ARSENE WENGER BELIEVES Thierry Henry can still have a successful managerial career, despite his sacking after just three months in charge of Monaco.
Henry, who enjoyed eight trophy-laden years under Wenger as a player at Arsenal, was sacked after 20 games at the helm of a Monaco side that won just four times under his leadership.
But Wenger said the timing of Henry’s arrival at Stade Louis II contributed to the shortlived nature of his tenure, pointing out that pressure on coaches mounts more quickly in the middle of a campaign than at the start.
Wenger said: “If you arrive in October and the team is in a bad position, you have three months because in January everybody starts to become nervous that things could go very badly, so you have less time.
“That’s what’s happened to Thierry but how he bounces back will be very important. I believe he has the quality and he has the desire to make a career and the career is judged on a longer period.
“I started my job at 33, I had a lot of promising people around me, many disappeared and some survived. You need luck and we need to work hard but it’s always very difficult to predict a career of a manager.
“We depend a lot on the quality of the players, the quality of the club and the quality of the confidence we get.”
Turning to his own future, Wenger stopped short of confirming he would seek a return to management.
The 69-year-old has been linked with the head coach position at Real Madrid after leaving Arsenal at the end of the 2017-18 season, but he said he was taking time to travel while watching former players Henry and Patrick Vieira cut their teeth in management.
“My future is unknown, even for me,” he said. “I am quite open, I enjoy daily life. I have travelled a lot recently, all over the world to see how sport develops and to see how sport has really become of huge importance.
“I believe that sport, in the world, has a huge responsibility and this responsibility is not all about stars but about values.
“It’s good for me to see the players I had continue to share our game and to develop young players.”
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If any player can deal with the pressure of being captain it’s this guy!
He is one dangerous looking man in that photo. I’m not sure if he should be made captain yet. Have a 6 nations run first maybe.
…..there will be a ‘changing of the guard’ needed in Irish rugby soon with some brilliant players who have served the cause well put out to pasture. Rightly it should be sooner rather than later. . Can see AF giving himself a couple of games, even a full 6N, to position his squad for the inevitable heave that has to come.At that point putting young Ryan in charge should be considered.
@Michael Murray: Hopefully we will all recognise the necessary rebuilding process for what it is and accept a fee bad results in the 6 Nations along the way.
I have my doubts. These pages can make for harsh criticism at times.
@Paul Ennis: ….agree and ill-informed criticism at that.