Comments on: Why did Klose and Henry leave?

By: Jacques

Jacques — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 09:23:47 +0000

ACTUALLY HENRY HAS WON THE WORLD CUP! He won in ’98 with france when he was like 20!
so all he wants is the CL medal!

By: Spiral Architect

Spiral Architect — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:07:01 +0000

I think that Arsenal have an opportunity here if they have the mental strength to recover from Henry’s departure & the uncertainty surrounding Wenger’s future at the club. Everyone agrees that Henry was not an inspirational leader. Constantly petulant on the field & showing his frustration at the lack of European success in the club. I’m not too sure i buy his ‘Dein leaving & Wenger uncertain’ reasons a 100% but from the outside i think it does seem like a good decision for him and the club.
For Arsenal, they will stop looking up to a father figure who was never there & focus the team around quality players like Fabregas, RVP & Gilberto (yes he still has a few good years left on him!). I think Toure will become the linchpin of this team only coz i’m not sure where Fabregas will go next season. There is also room for Gallas to become an awesome member of the team but again, with his good friend Henry gone i don’t know how its going to affect him. All in all this is a golden opportunity for Arsenal to show the world that they can do well without Henry & i’m optimistic about that. They just need to be mentally strong & work a bit better on their finishing. If anything get it together to give Wenger a big sendoff at the end of the season if he indeed decides to leave. That should be motivation enough.

As for Henry, i think his time at Barcelona is going to be tough for him. He’s up fighting for position with heavyweights like Etoo, Messi & Ronaldinho. His family is back home in England & he’s got to learn the language well to fit in. At the age of 30 he still has quality left in him but he will have to change his style of play significantly & that is not going to be easy. The way he did things, it seems to me a panic reflex to get a CL medal & nothing else. That tells you what confidence he has in Arsenal being successful in Europe & its best that he did leave when he did.

Conclusion: Good for Arsenal, 50-50 for Henry.

As for Klose, i think that whole situation was messed up from the start & i have a feeling quite a bit of it might have to do with money. In that way he might be similar to Ribery who inexplicably went to a club with no CL spot for next season. Maybe he feels he can make a name for himself despite the competition he’s facing. There’s a lot of murky back-room dealing that we aren’t privy too. Have you ever considered that maybe Bremen didn’t want him anymore & subtly pushed him out? They probably didn’t want a whinger anymore in a club that pretty much sidesteps negative media attention consistently. Worth thinking about.

Conclusion: Good for Bremen, less than 50-50 for Klose.

By: Karan

Karan — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 11:49:40 +0000

I agree with the school of thought that says Henry went to Barcelona simply to win the Champions League. It’s all that he really wants to add to his trophy room right now. It’s kinda like his final hurrah, even if he has to compete with Messi, Ronaldinho and Eto’o for a place on the team. He probably just felt like he wanted a fresh challenge, one that would allow him a good chance at big honors. That’s Barcelona for him.

Klose I too was kinda surprised to hear about, given that he’d done hoot all year long. I can’t see Bayern playing Toni and Klose up front together because they’re very similar. Makaay would probably become a fringe player, so Toni, Klose and Podolski would be the first three choices for their coach, with Schlaudraff and Makaay there or thereabouts in the team selection. Like Henry, it’d his last stab at the big trophies on offer (though the Champions League would have to wait).

all said and done, the two of them are class strikers who realise time isn’t on their side and that probably played a major part in their decision.

But I kinda wonder…why didn’t Arsenal bother to look at Klose more klosely? Think about it…they’re crying out for a physical presence up front who can guarantee 20 odd goals a season and could certainly do with a marquee striker now that Henry has said adieu.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 09:18:16 +0000

I see some of your points, in saying that they both wanted a new challenge, but the main thing I was criticising was that they both acted so arrogantly in the past few months when it comes to their employers, Arsenal FC and Werder Bremen. Only in football can someone moan and bitch until they’re finally allowed to break a solid contract.
I also don’t think that Bremen and Arsenal are small clubs. Yes, perhaps there is a slightly bigger chance of Barcelona winning the CL than Arsenal. But both reached the final last year and Barcelona wasn’t another class entirely in that game. Bremen played fantastically well in the CL season as well and were unlucky to lose out in a group consisting of Barca and Chelsea. I’d gladly trade in a bit more dosh and a so-called “bigger club” for the status which Klose and Henry had at their clubs and their unquestionable status in the teams.
The examples which Rajapemburu named, I find, are invalid. At least half of them are players who were over the hill when they transferred, hence had no choice (Ronaldo, Figo, Schmeichel, Campbell, PirÃ¨s). Sheva was a greedy so-and-so and his wife wanted to go to England, Sheringham went to a club which was UNDENIABLY better than Tottenham (when did they last play CL?), as did Ballack from Bayern. All of these transfers are more understandable than the agonising, media-frenzied transfers of Henry and Klose, who have, in my opinion, lost a lot sympathy on all sides.

