Tyrone Henry: A Changing Attitude

Oof, that's a tough run. Costa at Arsenal? barf

18th January 2022

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Relegation-threatened Millwall have completed the signing of Hearts defender John Souttar for a £1.1million fee.

The seven-time Scottish international is the second winter signing for Tyrone Henry’s side, bringing in Llandudno’s winger Boubacar Ba on the first day of the window on a free transfer.

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The 25-year-old centre-back has spent his career in the Scottish divisions, with Millwall being his first English club.

Souttar’s contract was due to expire at the end of the current season and a pre-contract agreement was drawn up between the player and Millwall last week, with the play arranged to arrive at the start of July 2022.

However, Tyrone Henry saw fit to spend £1.1M to bring Souttar to the club as a matter of urgency, following news of Preston interest in back-up centre-back Sean Raggett.

Souttar has made 257 appearances in all competitions since starting out at Dundee United in 2012, spending three-and-a-half seasons at Tannadice Park before his £170K move to Hearts in 2015.

He has signed a two-and-a-half year deal at The Den, earning just over £20,000 per week in the Premier League.

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Tango: Yep, the less said about the P’boro score, the better
James: I mean if I was Marcelo Bielsa and I had Patrick Bamford, there would be no excuse for not playing all-out attack Raggett seems to be on his way, bet you’re gutted.
MidKnightDreary: Oh yes, the most un-Arsenal player in history by my reckoning.

I hope eventually Tyrone will deliver on the pitch the same way he's been delivering good deals during the transfer window

Boubacar Ba looks a good prospect as either a wingback or defensive winger, and Souttar should slot straight into the defence alongside Worrall. That being said, you should sign his brother Harry too from Stoke, and play the brothers alongside one another

21st January 2022

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Millwall centre-back Sean Raggett has dropped a tier to join Graham Alexander’s Preston North End for a £325K fee.

Raggett, 28, spent 366 days at The Den since arriving for £240K from Portsmouth on 20th January 2021.

Following the £5M departure of Jake Cooper to Newcastle, Raggett aided Millwall’s play-off and promotion push in the Championship last season, making 16 appearances and scoring twice.

Tyrone Henry brought in Hearts defender John Souttar three days ago for £1.1M and with the Scottish international looking to become a starter at Millwall, Raggett - who has appeared only once this season - was transfer-listed.

Compared with his arrival at The Den last January, the circumstances at Deepdale are rather different, with the club hovering just four points above relegation in 20th place.

Raggett will be scrapping against his former club Portsmouth to stave off relegation to League One.

Tyrone Henry thanked Raggett for his contributions last season in what was arguably the club’s most important in its history.

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Tango: Believe me, I hope so too
James: Ba is a very good pick-up, spotted by one of my scouts in Wales. Also: RAGGETT IS OUT!

well, he went as cheap as he came

but that's the thing, when players get outgrown by the club they're in, there's not much one can do

It was a very good start to life in the Premier League but the recent drop off was expected to some extent. Really like the arrivals of Dasilva and Worrall who have both proven themselves at Championship level with the apparent quality to make the step up to the Premier League with some time. Getting Souttar in should also help sure up the defense and in turn start earning the club some valuable points in survival.

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Our horrendous form of late-October and November carried over into December with a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham with Lucas Moura leading the way with a brace.

However, our first points in seven games came next with an impressive 2-1 win over Leicester as our Championship old-boys Troy Parrott and Michael Duffy led the way with a goal apiece.

We were able to come back from a goal down against Brentford, with Ben Thompson scoring one before the half-time break to draw 1-1.

An early goal from Andre Green against fellow newly-promoted outfit Bournemouth handed us 7 points from 3 games in what was a good spell from us.

However, relegation-threatened Sheffield United bagged all three points against us with a fantastic Patrick Bamford half-volley, followed by a late Sam Johnstone own goal which was unfortunate throughout an otherwise good performance from our keeper.

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Our entry to the FA Cup was a depressing one this year as we went out to mid-table Championship team Norwich City, who obviously sought revenge for last season’s Play-Off Final defeat at Wembley.

Our return to league action was just as bad, with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Burnley, with our shocking month only just beginning.

Carlos Vicens - Man City’s interim manager following Pep Guardiola’s sacking - did his best against us as Phil Foden ran us ragged with his pace and creativity.

