Current Player #17 James Henry
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bashamwonderland
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All the best to him if he goes. Been 2 or 3 years since he was at his best for us but I hope he finds some more form in the twilight of his career.
I doubt it as apparently Gillingham outbid Ipswich for George Lapslie* according to their forum.
*I very much doubt this and suspect Gillingham fans are getting carried away now they are actually buying players again.
Jster
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I've thought more about this, and I actually think we'd be foolish to let him go right now. We struggle to create chances, and that's one thing he does do better than most in our squad. He can still put in a good cross from the right, and I remember quite a few of those even this season. Until we have someone who can do that better, why sell him?
Grumpy Git
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I agree, especially if we got money for him Robinson would P**s it away on a crock.
The money we’ll get for Henry wouldn’t even buy you that! This is a wage bill exercise I suspect and a sad, but correct, realisation that’s Henry is no longer good enough for what we’re trying to do in the next 18 months. Who knows when we will get another chance to offload him in the next 18 months of his contract. Opportunity you have to take, really.
Mad Dog
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Gutted if true.
He's been one of our absolute best players of the last 20 years, and criminally under appreciated by many of our fans, did he even have his own song?
Ok, he's struggled this season, like all of them have, but when fit and firing on all cylinders he's still our most creative player, and we'll miss him when he's gone.
Cheers Jamo
He's been one of our absolute best players of the last 20 years, and criminally under appreciated by many of our fans, did he even have his own song?
Ok, he's struggled this season, like all of them have, but when fit and firing on all cylinders he's still our most creative player, and we'll miss him when he's gone.
Cheers Jamo
greatunclekip
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Yep, an absolute class act. Great professional and has given us some unreal moments. Best of wishes to him if he does depart.
Oxymoron
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Here's a thought - if, as I have seen posted, players will not sign for us in the January window because no-one will want to go to a mid-table League 1 club flirting with relegation, why would anyone want to move to a club rock bottom of League 2 with a distinct possibility that they would be playing in non-league the next season?
Jster
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What we're trying to do in the next 18 months? I'd rather worry about what we're trying to do right now - and if we can't sign someone better right now, then we should surely keep him.
If he still had the ability he used to have, we’d either be keeping him for ourselves or he wouldn't be leaving us for a team on the verge of dropping out the football league without a decent turnaround. Money is one thing but why is nobody in L1 coming for him or one of the teams in L2 aiming to come up? Sorry but in the cold light of day his best days are gone at this level and it’s a good move for everybody. I agree his qualities are something we need so hopefully we get a replacement with his best days ahead rather than a distant memory.
Not to me as when he plays, he doesn’t contribute. It’s a different story if he plays 60 mins at a really high level and runs out of legs. But he’s reached that stage now where he’s not impacting games anymore.
I’d rather Goodrham play more often as I think he is one of very few players ( Bodin & Jones the only other ones I can think of) in our squad who can play in tight areas and create something.
I think we’ll see someone arrive before long as I don’t see us letting go of another body without a sure thing lined up. I fancy us to add 3 more this window. Nothing more than a hunch.
beyondthefourth
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Quite right. Only the 7 league goals from midfield last season during an injury-hit campaign, and 16 goal contributions the year before.
He's definitely not up to standard, just look how well everyone else in the squad has been doing when he's not part of the team.
Can guarantee his wage bill and contract length are the only things tarnishing his value to us right now, and if he were to go he'd be a great value to teams much higher up in L1, but Gillingham will be offering big bucks precisely because they need a high caliber player to save the club from relegation.
And this season? 3 goal contributions from 20 apps, 13 starts. Most of which further forward than normal. But stats aside, you can visibly see he is slowing down in the same way Taylor is. Meanwhile, the club is trying to accelerate.
I’m not for a moment suggesting that he’s a bad player, only that his best days are behind him and we can’t continuously pile on KR for poor transfer activity (charitable new contracts being a big part of that discussion) and then in the next breath ask him to hang on to players who are clearly past their best.
beyondthefourth
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Just going to bump this graphic up a bit. If Henry was underperforming in a team that was generally playing well, I'd agree. But he does create chances, and I'd say that not having consistently fit wingers and a front man that is also lacking sharpness hasn't helped him.
