Former Wolves 'white Pele' James Henry recalls fiery Brentford encounter

‘I saw my mate, the other day.’ Not words which necessarily sound like the prelude to a terrace anthem.

But it is indeed one that used to get an airing at Molineux, paying tribute to the skills and talent of wide midfielder James Henry.

The next line compared him to the Brazilian legend Pele, regarded as one of the best the game has ever seen.

Henry laughs.

“I mean, it’s a bit far from the truth, isn’t it?

“It was always nice to hear though, when the fans have a song for you.”

They certainly had a song for him when Wolves played Brentford in the February of their League One winning season of 2013/14.

Yes. That’s League One, just over a decade ago. A very different fixture to the one taking place on Saturday at Brentford’s now Gtech Community Stadium, a fixture now heading into its fourth season in the Premier League. But perhaps, even two divisions lower as it was ten years ago, one which carried a bit more spice.

Brentford had played 30 games and amassed 66 points, enough to have them topping the table. Wolves were third with 64 from 30, behind, on goal difference, Leyton Orient, who had played two games more.

Fourth-placed Preston were seven points adrift, in what had been – and would continue to be – a three-horse race for the two automatic promotion places.

“I remember that was such a battle all season with the three of us going for the two promotion places,” Henry recalled this week.

“It was a proper challenge all the way, and I remember going to Brentford that day felt like a really big game.”

It certainly did.

Especially within the confines of the old Griffin Park, a proper ground as some might say, with the fans fervent, atmosphere crackling and tackles flying in, many of them from Bees full back Alan McCormack.

Wolves’ substitutes Aaron McCarey and David Davis even managed to get in a bit of a ruck with some disgruntled representatives of the home faithful positioned near the away dugout.

Brentford were unbeaten in 19 league games during which they had taken an incredible 51 points. Wolves were just starting to hit their straps and had won five in a row. Irresistible force meets immovable object. And that’s exactly what it felt like.

And it was Henry who opened the scoring on the stroke of half time, converting first time from a Kevin McDonald pullback, albeit not exactly in the manner in which he was aiming for.

“I was very happy to score that first goal but I was actually aiming for the front post,” he admits.

“I don’t really know how it ended up looping in at the back post – but I’ll take it!”

After a tight first half the second became the Michael Jacobs show, as Henry’s partner-in-wing-crime struck twice, to take his personal tally to four in two games, and Wolves won 3-0.

“Michael Jacobs was absolutely unbelievable that day,” Henry continues.

“It was a game where we all held strong and got the result and it was a really important one at that stage of the season.”

It would develop into one of the most memorable seasons of Henry’s career, a career still going strong, at the age of 35, in full-time football with Aldershot in the National League.

It all began in the academy at home-town club Reading, for whom he would make 18 appearances, one of which was as a very late substitute in the Royals’ 3-0 win at Molineux in the 2008/09 season which ultimately saw Wolves lift the Championship title.

In the early part of his career Henry was dispatched on several loan spells, with Nottingham Forest and Norwich without a huge amount of success, but very positively at Bournemouth, where he scored four in 11.

Then came a couple of loans with Millwall, with a manager and assistant pairing of a certain Kenny Jackett and Joe Gallen, which would ultimately work so well that it led to a permanent move.

Across almost five years, Henry made 164 appearances, scoring 19 goals at a time when the Lions made three Wembley appearances, twice in the League One play-offs - beating Swindon in the second - and reaching the FA Cup Semi-Final in 2013, losing to eventual winners Wigan.

From there, it was to Wolves where Henry joined on loan in October 2013, a deal which became permanent the following January, reunited once again with Jackett to drop down a division and join the League One promotion push at Molineux.

“Working for Kenny at Millwall was where I first managed to find some consistency and good form during a really successful period for the team,” Henry explains.

“I was a young lad living in London, playing for a really good club, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

“But having been there for five years or so, eventually I was ready to try something different and there had been some interest from Wolves even before I actually moved.

“It was dropping down a division but to such a big club in Wolves, the biggest I played for in my career, and as soon as I knew it was possible I was desperate to get it over the line.”

A few months into the League One season, Jackett had managed to arrest Wolves’ spectacular decline, and had started to turn the ship around.

Making some final tweaks in the January transfer window, that included making Henry’s loan permanent, as well as Jacobs, then bringing in Nouha Dicko to help tee up a ferocious attacking unit which already featured Bakary Sako and goals from Dave Edwards in midfield, no wonder the rest of the division found it difficult to live with Wolves over the second half of the season.

Henry settled in seamlessly, scoring in his fourth, fifth and sixth appearances, all in wins, enroute to hitting double figures in the title-winning season.

“Sometimes it takes a bit of time to fit into a new club but I settled in really quickly at Wolves,” he explains.

“I knew Kenny and Joe and how they worked, the classic combination of being chalk and cheese in terms of their personalities.

“Kenny was very straight-laced and direct, making the decisions, and Joe was the one who would get in amongst it, have the banter and reinforce the messages.

“It just worked really well, not just for the team but certainly for me over many years.

“The lads were great as well.

“It was a great squad and dressing room who made me feel really welcome, with a lot of us who were new to the area, with no kids, and would spend a lot of time together after training.

