PlexNex

Th. Henry to Spain

  "Barcelona" (Stephen Sondheim, 1970)

There's a respectful piece at the Guardian by Sid Lowe about Thierry Henry's move to FC Barcelona (from Arsenal) -- where he was welcomed by 25,000 Barcelona regulars at Camp Nou this week.

Henry's football may have appeared to peak at Arsenal where all roads in the scheme of play fed him out in the flats with space to turn on the jets and score, often with a clever out of step toe-poke. Henry's deceptive use of his speed and his coolness around the box -- his audacious daring-do to shoot unexpectedly from unlikely positions -- are his hallmarks.

Barcelona will probably not feature him the same way, what, with Ronaldinho, E'to & Messi, each to dazzle. So it will be easy to tag Henry -- one of the very best footballers of this generation, now age 29 -- as "over the hill". This is likely to happen even if he is performing perfectly but modestly in a role for the Catalans. Above all, he brings the winning attitude which is very influential within a club. That has no price. Good move for Barcelona.

In addition to the quality of his football, Thierry Henry is one of the classiest individuals in the game -- an authentic gentleman. If his sciatica remains at bay after his rest this year, we should see a fair amount of the Frenchman in the Blue&Red.

Makelele

Kevin McCarra writes a supportive piece in the Guardian Unlimited about Claude Makelele's importance to Chelsea. He explains why Claude defines our modern sense of the Holding Midfielder's role...

The Real [Madrid] captain of the time, Fernando Hierro, said that everyone in the squad knew that Makelele was the best player at the club. Zinédine Zidane reckoned that Pérez had sold the engine from the sports car.

Claude has been out of the side. The several games' rest of Makelele is Mourinho's secret weapon against a Liverpool side that will be primed to score goals for the Kop in tonight's Champion's League semi-final second leg at Anfield.

Alan Ball: Gone at 61

Obituary | Brian Glanville | Guardian Unlimited

Gentleman, impact-footballer, youngest member of the 1966 World Cup winning side...Alan Ball.

"...my type of player: he worked hard, he ran, he chased...even though he was a small lad."

- Sir Bobby Charleton

United's Boot on the Other Shoe

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Despite their (net) six-point lead, the suddenly long injury list at Manchester United now is why it's game-on in the Prem for the League Championship. Ian Winrow writes...

Four victories, since that stormy first leg in France two weeks ago, have taken Sir Alex Ferguson's side through to the quarter-finals of Europe and the FA Cup and into a nine-point lead at the top of the Premiership. However, that same period has come at great cost to United in terms of injuries. Louis Saha is expected to be out for a month and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is unavailable until the end of March. Henrik Larsson, having scored last night's winner, returns to Sweden on Sunday, and the youngster Giuseppe Rossi is not permitted to be recalled from loan at Italy's Parma.

In midfield Darren Fletcher is sidelined for a month and Paul Scholes begins a three-match suspension on Saturday. Moreover the status of Patrice Evra is unknown as he made way last night for Silvestre.

It's going to be a long spell into the finish with Chelsea feeling calloused but strong from having weathered a long spate of injuries. Against adversity, these are the times champions are made. This is when footballing quality is on.

Chelsea Rope-a-Dope Gunners, Terry Trades Face for Silverware

OMG! Chelsea 2, Arsenal 1

Oh, beautiful youth.

Arsenal's young 2nd team will learn it's about the football, the net & the result.

England nil; Spain 1

Another howler.

Looks to me like the senior England players are staging a mutiny against Steve McLaren. If that's the case, the England Manager will be gone by Valentine's Day.

England Team Selection

The England World Cup Team selection was announced today...

The surprise inclusion of uncapped players, Theo Walcott (Arsenal) and Aaron Lennon (Spurs), is noteworthy.

Said Sven,

"For me it's a good squad, an interesting squad. There are some new players, some young players and it is an attacking squad with a lot of pace which is necessary in a World Cup."

It is especially encouraging that Sven has an attacking mentality for the competion -- which is not usually the way England play. England tend to bog down in negative play, partly because opponents cancel and stifle, but also because England traditionally get locked into an afraid-to-loose frame of mind (because there is so much public pressure to excel). If this talented team has pace and goals in mind, they may overcome the psychological albatross.

Certainly a team with such a talented defense can afford a new attacking mentality. And this will be tactically surprising for opponents as well as exciting to watch.

Ban the Blade!

Metatarsal injuries are increasingly common in football, today, no thanks to "improved" stud "technologies." What I cannot fathom is why they let the blade into the game in the first place. It has caused too many knee and now a growing number of sidelining foot injuries to our athletes.

Who can recall watching Robert Pires' (Arsenal, France) knee come out of joint in front of the sideline cameras on a sticky pitch, or Djabril Cisse's (Liverpool, France) lower leg bones break in two like a match-stick, both owning to the "progress" of boot technology.

Michael Owen (Newcastle United, England) just hobbled off the pitch on Saturday with a broken 5th metatarsal. It was not a stepping on (not a studs-based injury) but looked like Owen jammed it under Spurs keeper Paul Robinson's knee in a desperate lunge on a 50-50 ball just before the break (not long after Tainio put Spurs ahead with a nice volley).

This is a similar injury sustained at different times by Roy Keane (Manchester United, The Republic of Ireland), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool FC, England), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United, England), David Beckham (Real Madrid, England) and Gary Neville (Manchester United, England) major footballing artists.

Adidas, Puma, Nike...take them away, anyway!