First there was Brand Beckham going to Hollywood. Now we have King Henry coming to the Big Apple.

While MLS is getting that knack as a semi-retirement league for the world’s greatest stars (Frank Lampard has mentioned it as well), Henry’s signing is still a major deal for the young league.

Put simply, on footballing credentials alone, this is the best signing in MLS history. At the peak of his powers in the early 2000s, Thierry Henry was the best forward in the world. He was the most feared striker in England by a healthy margin. Twice runner-up FIFA World Player of the Year to countryman Zinedine Zidane (2003) and Ronaldinho (2004), Henry was voted player of the year in England twice by the PFA and three times by the Football Writers’ Association.

He was on the French national team that won the World Cup in 1998, and played a pivotal role in their Euro 2000 championship and 2006 World Cup final appearance. With Arsenal, he won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups, and was the centerpiece for the unprecedented 2003-04 title-winning Arsenal side that went undefeated in their domestic campaign. After moving to Barcelona in 2007, Henry claimed the treble in 2009, often utilized as a left-winger/forward alongside Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi.

But it is more than just the accolades that define Henry. He is arguably the most electrifying player to grace the Premier League. His technique, movement, acceleration, speed, strength, and goal-scoring abilities were second to none in England.

Starting out as a left-sided midfielder, Arsene Wenger converted the Frenchman to the center-forward, but Henry always drifted out wide left to collect the ball, and then proceeded to torch fullbacks and central defenders regularly. A 360 spin here, blinding pace there, Henry was a pleasure to watch every weekend. One wonders, if Abramovich and Mourinho hadn’t arrived in England, how many more titles could Henry have won with the Gunners?

At 32 and turning 33 in August, does Henry have much left in the tank? He should light this league on fire and be THE outstanding player. He has endured a rocky couple of years with both Barcelona, where he fell out of favor and was a regular on the bench last season, and France, after his infamous “Hand of Gaul” debacle and finding himself on the bench for the national team in their laughable World Cup campaign.

Still, there is no one remotely in the class of Thierry Henry in MLS when it comes to talent and skill, including Beckham. The dream scenario for MLS is a New York – Los Angeles final with Henry and Becks both fit. The two teams are both at or near the top of their respective conferences, so that dream final looks to be on once both superstars return to action.

These signings are critical for MLS’ growth, despite the negative “retirement” moniker they may receive from critics. Why? Take me for example. I went to see Beckham play here in New York (actually New Jersey), and now I will 100% be attending a Red Bulls game to see Henry play. These stars galvanize interest for nascent American soccer fans, MLS fans, and hardcore soccer fans like myself who largely ignore MLS and follow the European leagues. All in all, Henry’s signing is a big positive for the league.

Now, let’s watch a master of his craft in action. Sit back and enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgPH6NGbnwk&feature=related

What are your thoughts on Henry’s move to America? Good for MLS, bad for MLS? Good for Henry, bad for Henry?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Manchester City today announced the club will be competing in the New York Football Challenge this summer as part of their pre-season tour of the East Coast of the United States. The four team tournament will also feature Tottenham Hotspur.

Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City will each play two games in the tournament and will line up against New York Red Bulls and Sporting Lisbon. The dates for the games will be between Thursday, July 22 and Sunday, July 25. The games will be played at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

“The New York Football Challenge 2010 is an important one for us,” said Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini. “We have big ambitions for the Premier League next season, and this tournament will give us the perfect opportunity to prepare for our season with some highly competitive games, enthusiastic supporters and world class facilities. It will be fantastic for us to visit the United States, and especially for us to visit New York during our tour of the East Coast.”

Newcastle United, Bolton, Everton and Fulham were also considered for the New York Football Challenge, but they were passed up in favor of Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur instead.

Manchester City is also considering playing a game in Atlanta against Club America in late July, but this hasn’t been confirmed as of press date.