Two more defeats against Wolves and Everton followed, with Everton scoring their 11th goal against us just this season - beating us 11-1 in total for this season combined.

We were able to salvage a point from Fulham, with Kenneth Zohore scoring his first league goal for us since our promotion from the Championship.

Jed Wallace did his best to keep us in the game against Aston Villa with a fantastic long-range strike, but it wasn’t enough as they ran out 2-1 winners at Villa Park.

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Our tumble down the league table continued as we now sit at the foot of the table, level on points with the rest of the teams in the relegation zone and now three points from safety.

We really need to pick up our form very soon to reach that 40-point target for surviving teams in the Premier League. At the moment, we’re not on course to meet that target. I am trying to configure different ways of scraping points, but as the lowest-scoring team in the league, it’s quite difficult.

The news of Troy Parrott’s full recovery from his two-month injury should give us faith.

At the other end of the table, Liverpool have taken a two-point lead over Arsenal at the top of the table and look to secure their third title in a row. The race for the final Champions League spot is hotting up with only 15 games remaining.

Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are both still underperforming, but they have certainly picked up as expected with new managers, interim and permanent.

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Tango: Yeah, no point in paying a wage that the player has no use for.
Seb: A lot of work has been going into the defence, just a shame that it's not paying off with the goals we are conceding at the moment!

The drop off has been somewhat shocking to see, and it looks like there's going to be a long battle ahead of you to stay up. You're still in touching distance of 15th, but if you're January form continues... that gap will only get bigger. Tyrone has a lot of work ahead of him, but I'm sure he'll have a plan. Good luck!

7th March 2022

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Millwall have extended manager Tyrone Henry’s contract by one year until June 2024, putting to bed claims of a departure at the end of the season.

Rumours of approaches from Sheffield United and Southampton quickly circulated forums and social media, with Henry reportedly attending one interview with a board member of Southampton.

However, Henry quickly struck down any reports of him leaving The Den anytime soon, proving so with this new deal.

Millwall are desperately struggling to stay in the top-flight after an unexpected play-off promotion last season, but Millwall chairman John Berylson insists that Henry is still the best man for the job.

“Tyrone took us up to the Premier League in a once-in-a-lifetime kind of promotion. No one foresaw it here. Therefore it’s no surprise seeing us struggle a bit in our first time back.” Berylson stated to the media.

“Tyrone Henry has the board’s full support.” confirmed club Chief Executive Officer Steve Kavanagh.

Henry also spoke to the press upon the news of his new £35,000 per week deal.

“I’m delighted that the board has shown their trust in me with this new deal.

“This season has been a tough one for us and we have shown glimpses of the quality required to stay up.

“However, we do need to remain calm in the worst-case scenario of going back down to the Championship. There are plans in place for every situation and if we do go back down, we can always go straight back up again.”

Millwall find themselves 9 points from safety in the Premier League with 9 fixtures left. The club has the 14th-highest net spend this season, with the figure standing at £31M. However, they are by far the lowest spenders on wages, spending £14M below 19th-highest spenders Brentford on wages.

They face 10th placed Brighton & Hove Albion next at the AMEX Stadium on Sunday, 13th March in what could be a key match in their survival chances.

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James: It has been a brutal couple of months, that's for sure. Now it's all about survival, or at the very least: damage limitation. With a new deal in place for Henry, it could show mutual confidence in keeping the club up this year but we'll see!

It's pleasing to see the board backing Henry despite the team's current league position. They do well to remember the fact that Millwall, in reality, were never expected to be where they currently lie. He has worked miracles and safety is naturally still a very real possibility. It has been difficult as of late but one thing we have learnt is that this team and their manager have fight and won't go down easily.

19th March 2022

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Millwall legend Neil Harris has returned to Millwall to rejoin Tyrone Henry and work as the club’s Under 23s Manager.

The past few years have seen somewhat of a role reversal for the duo, with Harris leaving his post as Millwall manager in 2019 to join Cardiff City as manager.

In the meantime, Tyrone Henry was promoted from his role as Under 23s Manager to replace Harris in the first-team affairs.

The pair came across each other twice last season in the Championship, with Harris beating Millwall 2-0 in the first fixture at The Den, before Henry ran riot at the Cardiff City Stadium, smashing Cardiff 4-0.

