By Tony Attwood
After Mr Henry’s first major pundit role on Sky this week, I wrote about how much I enjoyed his performance. Cool, calm, knowledgeable and, more than anything, much more Mr Arsenal than Tony Adams could ever be, after he left.
What we didn’t consider however was what Thierry might do next. He’s 36, his contract with Red Bulls ends next year, and quite simply I can’t see him playing any more after that.
Now it turns out that our Thierry will be on Match of the Day on Saturday, and will be doing World Cup work for the BBC in Brazil.
There is also talk that ITV and BT want to sign him up.
I tried to make the point in my last piece that the great tragedy of Thierry’s work on Sky for the Napoli match was that he was as bound as the rest of the gang by the ruling that the issue of the referee with his extraordinary history should never be touched upon. And he obeyed.
Beyond doubt the BBC will be telling Thierry the same on Saturday – and again when they get to Brazil. The ever growing issue of the fairness of matches is NOT to be discussed.
What a contrast with Thierry the player, where nothing was considered out of bounds in terms of the game. A centre forward who played on the left wing? No problem. Taking a free kick before the ref had blown? Not against the rules at all. A two man penalty? Why not try it?
Thierry Henry was not just a stunning player, a brilliant player, an amazing player, he was utterly inventive, and as a player had a mind that would take him to all sorts of places that others could not guess at. Which is what Mr Wenger allowed him to do.
But with punditry there are much stricter rules – rules which are made up by the people who run the shows and who have deep vested interests.
Imagine, if you will, and just for a moment (because it is not a pleasant thought) that Thierry agreed to do Champions League work with BT. Now we know that the BT commentary team could not in any way cope with the Emirates Cup, with its fairly simple arrangement of giving three points for a win, and one point for a goal. They said it was far too complex for them, and quite ludicrous in its structure.
But it was nursery school stuff compared with the complexities of Arsenal’s campaign in the Champions League where a huge array of options and possibilities arose in order to get a decision as to who was first and who was second in the group.
Of course BT are not the only people who can’t cope with the maths – Manchester City it seems did not quite grasp the situation. But the point is that someone as sophisticated and knowledgeable as Thierry will most certainly be able to cope. Putting him on BT would be the ultimate insult. He will be sitting with the dolts.
One can only imagine that the BBC has been very careful to ensure that Thierry does not know what Match of the Day is like, with its resolute anti-Arsenal bias, and its careful editing to avoid showing any referee “errors”. And maybe the strange beings that run the show will be on their best behaviour this weekend so as not to do their usual anti-Arsenal rants.
All one can say really is, Thierry just say no to the lot of them. The reason that referees make “mistakes” and are not challenged is the English media. They won’t touch the subject, and so the system continues.
Thierry: do you want to work in that sort of environment? Why not go and chat to your old boss who you greeted so warmly on Wednesday? There’s a job waiting for you at Arsenal.
Go on, Thierry. Just say no.
I would have to disagree on this one ,Tony .I would love to see Henry taking said dolts on a merry waltz and making fools of the lot ( not that they need too much help in the ‘foot in the mouth ‘ department !).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhEpeDFMM1o
“Henry jabs with the right ,and again and again and finishes off with a left uppercut !”
Just imagine him quoting Hugo , Voltaire ,etc and making them
“Les misarables “!
While he quotes Paul Masson-Oursel ,that “philosophy cannot achieve positivity so long as its investigations are restricted to the thought of our own civilization”, since “no one philosophy has the right to put itself forward as co-extensive with the human mind” ;
the other lot will of course retort that Paul Mason famously said that ” Arsenal are just papering over the cracks this season !”, and are doomed !
Have a life after death
“Do you believe in life after death?” the boss asked one of his employees.
“Yes, Sir.” the new recruit replied.
“Well, then, that makes everything just fine,” the boss went on.
“After you left early yesterday to go to your grandmother’s funeral, she stopped in to see you.”
Staggering Drunk
A young man was staggering about drunk with a key in his hand. “What’s going on?” inquired a passing cop.
“They stole my car!” said the man.
“Where did you last see it?”
“On the end of this key!” The cop looked him over and said, “Are you aware, sir, that your privates are hanging out of your trousers?”
“Holy Crap!” exclaimed the man. “They got my girlfriend too!”
Neutered Dog
A woman had her dog neutered because she was told it would curb the animal’s aggression. But the next day it savaged the postman.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, rushing to the man’s aid. “I was told he’d stop attacking people if I had him neutered.” “Lady,” said the postman, picking himself off the ground, “you should have had his teeth pulled. I knew when he came out the door he wasn’t going to screw me!”
TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father’s cherry tree, but also admitted it.
Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn’t punish him?
LOUIE : Because George still had the axe in his hand…..
Thought from the Greatest Scottish Thinker–Billy Connolly. “If women are so bloody perfect at multitasking, How come they can’t have a headache and sex at the same time?”
Imagine if we had the king (of old) in our current team…..
Russell,
We do have a king in our current team. He is HRH King Nick the LII of Denmark.
I will be interested to see how Thierry is on Match of the Day. I hope he does not get drawn into just following whatever the rest of the pundits plus Lineker say.
I hope he follows the lead of Vincent Kompany who in his only appearance on Match of the Day refused to follow the line of the others (i.e. that Spurs were better than Arsenal) and instead said that Arsenal were the best team Man City had played so far that season.
I know what you mean Tony; it is only too easy to fear the worst.
I watched the Vieira v. Keane programme which I found very entertaining and quite revealing, mainly about Man U and Keane, whose motivation in going out for matches was, according to him, fear.
Big contrast with Arsene Wenger who wants his players to enjoy playing.
Patrick also clearly wanted to insist that the referee bias when Arsenal played at Man U was something out of the ordinary.
However, the programme makers still managed to get the quote they wanted, which was Vieira saying Arsenal now lack leaders. I don’t know when the programme was recorded or what context Patrick said this in, but it was the gift the anti-Arsenals wanted.
It is clearly not the case. Arsenal have plenty of leaders, Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Arteta, Flamini, to name just four.