I agree that he isn't going to hit the heights of a couple of seasons ago, and his new contract has probably heightened the wage/talent ratio he currently offers. I just think there is still enough there to keep him until the summer and then let the L2 suitors come in with offers. Unless we have a proper replacement lined up, which is a ready-made creative force in his mould and not an untested prospect at this level.
Stats are one side of the story. I’ve said on other threads we lack a creative influence but Henry can’t do it week in, week out. It’s not just about what he does on the ball. Can he press? Can he get up and down the pitch? We’re visibly not as good a team when he plays anymore.
I see the reasoning in keeping him around but te problem you’ve got is there won’t be people queuing up to take him so there’s a very real risk we have him next year too. In the summer Gillingham will have likely moved on (or be in the national league) and if he’s hardly kicked a ball between now and then, who’s going to take him on that wage at a time where it’s generally easier to buy players? It’s wise to take the offer on all fronts.
unification
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The James Henry situation is another example of something KR has got utterly wrong since the start of 2022 - succession planning.
A good example of how to do this well is from SAF's time at Manchester United. He would ease players out once they were a smidgen past their peak. Andy Cole. for example. had scored 22 goals in the 1999-00 season and then 13 in the season after due to a disrupted, injury-hit campaign. In 2001, Ruud van Nistelrooy came in to replace him and Cole was shipped out whilst the Dutchman was there. Cole continued to score goals - double figures for five more seasons in the top flight - but not at the rate required for Manchester United. Likewise, when RvN's time was coming to an end during 2006, SAF had planned for it and Rooney and Ronaldo were emerging as the top players to play the forward line. Off he went to Real Madrid and gave them two good seasons before his appearances and goals tailed off. SAF sold them at the right time.
Last season should have been Henry's last for us, really. The decline was evident and a reward of a new contract - and the length of it - was not needed. I appreciate that experience is needed in the squad but some simple observations and stats show that a 33-year-old winger who has never been blessed with pace (if he had been, he'd have been a solid Championship player/PL player for much of his career) is not going to get better.
We have to get better at this in our recruitment. We had a great policy in place for a number of seasons recently. Out went Rob Dickie, in came in Atkinson, he departed but McNally was there to replace him. The assembly line kept unearthing great players. Since the start of 2022, we've chucked that away.
James Henry has been a fine pro and a player we all admire. It's funny what a season too long can do though to our memory of them. He doesn't deserve any pelters but it's interesting to note the views on here from many that he probably should move on.
A good example of how to do this well is from SAF's time at Manchester United. He would ease players out once they were a smidgen past their peak. Andy Cole. for example. had scored 22 goals in the 1999-00 season and then 13 in the season after due to a disrupted, injury-hit campaign. In 2001, Ruud van Nistelrooy came in to replace him and Cole was shipped out whilst the Dutchman was there. Cole continued to score goals - double figures for five more seasons in the top flight - but not at the rate required for Manchester United. Likewise, when RvN's time was coming to an end during 2006, SAF had planned for it and Rooney and Ronaldo were emerging as the top players to play the forward line. Off he went to Real Madrid and gave them two good seasons before his appearances and goals tailed off. SAF sold them at the right time.
Last season should have been Henry's last for us, really. The decline was evident and a reward of a new contract - and the length of it - was not needed. I appreciate that experience is needed in the squad but some simple observations and stats show that a 33-year-old winger who has never been blessed with pace (if he had been, he'd have been a solid Championship player/PL player for much of his career) is not going to get better.
We have to get better at this in our recruitment. We had a great policy in place for a number of seasons recently. Out went Rob Dickie, in came in Atkinson, he departed but McNally was there to replace him. The assembly line kept unearthing great players. Since the start of 2022, we've chucked that away.
James Henry has been a fine pro and a player we all admire. It's funny what a season too long can do though to our memory of them. He doesn't deserve any pelters but it's interesting to note the views on here from many that he probably should move on.
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