A very interesting and curious question that might not have an answer yet.
A few weeks ago, he was announced as the manager of Monaco and the whole world was really excited about the announcement, fans all over the world and pundits couldn’t wait for him to get started and show what he got to offer. As a player, he was very successful, becoming one of the best finishers during his time as a footballer. His record and success as a player made Monaco see him as the right fit to manage the club and take them to the next level.
The wait was over and he finally had his first game as Monaco manager but things aren’t going as expected ever since he took over the Monaco team.
Their recent champions league game against Club Brugge saw them get ripped apart 4 nil by Club Brugge which has brought up a lot of questions and a lot of talking points.
Before we try to figure out who made the wrong decision, let’s first talk about their performances under Henry…
MONACO PERFORMANCE UNDER HENRY
Their performance this season has really not been good enough and their recent results speak for itself.
His first game as the Monaco manager was against Strasbourg which saw him lose his first game as a club manager, losing 2-1 to Strasbourg. Monaco in that game was simply not good enough with some very bad player performances especially.
Their most recent game was their 4-0 defeat at home to Club Brugge in the champions league with capped their poor performance this season.
Talking about their match against Club Brugge, let me briefly give my post-match analysis of the match
MONACO VS CLUB BRUGGE
A lot of questions had been asked about the current situation at Monaco and when Henry will get his first win as a club Manager. This was the game most fans were expecting Monaco to get their first win under the new manager considering their good performance against Brugge in the first leg, but it turned out to be the opposite.
POST MATCH ANALYSIS
Henry set up his in an attacking 4-3-3 formation while Brugge planned to cause an upset with their 3-5-2 formation.
The game started quite well for Monaco, which saw them miss some really good chances but later turned out to be a night to forget. The loss meant that Monaco exits the group stage.
THE ANNIHILATION
Club Brugge first goal:
A beautiful low cross was played from the right-hand side, the Monaco defender couldn’t deal with it which allowed Hans Vanaken to tap in for the first goal of the match just 12 minutes into the game.
Club Brugge second goal:
The second game was a penalty after a handball by the Monaco defender. A beautiful penalty which made it 2-0 for Brugge.
Club Brugge Third goal:
What a goal by Wesley, with the ball down the left-hand side, beat his marker, found space and fired in a low shot to make it 3-0 and compound the problems at Monaco. This goal meant it was game over.
Club Brugge fourth goal:
The goal that completed the annihilation. Vormer found himself in space, 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper, picked his spot and fired it home for the fourth.
MY OBSERVATION/TALKING POINTS
Is Monaco now getting the negative effect of selling their key players?
After their bull run in the champions league back in 2017, they thought they’ve arrived and sold most of their key players to different top European clubs including PSG.
Will Monaco get relegated?
No one knows this yet as we are still very early into the season. They are currently in the relegation zone, sitting in 19th position on the table.
We are yet to see Henry’s mark on the team:
For me, I am yet to see what Henry has to offer, the team hasn’t really clicked or better still played good enough to win games.
The Monaco team are still performing poorly:
The game against Brugge really capped their bad performances this season. Some really poor display by some of their players or some player aren’t just good enough for the team.
After all these, the question still remains;
Who made the wrong decision – Thierry Henry or Monaco?
MY OPINION
For me, this is a very tricky one to answer. Henry took the job to try out what he has learnt as a player and as an assistant coach and to try to build a successful career as a manager as he did as a player. But everything isn’t going as planned for him.
For Monaco, they hired him because of what he has achieved as a player and what he did with Martinez with the Belgium national team, to help them get back to where they were a few seasons ago. But it looks like what they envisioned isn’t going as expected.
We will have to wait and see what happens in their next few games.
And that is a wrap…
What do you think… who do you think made the wrong decision?
I would love to read your own opinions… Enjoy your day.
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