Henry to Barcelona

okidoki987

arsenal have gone to ****. in the last tow years we have lost
henry,vieira,bergkamp,pires,lauren,cole,wiltord,campbell

Very unfair tbh.

henry is cheap if he goes but if he wants to go, not a lot you can do to stop him and he has been a godsend for us over the years.
bergkamp retired
Vieira, Pires, Lauren, Wiltord all bought for bugger all and all worth their weight in gold over the seasons.
cole good ridance
campbell off the wall wanted to play elsewhere let him go.

Dont be at yourself

I don't think it's the end of the world. Arsenal played all of last season either without Henry, or with an unfit, unmotivated Henry, and they weren't far off the pace. Give them one or two new signings, the added maturity and experience the younger players have received over the last year, and I can still see them challenging for the league.

The media coverage of Wenger and his future plans will probably have a bigger impact, I would say.

Fuzzy_Dunlop

Kanney wrote:

Looks like Spurs will be getting that last champions league spot next season.

Henry and Van Persie were missing for half of last season and they still finished above spurs. However if this does lead to more departures then yes maybe you're right, but Henry leaving on his own isn't the big problem. And the rumours of Wenger going to Madrid dont exactly make sense if he just sold Henry on the cheap to Barca

PHB

Lads, Henry was missing for most of last season, and they still finished fourth easily. I wouldn't write them off at all

gosplan

Kanney wrote:

Looks like Spurs will be getting that last champions league spot next season.

what odds do you give me?

gosplan

Being an Arsenal fan everyone's been asking me about Henry's future over the last while.

Having been asked so many times kind of helps you figure it out.

For me, Henry is only worth keeping if you believe that he can, as Arsenal captain, in this new Arsenal team, produce the form he failed to produce last year.

If on the other hand you believe that:

a:his heart is no longer fully committed to Arsenal.

or

b:he's unable to gel with the new team as he did with Pires, Berg, Cole et al.


Then give the captaincy to Toure and just get on with it!! Having Henry playing and not playing like last year would just be a waste of everyone's time at this stage.

Ade and Van Persie are a great first choice strikeforce provided they both stay fit.

Essentially, I only want to see Henry to stay if he can produce the Arsenal form of three years ago. Anything else and both parties would be better off going their seperate ways.

16million seems a bit light but as people said there's no resale value. Also Barca can probably bid a bit lower as Arsenal know that Henry wants to go there. imagine you could get 20 million from either of the Milans but Henry's been so great to the club that he should get to pick.

Mr. Presentable

PHB wrote:

Lads, Henry was missing for most of last season, and they still finished fourth easily. I wouldn't write them off at all

Squads evolve. Players come and go, that's just how it is and has always been. People thought it was the end of Manchester United when Cantona left, but maybe it was the making of them.

In four or five years Henry will be an ex-pro and someone else will be in his shoes. It's no big deal.

Oh, and this has been coming since Dein went. I expect Wenger will go as soon as a suitable opportunity arises

Gangsta

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

I don't think it's the end of the world. Arsenal played all of last season either without Henry, or with an unfit, unmotivated Henry, and they weren't far off the pace. Give them one or two new signings, the added maturity and experience the younger players have received over the last year, and I can still see them challenging for the league.

The media coverage of Wenger and his future plans will probably have a bigger impact, I would say.

Ya but it's the 'feel good' factor that will affect Arsenal. Without Henry the same will happen for another season or two as has happened with Vieira. This will be a very sad day for Arsenal

nipplenuts if Wenger leaves I will kill myself.

Doodee

who knows, maybe Eto'o might be on his way to arsenal.

Little-Devil

Royale with Cheese wrote:

So Darren Bent is worth more than Thierry Henry? The Vieira deal was a joke, if this is true then it's pathetic.

I think Vieira was sold on the cheap because he wanted to leave Arsenal and they would sell to another english club. I think the same is said for Henry going to Barcelona, it was a done deal last season, but after the champions league final his head was turned because of the Barca played and he wasn't happy.

I think its about time he left Arsenal, i do rate henry and is a fantastic finisher, but i just think that after him failing in Italy ( he didn't really get a chance ) he has to test himself in another league, no doubt though it will be a stroll in the park. I'm really looking forward to watching them come next season, i think a couple of trips over as well.

The Muppet

Doodee wrote:

who knows, maybe Eto'o might be on his way to arsenal.

Not for £16 Million he's not. There is obviously a lot of hassle behind the scenes at Arsenal, I wouldn't be surprised to see Wenger go sooner rather than later now.

Mr. Presentable

Gangsta wrote:

nipplenuts if Wenger leaves I will kill myself.