By: karl

karl — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 07:54:33 +0000

Chris, I feel with you. I felt just as bad when we lost Beckham, Ruud (even though for different reasons. Still felt ‘betrayed’.

If I were Henry, at his age, I would have done exactly the same. Close to retiring, already a legend in England, why not go for a new challenge at one of the greatest clubs in the world. If he can make a success there, he will retire a true footballing icon.

Question:
Why is it that players can change clubs, and it is acceptable, (sometimes even exciting), but when a fan does it, it is the biggest sin on this planet?
Ryan Giggs has always been my hero…if he were to move to Anfield, why will I be seen as a traitor if I now start supporting ‘that scum’?

By: .::Egyptian Gooner::.

.::Egyptian Gooner::. — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 07:22:24 +0000

Henry won almost everything in the premier league except the carling cup. 2 premiership titles, 3 FA Cups, 3 time top scorer, 3 times the best player of the league award. He only missed on the Carling cup and the CL and he really wants the CL that bad. I mean when you come to look at it. Who were the three teams most likely to get Henry. Liverpool, Barcelona & AC Milan, who are all CL champions in the past three years. So I think winnig the CL is the trophy that he desperatly needs to add to his list at the moment.

By: Bailamos

Bailamos — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 03:22:11 +0000

Podolski is shite mate. It boggles the mind that he got young player @ the World Cup.

By: Grognard

Grognard — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 00:26:58 +0000

My feelings are mixed. On one hand I am a big Bayern supporter and I also love Klose as I feel he is a lethal striker when motivated. I also despise Arsenal and especially that alien head Henry. That said, I too am getting fed up with the present rash of contract breakers in football today.
These individuals have two major character flaws that fans should all be aware of. They are loyal to the almighty dollar
and they have ego’s that need to be stroked constantly. They also feel they have some inherited right to be part of a massive club’s attempt to win everything. In Klose’s case, he’ll wait a season for the Champions League but as for Henry and all the other misguided players who sign for star studded Italian, Spanish and Italian sides, have fun spending 30 to 40 percent of your time on the bench due to the other three or four players just like you who just had to sign with your side and who will collectively fight for playing time. Present day teams seem to carry 30 players, and they all want to play. My God! I f I was the top dog at Arsenal or at Bremen, why would I compromise my career and playing time for the shallow riches of being that great “team player” who sits on the bench while Misters Messi, Eto, Gudjonson, Toni, MaKaay, Podolski all try to usurp my playing time, while claiming it is for the betterment of the club. Greed and dillusions of grandeur have corrupted the present day football star. I blame the deep pockets of all the major European clubs as they have truly ruined the beautiful game and their respective leagues.

By: Rajapemburu

Rajapemburu — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 22:41:28 +0000

Is like Sherringham from Totenham to Man Utd, Figo from Real Madrid to Inter Milan, Ronaldo from Real Madrid to AC Milan, Ballack from Bayern Munich to Chelsea, Shevchencko from AC Milan to Chelsea, Campbell from Arsenal to Postmouth, Pirez from Arsenal to Virraeal, Peter Schmeichel from Man U to Sporting Lisbon.

All great players, all at thier 30s, all have undeniable have the right to leave or retire, some of them we might consider making the right choices.

So need more to ask strikers like Klose and Henry why they want to leave, even tho they might not get regular first team action or chances of wining more titles?

By: iqnadirshah

iqnadirshah — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 22:25:44 +0000

Henry’s move to Barca will benefit him more than it does to Barca, as for Klose, he’s never impressed me, Koller is another player who’s tall, but he gets more involved in the game than Klose. Henry’s won everything except CL and he may win with Barca, but the ego clashes on the way are going to be super fun…………