Thierry Henry has just become the new manager of Ligue 1 side Monaco, so what challenges will he face? After leading Belgium to third place in this year's World Cup as assistant coach to Martinez, the former Arsenal and French legend returned to where his career set sail two decades ago.
<b>Sky Sports, with the help of Tom Williams, who knows French football, will examine the difficulties and opportunities that Henry faces in Monaco...</b>
<b>Undone</b>
At present, Monaco has only won 1 in 9 league rounds, only 6 points, and has fallen into the relegation zone of Ligue 1. This led the board to decide to sack meritorious manager Leonardo Jardim, who helped Monaco win the league title after a 17-year absence in the 2016/17 season.
Since winning the title two years ago, Monaco has begun to sell their main players in the squad, including Mbappe, Mendy, Bernardo Silva, Fabiano, Lemar, Moutinho and Buck York. And last summer's new recruits were either injured or out of form, and Jardim was "difficult to cook without rice".
"Basically the whole team was sold out," Williams said, "and the only thing left of that championship-winning team at the moment is Subasic, Sidibé, Remelson, Glick and Falcao, and the whole midfield is sold out." In recent years, Monaco's business model has been to invest heavily in youth training, and sell and realize immediately when the top star is raised. There was exactly one process going through during Jardim's tenure, and from a business point of view, it was indeed successful. ”
"But now they have a problem with the balance of buying and selling, and in the recent transfer window, they have failed to make key corrections. The average age of the players who signed is too low, and many have not been able to adapt to the team until now. Yuri Tillemans performed disappointingly, with Stefan Jovitic in constant injury arrest and Keita Boulder returning to Serie A after a season. ”
'This summer's signing situation has also been very bad, the World Cup shining Golovin suffered a serious injury in the first training session and has just returned from injury, while Nasser Chadley looks a little weak."
"To make matters worse, the defensive mid-strength of the championship season, Glick and HotMelsson, are no longer in form, Subbasić and Sidibé are injured, and Falcao has been struggling for more than half a year... Today,Monaco is crumbling. Before the start of the season, Jardim had an ominous premonition that it would be his toughest season, and it was a slur. ”
<b>Ambitious goals</b>
Despite the seriousness of the problem, Monaco remains ambitious. Despite the dismal start to the season, their expectations for Henry will not be low, and they hope that the team can quickly climb the table. And the former Gunners need to reinvigorate the team's morale.
"A club like Monaco is certainly not going to target relegation," Williams said, "given the quality of the squad in Ligue 1, it's not a fantasy to climb from the relegation zone to the top 10 in a month or two." I think their lowest target will be the top half of the league and even covet a European spot. ”
Financial support
The good news for Henry is that the team is not short of money in the upcoming winter window.
"The French media said that the President of Monaco acknowledged the failure of the summer window and was ready to make up for it by writing a big check in the winter window," Williams said. He asked for this when he negotiated with Bordeaux, but there was limited financial resources there, which was one of the reasons why the negotiations broke down earlier. ”
<b>The potential is enormous</b>
With the guarantee of transfer funds, and once the key players in the squad are in good shape and the injured players are healthy, Monaco's bad luck may end soon, and Henry's motivation as a legendary star cannot be underestimated.
"I don't think their current league rankings really reflect the strength of the squad," Williams said, "if Henry can adjust the status of Golovin, Chadley, Jovitic, if he can help Tillemans to the level he deserves (they have worked together in Belgium), if Falcao regains his shooting boots, Monaco's strength can never be underestimated." ”
In any case, Henry's task in Monaco will not be easy, but if everything is straightened out, the French legend may create another period of glory here.
(Yang Gun Gun)