That's a bit extreme, mate. It's not a matter of if, but when

LegacyUser

Doodee wrote:

who knows, maybe Eto'o might be on his way to arsenal.

Absolutely no chance, he is staying with Barca, they signed Henry to keep Eto'o happy. He has been wanting Henry for years. And Guillem Ballague said on Sky Sports news that Eto'o let it slip the other day that Henry was coming and how he could hardly contain his excitement. There real good mates.

Doodee

adriano then

Little-Devil

cheesedude wrote:

Absolutely no chance, he is staying with Barca, they signed Henry to keep Eto'o happy. He has been wanting Henry for years. And Guillem Ballague said on Sky Sports news that Eto'o let it slip the other day that Henry was coming and how he could hardly contain his excitement. There real good mates.

It will interesting to see if Ronaldinho stays or goes. I cant see how they could play Henry, Eto'o, Ronadlinho, Messi in attact. I wouldnt be suprised if he went to AC Milan and Kaka went to Real.

LegacyUser

The plan is to keep them all.

Ronaldinho on the left

Messi on the right

Eto and Henry up front

Dreaming???

Little-Devil

cheesedude wrote:

The plan is to keep them all.

Ronaldinho on the left

Messi on the right

Eto and Henry up front

Dreaming???

That's some attack, cant wait to see them next season playing. I think Barca lost the league this season cause they had a weak midfield. Deco, Xavi are to similar and like to get forward. I expect them to sign another 3 players, a holding player and a couple of defenders. Gallas could be next to go now.

LegacyUser

They would be unstoppable if they have Patrick Vieira in the middle of the park with Cambiasso and then someone like Vidic alongside Puyol...

Ok i'll stop dreaming...

I saw them last season play against Celta Vigo as I was convinced it was Ronaldinhos last season at the club with all the speculation...I just hope I am wrong...

zAbbo

Little-Devil wrote:

That's some attack, cant wait to see them next season playing. I think Barca lost the league this season cause they had a weak midfield. Deco, Xavi are to similar and like to get forward. I expect them to sign another 3 players, a holding player and a couple of defenders. Gallas could be next to go now.

Talking through your hoop there, Xavi is the engine of Barca and is a central midfielder. Deco plays in front of him in a more attacking role.

and you expect a DMF and 2 defenders to be signed, lol

el rabitos

zabbo wrote:

Talking through your hoop there

lol - post of the month

thebaz

nothing like the old school and old money to destroy a football club ... i loved the way arsenal played football under Wenger ... but would expect Wegner next to leave .... unless the old school clear out , and Dein comes back ... they believe Arsenal is above common new money ... i sympathise with Arsenal fans, as my club everton, was also trapped by this old conservativel outlook , and we are forever trapped in mediocity

Pepe LeFrits

I imagine it'll be Deco who gets pushed out of the team, with Ronaldinho moving into his central position. Henry on the left, Eto'o up top, Messi on the right, Ronaldinho in the hole behind. Xavi playmaking deep with a holding midfielder beside him. Beautiful attacking setup. If they bought a decent keeper and a proper CB instead of mophead they'd be unplayable.

Anyway, now that I've had time to digest this, I feel it isn't all bad. I'm still gutted and upset to see that Thierry is leaving (obviously it isn't 100%, but it looks like it may as well be), but that is more due to my emotional attachment to him than due to what he does for the team on the pitch. He's been my favourite player to watch for years - himself and my other favourite player, Kaka, are the two most graceful players on the planet. Arrogant and Barca bound or not, I love him and it's hard to see him go. I still miss Vieira, and I like Henry waaaay more than him. He's a proper show-man, and he makes football entertaining.

However, I can see benefits to the team. Henry wasn't really a good captain, and I felt for a while that he was having a suffocating effect on the club. He was too big an influence. In his absence this season, Gilberto has shown himself to be an excellent captain, and i'll be very happy if he is made captain with Kolo as VC - two very humble players who I can't see putting their ambition above their loyalty to the club.

Henry himself was poor last season. His injuries prevented him from being his usual explosive self, and while he was still capable of scoring utterly brilliant goals (Middlesbrough away and Blackburn away in particular), when he wasn't creating moments of magic, he was a hindrance. His movement in particular was pretty much non-existant - if he didn't have the ball, he wasn't interested. I feel a striker with much better movement will be of great benefit to Rosicky, Fabregas and Hleb. The team dynamic has changed - it used to be about winning the ball high up the pitch (Vieira) and initiating lightning quick counter-attacks through Pires and Henry. Now it is about suffocating the opposition through holding onto the ball, and with this setup, it is vital to have forwards with great movement to make passing opportunities for the playmakers. In effect it used to be Vieira's team, now it is Cesc's team.

