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs. As my family were Chiefs season tickets holders, we were very excited.

Montana comes to KC and throws himself into the community- working with charities as well as accepting the Kansas City lifestyle. It was not unusual to see him and his wife out around town dining in local restaurants and such. Additionally, he led the Chiefs to the 1993 Conference Championship game (NFL semi-finals basically), which was the best season the team had had since they won the Super Bowl in 1970. It was clear he was committed to the team, and the city, even knowing he had a relatively short time left as an athlete.

Despite his apparent love for KC and the team, it was always clear that he was a San Francisco 49er at heart and he even let it be known that upon election to the NFL Hall of Fame he would go in as a 49er, and not as a Chief. Still, the fans in KC loved him for what he did for the team, and the 49er fans continued to accept him as one of their own.

You may feel that kissing the badge represents more than simply pulling at it or whatever, but that's because we're fans. It's an action that players use as celebration, to pull the crowd into the game, and to let them know that they are giving all they have for them. It's my personal feeling, based in part on Joe Montana's actions years ago, that Henry can still feel a connection to Arsenal- it can still be a part of him, he can still root for the team- and yet he can still pledge his all to Barca by kissing the badge.

It's a different time and place now- if this was Nigel Winterburn kissing West Ham's badge, or David Seaman kissing Man City's badge, I'd probably agree with you. But, this is Thierry Henry, a Frenchman who probably grew up knowing nothing of Arsenal, kissing the badge.

The game has changed for the players.

[Bluto11]

There's a difference between pointing/punching the badge and kissing it. It is the "in thing" to do at the moment but there are precious few occasions that you know the person who kissed the badge loves the club that much.
yup, they just know who sign thier paychecks

[coppa]

He didn't kiss the badge, he kissed the shirt. Subtle, but very different.

Kissing the shirt says "I love playing for Arsenal"
Kissing the badge says "I love Arsenal"

he's kissing the badge..

[themodelcitizen]

He also recently said something along the lines that he agreed with Cesc's comment that we're playing better without him. So, in a weird way maybe he was looking out for the best interests of the club by leaving.. :D

either way, I'm glad to see both parties doing well since their mutual parting. Best of luck to Titi in Spain, great player and professional, but if we meet him the CL... :p

[Silva 5]

everyone who's bad mouthing henry is scum, shame on you all.

in this day and age, football has become a business first and a sport second. we may hate it, and we may shun the idea, but we're all very aware. henry may have said whatever he said about leaving, but the fact of the matter is, it was a business move, no doubt.

and what has he done since then? he walked away gracefully with class, he had nothing but wonderful things to say, and has remained that way. Thierry made what he felt like was the best decision for him and his life and if you folks can't respect that, then.....

I'm ashamed to be grouped with the rest of you right now.

[zonametro]

well this is weird...I was just looking around the Arsenal boards and somehow bigsoccer switched me over to the Barcalona boards thats crazy.:rolleyes:

Let it go guys I think that it was a douchebag thing for Henry to do because he isnt that dumb. All you guys are jumping on his dick and making excuses for him and its rediculous. Henry knew what he was doing when he kissed the badge and its ok that he did because he doesnt have to care about arsenal anymore and we dont have to care about Thierry Henry either.

[Miles Brasher]

everyone who's bad mouthing henry is scum, shame on you all.

in this day and age, football has become a business first and a sport second. we may hate it, and we may shun the idea, but we're all very aware. henry may have said whatever he said about leaving, but the fact of the matter is, it was a business move, no doubt.

and what has he done since then? he walked away gracefully with class, he had nothing but wonderful things to say, and has remained that way. Thierry made what he felt like was the best decision for him and his life and if you folks can't respect that, then.....

I'm ashamed to be grouped with the rest of you right now.

In this day and age where football is a business first and a sport second, one of the reasons why we're in such a situation is because of players showing a complete lack of loyalty. Maybe it's an English thing, but kissing the badge on your shirt is meant to be one of the ultimate signs of undying love for your club.

Now, when Henry says wonderful things about Arsenal, that's all very well and good, and it's nice to hear, but this from the same bloke that less than 12 months after saying he was staying for the rest of his career up-ed and left, and when he starts kissing the badge of another club a few weeks into his new career, then I start to take some of the things he's said about Arsenal with a rather large pinch of salt.

