Was great business for Liverpool - too bad for them they squandered £35 million of it on Andy Carroll.
I have only skimmed over this to be honest, but as for the OP...Our league changed forever after holding Euro 96. Never been the same since. The country suddenly realised how much better our counterparts were and wanted to see more of them. I know i did!
There are a lot of good comments here .................... but I guess I'm just a silly old bugger who is stuck in the past. Yes, the influx of players from around the world has done some good for the league but I guess when you consider to ridiculous amounts of money being thrown around at players, a better class of league should be a prerequisite, not a bonus. Thanks for your posts.
Henry was hardly unproven seeing as Wenger used to manage him at Monaco. They then reached the champions league semis (with henry banging in a few goals from memory) and he was young player of the year in france for a few seasons running. But i guess they could have stuck with francis jeffers
He bought him from ac milan where he failed. You should read my posts properly. I was alluding to the fact that being good in one country does not mean you'll be able to do it in others. When a player joins a new league he's unproven, whatever he did elsewhere....
He bought him from Juventus. You should read wikipedia properly. Wenger knew the qualities Henry possessed and was astute enough to realize that the defensive structure of Italian football and the depth of back lines, not to mention the better quality of defenders in the league to those in the EPL, were the reasons he was failing there. Wenger knew that the english league shared more in common with the french league and even the UCL, where Henry had shined previously and so it wasnt so much a risk, more a rescue mission! Anyone who watched him at Monaco alongside Trezeguet knew he was going to be a great player. Someone like Savo Milosovic would be a better shout, but you could just rival that with James Beattie for everton etc etc etc. Sometimes players dont work, but its got more to do with their state of mind and the make up of them and their club than what country they come from. The sooner the FA stop from being a bunch of overpaid aging bureaucrats and sort out football i this country, the sooner we will have a steady supply of young talent available to all clubs but the super-rich