What I am concerned about it is the effect it will have on the mentality of the players. When Vieira left, it left the players full of a self-doubt that wasn't lifted until the CL win against Madrid. Wenger can't afford to let that happen again. He needs to make sure that they start the next season in the right frame of mind; full of belief and positive. I'm not sure a big signing is the answer to that - I look around and I don't see any strikers available who would provide the feel-good factor. Every striker in the world is going to look like a downgrade.

The price still irks me, but if Henry had a clause in his contract then the board had no control over the matter. I suppose £8m doesn't really make THAT much difference anyway, as Wenger's record is better on the cheap buys than it is on the big money ones, and there aren't many big money players available at the moment who look particularly appealing.

Pepe LeFrits

Oh, and I don't think Wenger will leave. This Arsenal team is his biggest project yet. He's not going to invest so heavily in young players like Walcott, Adebayor, van Persie, Vela, Fabregas, Diaby, Denilson etc and leave before he gets to reap the fruits of his work.

Little-Devil

zabbo wrote:

Talking through your hoop there, Xavi is the engine of Barca and is a central midfielder. Deco plays in front of him in a more attacking role.

and you expect a DMF and 2 defenders to be signed, lol

Xavi is not a holding midfielder and either is deco. There signing Yaya Toure as well. They will sign a couple of defenders as well.

When they do, i'll throw you to my "hoop" and laugh at the same time.

Pepe LeFrits

Yaya Toure is no holding midfielder and it'll be a very odd one if they do sign him, given he won't be cheap, unless Xavi is on the way out.

Necronomicon

I wonder if Wenger will get the full 16 million. With his record, it wouldn't be a bad fund to have, especially since he presumably had some bit to spend anyway.
Henry's long absence last season will hold Arsenal in good stead I think, as long as players' mentalities aren't affected by such a big-name departure.

zAbbo

Xavi is barcelona he's from La Rambla's and is hugely loved by the Barca fans. I never said he was a DMF, but he is pivotal to Barce's gameplan, would be a huge surprise if he went.

Who knows though.

Vokes

Pepe LeFrits wrote:

I imagine it'll be Deco who gets pushed out of the team, with Ronaldinho moving into his central position. Henry on the left, Eto'o up top, Messi on the right, Ronaldinho in the hole behind. Xavi playmaking deep with a holding midfielder beside him. Beautiful attacking setup. If they bought a decent keeper and a proper CB instead of mophead they'd be unplayable.

Could be Marquez moved beside Xavi with Chivu coming into CB. So perhaps something like....

Henry          Eto'o         Messi

                 Ronaldinho

              Xavi     Marquez

v. Bronckhorst   Chivu   Puyol   Zambrotta
     
                  Valdes

Fearsome lineup!

Pepe LeFrits

They'd be better off with Chivu beside Marquez at CB with Puyol using his sleave-located heart to warm the bench. Never going to happen of course, they like their local boys down there.

LegacyUser

What the hell is your problem with Puyol? he is an awesome defender.

Pepe LeFrits

I think he is overrated. He reminds me of Kolo Toure only without the pace and smaller.

Helix

cheesedude wrote:

Ronaldinho on the left
Dreaming???

yeh, coz he'll have signed for milan by the end of next week

The Muppet

Pepe LeFrits wrote:

Oh, and I don't think Wenger will leave. This Arsenal team is his biggest project yet. He's not going to invest so heavily in young players like Walcott, Adebayor, van Persie, Vela, Fabregas, Diaby, Denilson etc and leave before he gets to reap the fruits of his work.

In recent interviews Wenger has not sounded like a man willing to commit himself long term to the club. Arsenal are now in a similar position United were three seasons ago , they need a manager that is totally commited to rebuilding the team. I think Deins departure and the back room squabbles has soured Wengers realtionship with the Board and for that reason I would not be surprised to see him move to make a fresh start.

This situation will be clarified very shortly as the club will not want the uncertainty a year of specualtion will bring and they will want the situation sorted one way or the other so they can continue their rebuilding.

Little-Devil

zabbo wrote:

Xavi is barcelona he's from La Rambla's and is hugely loved by the Barca fans. I never said he was a DMF, but he is pivotal to Barce's gameplan, would be a huge surprise if he went.

Who knows though.

I agree Xavi is Barca through and through and one of most underated midfielders in my view. I think himself and Deco are just as important as Eto'o and Ronaldinho.

I think Puyol is a good player, but he no CB and weak point in there defence. I think there better playing Marquez there and getting another CB along side.

horseflesh

Anyone know when next season's La Liga fixtures are announced?

zAbbo

horseflesh wrote:

Anyone know when next season's La Liga fixtures are announced?