He didn't walk away gracefully with class. He muttered about it for ages in the press. The person that acted with class was Wenger who let him go. It was not business related.

...And thanks for calling me scum :rolleyes:

[Guy Fawkes]

In this day and age where football is a business first and a sport second, one of the reasons why we're in such a situation is because of players showing a complete lack of loyalty. Maybe it's an English thing, but kissing the badge on your shirt is meant to be one of the ultimate signs of undying love for your club.

Now, when Henry says wonderful things about Arsenal, that's all very well and good, and it's nice to hear, but this from the same bloke that less than 12 months after saying he was staying for the rest of his career up-ed and left, and when he starts kissing the badge of another club a few weeks into his new career, then I start to take some of the things he's said about Arsenal with a rather large pinch of salt.

He didn't walk away gracefully with class. He muttered about it for ages in the press. The person that acted with class was Wenger who let him go. It was not business related.

...And thanks for calling me scum :rolleyes:

Again, my sentiments exactly. Lying about staying and then going is not acting with class.

I guess he's trying to justify his lack of class by constantly talking about us. Most of us don't care to listen anymore; it might as well be Messi or Dinho saying it.

[oosefoh]

He didn't kiss the badge, he kissed the shirt. Subtle, but very different.

Kissing the shirt says "I love playing for Arsenal"
Kissing the badge says "I love Arsenal"

You are most definitely reaching here buddy

[Skizz]

And I said let it go ten posts ago! Jeez get with the programme!

Miles I'm also "scum" apparently but there was something else we were discussing...the derby, that's it. The derby is viewed differently in mainstream American Arsenal fan circles than it is by English fans. It's the same here. We view these things differently to perhaps "newer" Arse fans from the other side of the pond and this is one of those (few) situations where, much like in the last thread, I'm going to have to agree to disagree and move on because there's no right or wrong answer and there never will be - it's all personal opinion.

He kissed their badge, f*ck him. That's my opinion and I'm out.

[FabregasTED]

Damn...what did it mean when shirts used to not have badges?!?!

[Skizz]

Just meant you were trying to kiss your own nipple. :D

[arsenalgirl30016]

And I said let it go ten posts ago! Jeez get with the programme!


He kissed their badge, f*ck him. That's my opinion and I'm out.
You so lied...you are still here.... :p ;)

[clocktower]

lol @ this madness. Cesc is a true gunner but Henry is not? I hope you're all just venting and not actually that naive. Cesc will be in a Barca/RM shirt in a few years. It's only a matter of time and I won't hate him for it when it happens. He'll probably kiss their badge too :rolleyes:

[antifan]

In this day and age where football is a business first and a sport second, one of the reasons why we're in such a situation is because of players showing a complete lack of loyalty. Maybe it's an English thing, but kissing the badge on your shirt is meant to be one of the ultimate signs of undying love for your club.

Now, when Henry says wonderful things about Arsenal, that's all very well and good, and it's nice to hear, but this from the same bloke that less than 12 months after saying he was staying for the rest of his career up-ed and left, and when he starts kissing the badge of another club a few weeks into his new career, then I start to take some of the things he's said about Arsenal with a rather large pinch of salt.

He didn't walk away gracefully with class. He muttered about it for ages in the press. The person that acted with class was Wenger who let him go. It was not business related.

...And thanks for calling me scum :rolleyes:
Was that a badge he was kissing? Because it looked like he was kissing the Barca fans asses to me.

[Miles Brasher]

lol @ this madness. Cesc is a true gunner but Henry is not? I hope you're all just venting and not actually that naive. Cesc will be in a Barca/RM shirt in a few years. It's only a matter of time and I won't hate him for it when it happens. He'll probably kiss their badge too :rolleyes:


Given that Cesc is a Barca boy, at least he'd be justified in doing so. Look, I've got no hatred for Henry, the guy did some great things for us, but it's in the past now, and his speed in switching total allegiance (which is what kissing the badge denotes) makes his recent comments about us less worthwhile.

When the girlfriend you recently split up from is still confessing love for you, and you find out she's just got engaged to someone else, you're allowed to be slightly skeptical