Spanish Debate: Is Henry Proving Himself In The Middle?

In light of Thierry Henry's goal against Espanyol on Saturday night, Ewan Macdonald asks if the beleaguered Frenchman has earned himself another shot at centre-forward for FC Barcelona...

It would be too easy to say that Thierry Henry celebrated his goal on Saturday with relief rather than joy. In fact there was another emotion etched in his face: one of defiance.

The Frenchman, clearly tiring of criticism over his performances, was itching to show not just Barcelona fans but the world at large that he's still "got it", and his performance against Espanyol - 8/10, according to Goal.com's Lucas Brown - seemed to prove it.

But it was also notable because he started in the middle. Samuel Eto'o was benched, most likely with a view to the midweek Champions League match with AaB, meaning that Henry wasn't shunted out wide.

Centrally-Minded

Indeed, Henry had been clamouring for a move to the middle for some time, and recently such calls came to a head as he hinted, ever so gently, that he has not ruled out the prospect of a move elsewhere if he doesn't get his way.

It's not too surprising, though. Barcelona purchased him when he was a last-defender-beating centre-forward with blistering pace: through the middle he sang for his supper.

But with Samuel Eto'o and latterly Bojan Krkic in the frame, Henry's place in the team was marginalised last season. When he was dragged from his sick bed - so to speak - towards the end of the most recent campaign, it was increasingly out wide.

However, he suffered mainly in silence, emerging this summer to state that this season would be better. As he did so, he was probably mindful of the fact that Pep Guardiola's brave new regime had the intention of punting Eto'o.

Of course Eto'o remained, and he retains the confidence of the coaching staff, meaning that Henry has a real job on his hands if he's to cement that central role.

Chances

His goal at the weekend did him plenty of favours, but so too did his performance. This Henry looked up for the challenge, and some of his runs were just like old times.

Furthermore, he took one of his chances, something that Barcelona players did not look like doing until he showed them the way to go. Given that so often this side freezes up in the box, the small matter of scoring at all is valuable not just for the scoreboard, but also morale.

And also, by giving him a more central role, Andrés Iniesta was afforded more space out wide, and an opportunity to work alongside Eidur Gudjohnsen. This won't be a regular feature, but seeing Iniesta unshackled in an attacking role without someone whose feet he is going to trip over is a site to behold, and one that we'd see more often if Barça had fewer attackers.

(Another matter garnering discussion in the Spanish sports papers is the fact that Henry sprinted towards the Barcelona fans and celebrated towards them after his goal. Given that a minority were busy chucking flares at Pericos, some have judged this to be ill-advised. Some.)

Rotation

Still, the prospects of his earning an automatic starting berth in his favoured position still look as bleak as ever. Eto'o's talents are simply unable to be ignored, while Bojan will be given a run-out on several occasions. (In fact were it not for the conscious effort on Barça's part not to exhaust the youngster he may even have been further up the pecking order than Henry prior to this weekend.)

In this regard Henry may see it as another season of false promises - having to wait his turn behind Eto'o, or feeding on scraps from an unfamiliar position.

Still, such a performance as that against Espanyol at the weekend proved that the man is no charity case, and his price tag, while far from repaid so far, certainly isn't fluttering in the wind.

Maybe a European goal would help convince more fans of that.