Doneil Henry

[TGAA_Star]

7 hours ago, jordan said:

 

Playing in the Korean league is actually not that bad. I mean if he was going to move to Asia, then Chinese Super League actually would have been a better move for him. However, that being said K League in Asia is a pretty elite league.

[Yohan]

3 hours ago, TGAA_Star said:

Playing in the Korean league is actually not that bad. I mean if he was going to move to Asia, then Chinese Super League actually would have been a better move for him. However, that being said K League in Asia is a pretty elite league.

He might have gotten more money playing in CSL, though that's changing now. 

At CSL he'd face against some really good foreign players, but generally, domestic Chinese players aren't that good. For sporting reasons, K League (and J League) is better than China.

[Obinna]

57 minutes ago, Yohan said:

He might have gotten more money playing in CSL, though that's changing now. 

At CSL he'd face against some really good foreign players, but generally, domestic Chinese players aren't that good. For sporting reasons, K League (and J League) is better than China.

Agree with this, but I think the CSL may be closing the gap, just based on how their teams do in Champions League compared to the K-League and J-League teams.

I think a good analogy for the J/K League versus the CSL is Liga MX versus MLS. 

I wonder if Doneil would consider the CSL for one final big contract down the line?

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

Highlights of his last match - a 3-4 win away to the last place team.

http://youtu.be/jTPrxl0hNTc

The not so great: 

- Gives away a then game-tying penalty right near the end - 91'.  (Not close to a penalty, in my opinion, even trying to be impartial.)

- Seems late getting back on defence sometimes.  But maybe since they were drawing with a team they need to beat for a lot of the game, he was told to join the attack more.

 

The good.

- 90+ minutes.

- Looks really comfortable on the ball at this level.

- Gets on the end of headers and some very decent blocks and tackles.

 

[An Observer]

Honestly, I have no idea how he gave a penalty there on VAR on Henry.  Its beyond rational to me.  

[trc2014]

Not in the squad today - let’s hope he’s travelling/quarantining for national duty?

[narduch]

It's a Cup match so perhaps he left for Florida after the weekend game

[jordan]

In the best 11 this week

[toontownman]

Felt he needed a thread bump. 

He was great last night too. Yes a couple of rough early passes but for someone that has played what once this year and barely over the past year he marshalled the defence and came up with a big performance overall. 

I get the hate, like with Larin but i've always got time for some Henry, Larin also!

[DavemTFC]

Yeah after the first 10 minutes he actually looked really assured

[CanadaFan123]

That tackle on the left side of our box in the second half was beautiful. 

[Yohan]

I have too much bombscare Henry memories... he's going to have to put together a string of solid performances for me to be at ease with him as a CB for Canada.

 

[Markoaleks]

14 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

That tackle on the left side of our box in the second half was beautiful. 

“I Love a tackle” 

Was a thing of beauty 

[costarg]

Honest question, anyone follow, watch or know the K League well?

Anything I can find lists the K League below MLS.  Another comparison shows the highest Korean team player market value below the lowest MLS team market value (This based on Transfermarkt and only being allowed 3 non-Asians per team).

Reason I ask is i'm curious to know the level Henry is playing at there day in and out.  From what I can gather in a quick search it doesn't seem like the attackers in K League would come close to some of the MLS attackers.  Is he really still in our top 4 when we consider Vitoria, MIller, Kennedy and then Cornelius, Waterman, James, Singh and Sturing if they're getting regular minutes?

If some other young Canadian was playing in K League would we even consider him or is it just because it's Henry and he's still riding the hope we all had?

[SthMelbRed]

Optus Sport briefly picked up the K League rights here in Australia right around the time that Henry moved to Suwon. I watched a bunch of his games when I could. There's no discernible difference in quality between the K League and MLS from watching on TV. Henry was an MLS starter. He's now a K League starter. He's a legitimate option to start for Canada. The hate for him on this board says more about those hating than it does about Doneil Henry.

[Markoaleks]

Bit of a moot point IMO- re the leagues 

He is stud- played at TFC at 19, scored goals too and yeah some red cards for them and us  - then went to EPL ( albeit with some Cyprus stuff- but this is before our others who took regular routes to those leagues in Europe)  Every coach and fan will be enthralled with the goods that he delivers - 

[Yohan]

20 minutes ago, costarg said:

Honest question, anyone follow, watch or know the K League well?

Anything I can find lists the K League below MLS.  Another comparison shows the highest Korean team player market value below the lowest MLS team market value (This based on Transfermarkt and only being allowed 3 non-Asians per team).

Reason I ask is i'm curious to know the level Henry is playing at there day in and out.  From what I can gather in a quick search it doesn't seem like the attackers in K League would come close to some of the MLS attackers.  Is he really still in our top 4 when we consider Vitoria, MIller, Kennedy and then Cornelius, Waterman, James, Singh and Sturing if they're getting regular minutes?

If some other young Canadian was playing in K League would we even consider him or is it just because it's Henry and he's still riding the hope we all had?

