You Are Wrong About Thierry Henry
Adding context to the managerial career of Arsenal's greatest player
Thierry Henry made headlines a few days ago when discussing the USMNT on CBS seemingly announcing his interest in the head coaching job.
I see a lot of hesitation for Henry and there seems to just be a lot of either misinformation or misunderstanding around his time at both Monaco and Montreal. It’s ridiculous to criticize without looking at the full context of what happened at each club during his managerial stints. So today we’re going to set the record straight as well as discuss his managerial philosophy.
Everyone wants to talk shit about Henry’s coaching record so far to prove he’s out of his depth to take on the USMNT or any other team for that matter.
At Monaco it was his first job. A club that was in Champions League while at the same time being in the relegation zone. He only got four months in the job before being fired from the post. But when he took over the squad, Monaco had 17 injured players, at least 9 of them being starters.
It was a year after the club sold Mbappe, Joao Moutinho, Bakayoko, Fabinho, Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy, and Thomas Lamar. Is any manager coming back from that? Honestly knowing who those players are now… it was a thankless job. Despite that he got them into the semi-final of the league cup.
At this point his philosophy is starting to come out but also the challenges he had being a star player.
He mentions his philosophy in an interview with Jamie Carragher as one that likes to be on the front foot, build from the back with bravery and confidence, but give the players the choice to pass long if the build isn’t on. He mentions Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, and Graham Potter as some of the managers he admires.
At Monaco he had a huge problem. He didn’t know how to connect with this generation of players, how to make sure everyone felt good and up for the fight. He didn’t know how to deal with players that weren’t trying to be the absolute best in the world, or what to do when a player didn’t see the intricacies in the game that he did. Every step of failure is a learning moment for the future, and listening to Henry talk about this now a few years on I have full faith this part of his coaching tendency is gone.
At Monaco he tried a 4321, a 4231, and 433 and even a 343 but nothing seemed to work. His next chance would have to be in Major League Soccer as head coach of the Montreal Impact.
And by the way… I’ve been working on something for the last year that I’m almost ready to release that will help anyone find more enjoyment out of soccer by understanding formations and tactics. Be on the lookout in the next few weeks!
At the time of Henry’s hiring, the Montreal Impact had not made the playoffs in 4 years, their squad by all accounts was not close to being one of the better outfits in MLS, and I think the thing we really need to discuss here is that his first and only season with the team was set to begin in late February of 2020. COVID shut everything down around that time.
For Canadian teams the situation was much worse. Because US teams couldn’t travel to Canada to play matches, Henry spent the entirety of his tenure with Montreal playing away from home. And not just his home where his kids and family were in London, but literally Montreal’s home. The club spent the entire season playing away matches, while players lived in hotels and rarely saw their families. Henry says at the time he quarantined for over 150 total days.
And yet despite playing every match on the road, away from home, away from family, as a new manager of a club that was supposed to suck, Montreal qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 4 years. They made the quarterfinal of the CONCACAF champions League. Now Herc Gomez might say they lost to Olimpia from Honduras. Well they were only playing Olimpia because they beat the Seattle Sounders in the previous round. Are we going to sit around and talk shit about Brian Schmetzer for that one? No.
He left on his own accord and was not fired, he wanted to be back closer to his kids in London.
I will say, everything needs context.
A 30% win percentage is not good. Montreal made the playoffs as the 9th best team in a 14 team table.
BUT
I think for what the team looked like and the circumstances surrounding the club’s season, Henry’s coaching stint should be looked at as a moderately surprising success.
So how would he look with the USMNT? I think he keeps his philosophy. Play on the front foot. Be confident and brave enough to build from the back, but if it’s better to pass long then do that, leave it up to the player to decide what’s best. His playing career speaks for itself and gives him instant credibility with the players. He’d likely guarantee that Folarin Balogun declares for the US.
And in Thierry Henry we would have a European, Premier League, and World Cup winner. Still trying to prove himself in the coaching arena, he knows those two are separated.
Let’s consider one last thing… Pep Guardiola’s players that became coaches are proven winners that take a little while to get their teams playing the way they want. Xavi at Barca, Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, Vincent Kompany’s Burnley is leading the English Championship, and Xabi Alonso has Leverkusen just outside of the European spots in the Bundesliga.
He’s a good coach. He fits the identity that we’ve built. Players will like playing for him. He seems to have learned a lot from his time at his two previous clubs and with Belgium. There may be better coaches available, but they may not be realistic targets for the US.
I’m not saying hire him right away but at least give him a chance to be part of the process.
If you want to watch my video on the topic you can catch it here:
Read the article; watched the video. Liked/loved both.
Back in the late 90s, I was an Arsenal fan (as much as possible in this rural Cajun town) because of Wenger's style of play and the Arsenal team. But, with the arrival of Henry, I became a Gooner. Henry was captivating to watch, and Arsenal was spectacular.
About the time that Henry left Arsenal, due to life circumstances, I lost track of Arsenal and Celtic (my all-time favorite club) specifically and soccer generally. But, I've never forgotten Henry's dominance and style, for club and country. He's one of my all-time favorite players.
Having said that: Although you do an admirable job of detailing why we should withhold judgment about the possibility of Henry taking the reins of the USMNT, I just don't know if he's "the guy". It all depends on who comes into the training staff with him.
With the proper staff, allowing him to focus on the bigger picture and player recruitment, he might be very good. But, I don't think he (or anyone really) can do it without a good supporting staff. But, more than most, considering his lack of experience, I think he needs the proper staff around him.