We were so, so close.
Thierry Henry appeared on Monday Night Football’s weekend review special and played second fiddle to Jamie Carragher.
There is no shame in that but Henry is the man on the big-money contract [a reported £4m a year].
During a fascinating, no-holds-barred discussion about Manchester City’s Claudio Bravo, Henry nodded sagely as Carragher highlighted some basic flaws. It was when Guardiola’s ruthless streak was mentioned that host David Jones sought to bring in Henry.
The Frenchman played under City boss Pep Guardiola at Barcelona so could offer an insight into how he operates. Here’s a taste of the discourse:
Carragher: Pep has been very ruthless and I admire him for it, in some ways. With Joe Hart [loaned out to Torino], I don’t think it was the right decision but I admire a manager when they are decisive and they make a big decision.
Jones: Is this a manager that can be ruthless Thierry? You’ve played under him…
Henry: Oh yes. Oh yes he can be ruthless. He got rid of Samuel Et’o, he got rid of Ibrahimovic and Joe Hart. When he has something in his mind, he is very difficult to change what is in his mind.
Okay, here we go, some anecdote or recollection from Henry’s playing days. A glimpse of the cut and thrust of professional football. The brutal reality.
Henry continued:
Jones: What about Zlatan? He spent a lot of money on Zlatan and was quite happy to wave him away.
Henry: Yeah, but he won the league with him. He gave him a chance and Zlatan played. Et’o left for Zlatan.
We know all of this. But there was more. Henry was about to earn his corn…
Henry: So Zlatan played. At the end of the season, Bojan started to play. Anyway, we’e not going to go into too much details but Zlatan left… but City have a good goalkeeper and maybe at the right time he will come back.
Why not go into details? The discussion is about how Guardiola can be ruthless and how it can often be to the detriment of his team.
Surely a personal insight from Henry, a man who played with Ibrahimovic and under Guardiola, would have shed some light on how both men operate. But, no, he did not want to go into too much details.
https://youtu.be/zzzkH1wtZLs
The punditry business can prove tough in the early years for former players, especially those that played at a high level.
Many retired footballers are reluctant to criticise men they shared a pitch with – either as teammates or opponents. Irish rugby legend Brian O’Driscoll says it was only this season, his third as a pundit, that he truly felt comfortable in the role.
Henry is in his second full season as a pundit [he retired in December 2014] so perhaps he will improve. However the signs are not good.
Right now, Jamie Redknapp gets more respect as a football pundit than Henry. To be fair, that’s literally ridiculous.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPXtIGVjeWx/?taken-by=sportsjoedotie
