“Henry Blew Them Away in the Interview Process!” - Karen Carney (BBC Sport)

“He blew them away during the interview process!”

So said Karen Carney on this morning’s BBC’s Daily Football Podcast during a discussion on ‘Henry to Bournemouth’.

Both Carney and experienced presenter Mark Chapman had been in touch with sources at AFC Bournemouth who were adamant Dorset’s only league club was looking for an experienced manager to take them back up to the Premier League. In other words someone that had already been over the course. Someone like a David Wagner who performed miracles on low budget at Huddersfield Town a few seasons ago.

But the word on the street is that Henry simply blew the Bournemouth people away throughout the interview process and went straight to the top of their list.

London Times football writer, Rory Smith also chipped in...

“Loads of clubs will say they want to make a sensible appointment to get them back up, until somebody really sexy, in that footballing sense, walks into the room. They see the stardust and think of the glamour and decide Thierry Henry and Bournemouth.... and the Va Va Vroom appears!

“It happens all the time. Henry would be a massive risk, because he’s still comparatively unproven. He is learning his trade and he might yet prove to be a brilliant manager but it’s much more of a risk than say someone like Wagner, who knows his way out of The Championship and has a style of play that can work in The Championship. David Wagner is a relatively safe bet, but he’s just not as sexy as Thierry Henry.”

Referring to Henry’s managerial career to date, Smith said of the former Arsenal man, “It showed a degree of adventurousness maybe, and willingness to learn, to go somewhere like Montreal.

“I have no strong opinions on how he’s done [at Montreal], I stay away from MLS as much as possible... because we have other reporters to cover it and I have enough on my plate.” (background chuckling in the studio).

“But that isn’t the appointment you take if you think you should be able to walk into the big clubs straight away. That speaks well to his desire and to hone his craft and to recognize the fact that management is different from playing.

So maybe while he’s been in Canada he’s improved a lot as a coach and he’d actually be perfect for Bournemouth. Being a big name doesn’t mean you’re automatically a bad coach, it just doesn’t mean you are automatically a good one.”




Check out the latest The Ball Is Round Podcast. Recorded yesterday, Wed 17 Feb, we cover the Henry/Bournemouth situation and other Montreal soccer news...

Every Week - The Ball Is Round...