K League (and J League) in general is more of a technical league while MLS is a more physical league. 

Henry will stand out as a lot of Koreans aren't generally strong physically compared to typical MLS players. So K league players rely more on technique and footy IQ. So Henry would learn to read an attacker better otherwise he'd get burned.

Though traditionally, K League imported their strikers, as Koreans generally do not produce a lot of good strikers. 

[costarg]

30 minutes ago, SthMelbRed said:

Optus Sport briefly picked up the K League rights here in Australia right around the time that Henry moved to Suwon. I watched a bunch of his games when I could. There's no discernible difference in quality between the K League and MLS from watching on TV. Henry was an MLS starter. He's now a K League starter. He's a legitimate option to start for Canada. The hate for him on this board says more about those hating than it does about Doneil Henry.

I don't feel many hate him on here, definitely not me if that's what you're implying.  I'm a big fan, yet just like others, I won't deny that he has a knack of making bad costly decisions.  I feel he was the weakest of three CB's yesterday, not sure if K-League is helping with his level of play.  That's all I'm trying to figure out here.

[grigorio]

So I wasn't the only one sh*tting my pants anytime Henry and Borjan had to communicate and pass the ball back and forth to each other. 

[SpecialK]

I am so happy he’s finally back and playing !!! 

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

I have a hard time being unbiased regarding Henry.  Once a Hammer, always a Hammer, and he was on a solid, if a little delayed, track to being a Premier League player before his first big injury. (Which given West Ham's injury record/curse, I feel bad about a bit.) 

So, with a grain of salt, and with knowledge that he can burn you (though his kind of mistakes often work themselves out as a defender ages)  I think he has a huge role to play if we are going beat good teams in the coming year.  

Maybe having the three at the back lessens his time on the ball and the potential for big mistakes. 

[BearcatSA]

Henry gets into trouble when he tries for the "big play," such as diving in on a challenge when he doesn't need to or goes for a low percentage clearance.  And when he makes a mistake, he has too long a memory for it and has more errors in succession when his head is out of the game. 

He had a rough start on the ball vs Surinam but that got settled after the first 20 mins. However, Hasselbaink's skillset was a perfect match for Henry's defensive strengths, so we got to see a solid match from him (only one diving in slide challenge that he was able to win).  

He just needs to be steady out there.  If he is, then we are fine. 

[Obinna]

2 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

Henry gets into trouble when he tries for the "big play," such as diving in on a challenge when he doesn't need to or goes for a low percentage clearance.  And when he makes a mistake, he has too long a memory for it and has more errors in succession when his head is out of the game. 

He had a rough start on the ball vs Surinam but that got settled after the first 20 mins. However, Hasselbaink's skillset was a perfect match for Henry's defensive strengths, so we got to see a solid match from him (only one diving in slide challenge that he was able to win).  

He just needs to be steady out there.  If he is, then we are fine. 

Totally agree, but I would add that if he's steady out there, we are better than fine, because when he is on his game, he is excellent. That is a reason the coaching staff believe in him. His problem though is consistency, losing his head, etc.

I think with Henry it is always a calculated risk. 

The key for a composed Henry may be that back 3, because being in the middle of the back 3 kind of keeps him on a leash. Those tackles he made last game, he had to make them and win them, and he did.

I am far more nervous about Henry in a back two, because then he's tempted into making challenges he doesn't have to make. It's just in his nature to be aggressive like that. 

[BearcatSA]

11 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Totally agree, but I would add that if he's steady out there, we are better than fine, because when he is on his game, he is excellent. That is a reason the coaching staff believe in him. His problem though is consistency, losing his head, etc.

I think with Henry it is always a calculated risk. 

The key for a composed Henry may be that back 3, because being in the middle of the back 3 kind of keeps him on a leash. Those tackles he made last game, he had to make them and win them, and he did.

I am far more nervous about Henry in a back two, because then he's tempted into making challenges he doesn't have to make. It's just in his nature to be aggressive like that. 

Let Vitoria qb from the centre of a back 3, leave Henry and Kennedy on either side of him, if you want to go that route.

[Obinna]

36 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

Let Vitoria qb from the centre of a back 3, leave Henry and Kennedy on either side of him, if you want to go that route.

I actually don't like that as much.

I can see Henry in the Kennedy/Johnson role diving into tackles he doesn't need to make, whereas in the center he has others around him to get stuck in, and plus they'd probably do so in a more responsible way. Johnston and Kennedy are definitely more disciplined than Henry is.

Herdman definitely made the right call putting him there in the middle, where he has less opportunity to go for those "hero" tackles. If Henry is going to ground in the middle of the back 3, he's probably going into tackles he actually has to attempt.

Let's say if Henry needs to go in for a tackle from that position and fails to win it, well I can live with that. What I can't live with his Henry flying into tackles he don't need to make in the first place, which is precisely what I think we'd get with him in the Kennedy/Johnston role.

Edited June 10, 2021 by Obinna