The result contributed to Harris’ fate as Cardiff manager as he was sacked on 27th February 2021 after a 2-0 defeat to Middlesbrough.

The same season, Tyrone Henry led Millwall to their first return to the top-flight since 1988 through a 2-1 win in the Play-Off Final at Wembley.

Harris is Millwall’s all-time top goalscorer, with 138 goals in his two spells at the club between 1998-2004 and 2007-2011.

The duo enjoyed an FA Cup Final together as players in 2004, losing 3-0 to Manchester United at the Millenium Stadium, as well as a UEFA Cup tie against Hungarian side Ferencvaros in the same year.

They both have legendary status among the Millwall fanbase for their respective spells at the club.

“I’m delighted to welcome Neil back to the club in a management capacity,” Tyrone Henry told the media. “We are both very good friends from our time at the club as players and as managers.”

“Everyone here loves Neil to bits for his work as a player and for the improvements he made to the club as the manager, not forgetting the club’s promotion from League One with him at the helm.”

Harris had similar thoughts upon returning to the club. “I think everyone can safely assume that Millwall is my home. It’s been the case all the way throughout my career, I spend a bit of time away - dip my toe elsewhere - but it’s always great to be back at The Den.

“I think leaving as manager when I did was the right thing to do, and it gave way to Rowett and obviously now Henry, who has worked wonders.

“I’ve been offered a role I have always enjoyed - bringing the youngsters through - something which I know is important to Tyrone.” Harris said.

Millwall’s Under 23s team sit in 2nd place in the Premier League 2 Division 2, eight points behind leaders Leeds United.

However, focus turns to the first-team for Millwall despite this good news, with the club fighting for their lives in the top-flight as they rest at the foot of the table.

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Scott: I think the expectation of this season is very much the basis of the new deal. Millwall likely won't find many better coaches than the one currently in charge so I think it's more of a realistic realisation, even if we go down.

Bringing a club legend back to the club always gives that 'feel good' factor, and hopefully it will be a boost to the first-team squad too. The love that Harris has for the club is clear for all to see, and maybe that will become infectious for every player at the club too. You need lads willing to spill blood for the cause, and if they're not willing to: they're at the wrong club!

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February started quite well with an excellent two-goal comeback against Arsenal as Aubameyang and Lacazette’s openers were cancelled out by Troy Parrott and his substitute Kenneth Zohore.

This momentum carried over into the Newcastle game, taking the lead via a great Michael Duffy finish, assisted by Parrott. Callum Wilson equalised for Bruce’s side, followed by a gut-wrenching last-minute winner from Jean-Philippe Mateta.

We let our dearest rivals West Ham escape the drop even further by letting Pablo Fornals score the winner at the far post from a corner kick.

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Our month started off with another draw against relegation-threatened Southampton. Moussa Djenepo’s opener was quickly cancelled out by Michael Duffy for the Irishman’s third goal of the season.

We returned to losing ways with a loss to Brighton with their January signing Jack Harrison scoring the winner in the 21st minute.

Our failure to win 3 points since Boxing Day continued as Marcus Rashford single-handedly took us to pieces with a hat-trick at Old Trafford.

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We still find ourselves rock bottom of the league, with not much light at the end of the tunnel. With 7 matches remaining, we need to win at least 9 points and considering we have only won three points in three months, that is a very tough ask.

I will be trying to maintain morale to keep us up, but our fate is almost sealed at this point.

At the top, Liverpool extended their lead at the top to 3 points over 2nd placed Manchester United, followed up by Arsenal.

Chelsea and Leicester City seem to be the two teams battling it out for the final Champions League spot this season.

In mid-table, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have a mountain to climb if they are to stand any chance of Europe next season.

Meanwhile, at the bottom, Brentford and Sheffield United join us in the relegation zone. Fulham, Burnley and West Ham United are still all very much threatened by relegation, standing only one point away from 18th. Similarly, Southampton are far from safe in 14th, sitting only two points ahead.

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James: I think a bit of Harris charisma mixed with Henry's tutorship is exactly what the squad needs! You're bang on the money about player commitment, too.

The results aren't improving unfortunately, and if you manage to turn the next 7 games into survival... you are a magician! The squad will be better off for the experience regardless, but it'd still be a bitter pill to swallow. Best of luck: I think you can do it!