Are you thinking of heading over for a few games ? I was over twice last season. Flights can be got for around 50-60 euro return from www.clickair.com and match tickets are easily got (unless its v Madrid). Accomodation is cheap and their public transport is top notch.

horseflesh

zabbo wrote:

Are you thinking of heading over for a few games ? I was over twice last season. Flights can be got for around 50-60 euro return from www.clickair.com and match tickets are easily got (unless its v Madrid). Accomodation is cheap and their public transport is top notch.

I love the city, and the club.
I'm planning on bringing my wife there for a weekend in December anyway, so just hoping to catch a game too.

zAbbo

horseflesh wrote:

I love the city, and the club.
I'm planning on bringing my wife there for a weekend in December anyway, so just hoping to catch a game too.

Yeah it's a great city for that type of thing, and the Camp Nou is pretty special.

I'd consider heading back, but maybe not until the new year.

Sizzler

Arsenal in big trouble next season ! Spurs might finish higher than them The only way the deal would have been kind to them is if they got E'to in return...but alas

Pepe LeFrits

The Muppet wrote:

In recent interviews Wenger has not sounded like a man willing to commit himself long term to the club. Arsenal are now in a similar position United were three seasons ago , they need a manager that is totally commited to rebuilding the team. I think Deins departure and the back room squabbles has soured Wengers realtionship with the Board and for that reason I would not be surprised to see him move to make a fresh start.

Wenger has always waited until close to the end of his contracts before renewing them, this is nothing new.

There are changes happening in the board room. There has been a noticeable thaw in the relationship with Kroenke and I think he will come on board soon, with Dein returning as DoF. Reading's Nicky Hammond turned down the job recently as he reportedly believed he'd be a stop-gap measure.

zAbbo

Sizzler wrote:

Arsenal in big trouble next season ! Spurs might finish higher than them The only way the deal would have been kind to them is if they got E'to in return...but alas

Henry was mainly lethargic or injured last season, if anything he was a negative impact on the team. They finished 4th without him essentially. There's no-one better than Wenger at buying bargains, if he gets the full 16m to spend, he will do so wisely, thats if he's still around :eek:

mike65

Not sure if its been said but the price IS 16 milion pounds. Thats deffo. Henry in the S*n said it was now or never and mainly now with Dein gone. I think Wenger will also leave at the end of his contract and proberly end up at either Barca or er England FA.

Mike.

PHB

To be honest, I think we could see the takeover with Dein returning, with significant transfer funds, which will let Wenger stay. If that happens, with the youth Wenger has coming through, three or four top buys and Arsenal will be up there with United and Chelsea almost instantly.

tred

Sizzler wrote:

Arsenal in big trouble next season ! Spurs might finish higher than them The only way the deal would have been kind to them is if they got E'to in return...but alas

#
i disagree. Arsenal finished a good few points ahead of spurs last sessaon even wiht henry missing for a lot of it. Good spine of young players coming through. With 25 million euro from Henry plus a few million gathered up allready, hell have someone in mind. I am wondering are they in for torres, with atletico mad for reyes. they could have a bargaining weight there. I think anyone on this forum interested in soccer especually in the premiership will be dissapointed as hes being one of finest players ever to be seen in UK

Noelie

PHB wrote:

To be honest, I think we could see the takeover with Dein returning, with significant transfer funds, which will let Wenger stay. If that happens, with the youth Wenger has coming through, three or four top buys and Arsenal will be up there with United and Chelsea almost instantly.

I don't think Dein will be back anytime soon, if he was Henry would have probably stayed.

Royale with Cheese

To be honest the Dein shíte sounds like a bit of an excuse from Henry. If Dein left but the club were still winning would Henry still have gone? Seems he's just using the Dein situation as a way of justifying the move he said he'd never make.

gosplan

zabbo wrote:

Talking through your hoop there, Xavi is the engine of Barca and is a central midfielder. Deco plays in front of him in a more attacking role.

and you expect a DMF and 2 defenders to be signed, lol

Iniesta played more games htis year then either of them, figure that out

kaimera

Shame. Huge loss for the EPL imo.

bb Thierry. £16m is nothing really.

gandalf

TBH I am not surprised that Henry has moved, I fully expected this to happen last year. I am sorry to see him go but given that last season he wasn't at his best when he played and was injured quite alot as well. It will do the team good because they relied on him too much and were set up to play to his strenghts, now they have to step up to the plate and the current squad have more than enough talent to do this. If a replacement is bought it needs to be an out and out striker. Maybe Bendtner is the answer but we'll see.

Anyway Sorry to see ya go Thierry and good luck in Barca (unless we meet you in the Champions League then I hope we stuff you like a Christmas Turkey).

cson

Quel ****ing diasaster.