In other pre-season tour news, we already know that Manchester United will be playing in Mexico in late July and they’re expected to play several games in the States. In late breaking news, The Guardian is reporting that Celtic and Rangers are considering playing a friendly in the United States this summer, which would be an absolutely huge spectacle given the number of expats and Scottish-American ties in the States.

The Guardian is also reporting that “Celtic is penciled in to play Manchester United in Toronto on 16 or 17 July.”

Football is littered with players whose careers have been curtailed before their time, sometimes through off field excesses, sometimes by the wear and tear of top level football, but Matt Jansen is certainly one of those players who certainly had more than a bit of bad luck push him to the periphery of the game. Today, Jansen has spoken to BBC Radio Lancaster as he rejoins Blackburn Rovers to give it one final push to try and regain his status as a Premiership footballer.

Jansen had been a highly rated prospect when he started out at Carlisle United and famously turned down Manchester United as he felt he wouldn’t play regularly and joined Crystal Palace in 1998, before eventually joining Blackburn Rovers for £4.1 million the following year. Jansen quickly became a favourite of the Ewood Park faithful and in Graeme Souness first full season as manager fired 23 goals to help Blackburn return to the Premier League in the 2000-2001 season.

An impressive following season saw him score the first goal in the League Cup final and he was building a reputation as a skillful striker but it was all about to go horrible wrong for the likeable Cumbrian lad. That Summer, whilst on holiday, Jansen was involved in a near fatal motorbike crash in Rome. Spending 4 days in a coma, it became clear later that he had been close to death after the accident and it took 5 months of rehabilitation to get Jansen back on to the training pitch. It couldn’t have come at a worse time for the striker, who was on the fringes of the England squad and was a serious consideration to go to the 2002 World Cup. Once he returned to Blackburn,  he was loaned out to Coventry in 2003 and played 9 games in that spell before returning to Rovers to try and recapture his place amongst Graeme Souness’ squad. The 2003-2004 season saw him get back in to the match day squad but something wasn’t quite right, there was something missing and Blackburn, giving him a extended period of leave, sent him to the US to seek out a sports psychologist to try and remove the pressure that he was putting himself under. Once again, he returned to Blackburn and continued to try and break back into the squad.

Another 2 years of struggling with his performance saw him end up at Bolton Wanderers under Sam Allardyce but still Jansen couldn’t get back to the level he felt he needed to justify his inclusion and in 2006 he called it day after ending up having an unsuccessful trial with the New York Red Bulls. His career had now reached its nadir, but Allardyce invited him back to stay with Bolton in a bid to keep himself in shape, John Ward then allowed him to return to Carlisle to continue his fitness training before today’s announcement that he was training with Rovers and determined to try and get back.

Speaking on the radio, Jansen was positive, eager and sounding like he wants to be back amongst football. “I fell out of love with the game because things weren’t going my way and I needed time away from it and I thought that was it, After the accident I couldn’t live up to what I thought I was prior to the accident, I didn’t believe I was back to my best so the doubts and lack of confidence started creeping in. ” He finished the interview with his aim. “If you ask my ultimate ambition, it would be to wear that blue and white strip again.”

It’s one of those saddening stories that may have a happy ending for the striker who is still only just turned 31 and having seemingly lost everything he had, now wants to give it one more crack. Of course, no-one needs me to point out if he had gone to the World Cup, he would never have been involved in the accident, but Jansen never spoke of what ifs and maybes, simply looking forward to the opportunity to give it another go now his hunger for the game had returned. Anyone who has been through anything similar to the mishap which befell the lad will certainly appreciate that life can never be the same again but it can be as damn close as possible. It may not take a week, a month or even a year to feel mentally right, but one day you can wake up with a sense of determination and purpose and the cobwebs feel as if they’ve been blown away.

I always rated Jansen, as a person and player. He was one of the good guys, who took time out to sign autographs, stop for a chat and a photo with his adoring fans and I truly hope that this latest twist in his career sees him return to a game that he gave so much to.  Fingers crossed Matt, you deserve it and well done to Paul Ince and the coaching staff at Blackburn Rovers, I hope it pays off for all of them.