Wtf you're strategy as a fan is just piss off one of our own players as a means of motivation? You realize how ridiculous that is right?
Did it work last game? You'd have trouble advocating that the fan interaction after he went down with the Achilles didn't spur him on to fight a bit more for a goal. Play the game back again and watch the body language. And anyway, I'm half-serious. If he's not showing heart, he deserves to hear it from the supporters. If he does, then there's no discussion. He's a seasoned pro, not a baby, and his post-game comments show that he understands the dynamic.
Wrong, he played hard the whole night including when he stripped Corrale soif the ball and fed Rogers. he just did not finish well until the end. I think he was motivated the whole game.
He did play very well last night, if he was going to be boo'ed he def. did not deserve it last night. Besides not finishing his early chances he had a very good game and I am one of his biggest critics.
Best game of the season so far from him. That being said his Red Bull shooting boots still don't fit quite right... Can he follow this up with another solid outing?
Read everything I said please. There was a marked difference from the grit with which he played from earlier this season to Saturday and the manner in which he attacked the goal, and I think it's a possibility that he's now realized what the fan expectations are of him. I agree that the main issue Saturday was the finishing.
That's kind of the point isn't it. He's not getting paid $5M a year to be a set-up man. If he's blowing chances, he deserves to get some stick. Going all the way back to the first game, when blew the PK, if he's not up to playing his main role, then he needs to step aside. I'm glad he responded to the derision by scoring. But don't forget that Henry is a striker, and is being paid to score goals. There are plenty of excellent role players on this team. He's the star. He's got to play like one.
I agree. We will see going forward. The best thing about Henry at Arsenal was his skill at finishing and ironically it was not with his head. We'll see. That other poster saying it was sad seeing Henry celebrate after not a great goal missed the hustle and positioning and of course that great pass that led to that goal which was not ordinary. His play though even with the poor finishing was actually quite good this game all over and he made everyone better. I will be glued to watching the game against DC United hoping to see more and some better finishing.
Welcome to New York, I see that you're new here. Unfortunately, our metropolitan area is full of people who think that berating an athlete will magically make him younger, more skilled, or less injury-prone -- or at least pretend to think so in order to justify their lack of self-restraint.
worked for us in LA yea but seriously i think teams should stand by their players, unless of course that player is Ruiz...
Agree with all of this. It should be noted that he and Backe more or less blamed his sluggish start on the achilles injury. HOWEVER, the fanbase didn't know about that until last week. I think it's justifiable for any fanbase to complain about a lack of effort from a high profile player. Smart soccer fans know the difference between lack of effort and lack of luck and it APPEARED that he was giving zero effort. That is unacceptable and should be called out. Edit: Additionally there seems to be a disagreement about what his role on the team should be. In preseason Henry seemed to think it was his job to provide goal scoring opportunites (and yes, all stirkers need to be able to set up as well as finish. I'm not arguing that). However, I (and most of the fanbase I would guess) am of the mind that he should be trying to score at all costs. We have a solid team. The only thing we're missing is a true threat on goal and a lights out goalkeeper. There's no way of telling if Rogers or Agudelo can carry the goal scoring load. Thus...
From http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/soccerblog/thierry_henry_new_york_welcome_was_bKyC9Y2YuslgXxbZcVraVK "Henry clearly played with more ferocity upon his return to the pitch, and that was an obvious reaction to the jeers." Magic! As an aside, I'm personally much more of a positive reinforcement type but there's no one right way to support a team. I did not boo Henry this game (and didn't in any others) once I saw the effort with which he was playing. I like Henry. I can't actually remember booing someone from my own team in any sport. I would never use derogatory chants at my own player who was down injured. I was on the verge of booing halfhearted play before Saturday if it continued because I, along with many others, saw this as something going on even besides from the Achilles. His commitment to the team has never been in question but there's been something lacking on the field, whether it was being content to pass to others in the box, not jumping for balls, etc. You cannot argue that every player shows the same level of drive; all things are not always equal. His troubles with finishing were frustrating but I don't believe that was the motivation for anyone to yell at him. Maybe what we were seeing was 100% Achilles. Maybe he really will thrive here more as a creator and his killer instinct in front of goal just isn't an issue. I'm sure Henry's a weee bit more knowledgeable about the sport and his body than I am. Even though I wasn't one of the people jeering him, I think it's a pretty weak comment to say that they--singing their throats sore every game--merely lack self-restraint when it was more a matter of loving your team and telling someone on your team who you want to love that you want to see that fire. And to need a goal and to blast it at the goal once the beautiful passing game Backe has instilled gets us to the box. And from the 75th minute on, that extra bit of desire that he showed from the beginning of the game was intensified. The fact that others' words seem to have made him run harder and dive further doesn't strengthen that it was all Achilles in my opinion. I think a lot of the skill's still there. Let's hope that this is an A-Rod vs. Varitek moment in a way (NY as Boston, uncomfortably so) for the team and the supporters.
Agree 100%, that's what i've been saying for a while. He needed to take matters in his own hands, hopefully he does this from now on. I feel he was trying to nurture Agudelo too, which is great but I feel that on the pitch on match day he should just be trying to score, leave the nurturing during training.
Fans on both "sides" have valid arguments. I am not a proponent of booing players from your team, HOWEVER consider the following..... Henry joins the team last year and after a few weeks says that we haven't seen his best because of "conditioning" issues. A few weeks later, Henry says he has a groin injury (or was it something else?) and Backe says that this has been an issue for him for a while. Henry misses games late in the season for "injuries". Turn forward the clock and even in preseason, he's already hinting he's not at 100% and makes comments that he's looking to be "more of a team player looking to create for others" (translation: "I can't do it anymore"), which is not the reason the team brought him here. This year the issue of the Achilles comes up and that they knew about it. I think the booing is: 1) frustration about not being knowing the whole truth and skepticism if these injuries are really as severe as being made out, 2) frustration that we got damaged goods and 3) that this is not "one of the best players in the world" the organization teased the fans about. He's clearly not even the best on his own team. If you're going to build-up a player to that magnitude and his performances are poor, what other response is there to be expected from fans in attendance when he's missing shots left-and-right and a journeyman 3rd division guy scores two goals in the first 20 minutes of the game?
What happen is that the admin and Henry never say that the second half of 2010 was going to be for conditioning and recuperation time, they tell us that was to improve the team and the team with Henry did worst than the team with out him in the first half of the year, now no body say nothing because you have to give the players a little of leverage, but 20 games or so isn't a little, that is a bunch of game and the man have been missing goals that my Grand Ma will not and the fan have right to be piss up no matter is his team....
What ever happen he is moving better and look like a player who really want to play and when he play he can be amazing, I welcome his new approach to the game and hope that he continue like that for good of the team and the sanity of all of us...
Seems that both are happening. I've really enjoyed the last two matches as that's the Henry that I'm used too. How long before the away jerseys are in ?
Red Bulls as a whole are playing awesome the last 2 games. Cant wait for Kanasas City and see what Henry is going to do.
Can't wait to see our starting 11 continue to kick ass. Can't wait to watch our younger players develop. There's potentially a lot for us to look forward to. Waiting for the next match feels like being 8 all over again and waiting for Christmas.
After the 1st goal when Henry was walking back to the center circle, he looked up at us traveling supporters in the upper deck and clapped his hands over his head.