“The boys gelled so well, we had such a strong team and so many goals throughout the squad.

“I think every outfield player might have scored that season, finished off when Sam Ricketts found the net in that crazy game against Rotherham.

“When you look back now at the players we had, you would say there wasn’t any doubt we were going to be successful, but just because you have good players, it doesn’t mean you are always going to get there.

“We managed to do it quite comfortably in the end, setting a few records along the way, and that team was a joy to be part of.”

That goal against Brentford was one of several important ones Henry contributed during that season, including one from distance to make safe the win at Leyton Orient which saw Wolves crowned as champions on the team coach back to Wolverhampton.

“We had unbelievable travelling support that day, around 3,000 I think, and it was the icing on the cake to get that goal and clinch the title,” he recalls.

There were several other spectacular efforts back in the Championship as well, notably a last gasp equaliser at Bolton followed by running half the length of the pitch to celebrate, a lovely cut inside and shot with his left foot against Sheffield Wednesday, and clinical free kick on a fantastic night at Fulham.

That game at Fulham was the first after Wolves had officially been put up for sale by chairman Steve Morgan, signalling a season of pretty much stabilising in the Championship ahead of the arrival of Fosun, which saw the club head in a completely different route and Henry, and several others who had also made major contributions to the revival, moving on.

The year before, however, painted a completely different picture as the growing momentum during the campaign, aided and abetted by the January signing of Benik Afobe, saw Wolves narrowly miss out on the play-offs and potential back-to-back promotions to the Premier League.

“That was a good season, the first one back, and we were unlucky to miss out on getting into the play-offs,” says Henry.

“We finished on 78 points and I think in most seasons that would be more than good enough to get there.

“The next one was more average and then came the changes with Kenny leaving, new owners coming in and the club going in a completely different direction.

“For whatever reason I didn’t seem to fit, but that’s part and parcel of football, and you can see how Wolves have progressed since.

“I chose to move on when the opportunity arose but still have such fond memories of my years at Wolves, I enjoyed it loads and it’s a time I will never forget.

“I have kept a couple of my shirts which are framed on my wall, and, when I finally hang up my boots, I will be really proud of what we all achieved there.”

Hanging up the boots is not on the Henry agenda just yet, in a career which has continued to enjoy plenty of success even after leaving Wolves.

He spent most of the 2016/17 campaign on loan with Bolton as they secured automatic promotion from League One, and seven years with Oxford United ended with completing his hat trick of League One promotions, completing the set of champions, runners-up and play off winners with success last season.

Henry chalked up 260 appearances for Oxford, scoring 58 goals, the 11th highest tally for the club, including seasons where was joint top scorer and then top scorer all on his own, showing once again his propensity for direct wingplay providing both goals and assists.

Other highlights included a vital winner at Doncaster to help preserve League One safety in 2018, and a hat trick at home to Lincoln in August 2021.

“We got promoted during my loan spell with Bolton, but on a personal note I didn’t play particularly well that season,” he reflects.

“Moving to Oxford was perfect for me as it was heading back closer to home, when I was getting married and starting a family.

“I’d say my career enjoyed another peak during my time there, we were really successful and it was another spell which I really enjoyed.

“The club has gone on to great things and to see them holding their own so far in the Championship is brilliant.

“I moved on to Aldershot in the summer, which I am also enjoying, although the aches and pains at this age are a bit worse than before and last a little bit longer as well!

“I still love getting out there on the pitch and contributing for the team.

“In the last couple of years at Oxford I hadn’t played all that much and had picked up a couple of injuries and I didn’t want it to end like that.

“I wanted to go out on my own terms and prove that I still have something to offer.

“We made a decent start before going a few games without a win, but hopefully we can pick up some results again, and I can push on, stay injury free and help the team have a good season.”

Henry himself made such a good start that, after a career spanning almost two decades, he finally won a Player of the Month award, for the Vanarama National League, in August.

He had been nominated on several occasions before, but the closest he got, after a month packed with goals and assists, was to be pipped by former Brentford striker Ivan Toney and his nine goals!

“Having been close on several occasions before it was nice to finally get one,” he says of the long-awaited accolade.

And although he’s still enjoying his football, and is keen to carry on playing for as long as he can, that’s not to say Henry hasn’t already started thinking about what may lie ahead in the future.

That includes sizing up different possibilities, and he has already completed courses around property investment and is currently studying for his coaching A license.

“I’ve got a few bits and bobs I am looking into, and if you’d asked me five years ago about coaching, I’d probably have said I wasn’t too sure,” he admits.

“But once I started taking the qualifications, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and, having been in the game for so long, it feels a shame if I came out of it without being able to pass on some of the knowledge and experience picked up as a player.

“We’ll see what happens, but it’s certainly something I’d be looking to pursue when the time is right in the future.”

For now, though, it’s about playing, with Henry next in action for Aldershot away at Fylde this Saturday.

And, after ‘that’ song heard at Wolves appeared to have been put out to pasture ever since he left Molineux, it has, much to his delight, made a belated return, thanks to fans of the Shots.

“I hadn’t heard it for years but now the Aldershot fans have picked it up again,” Henry reveals.

“I told my Dad that we had a recent midweek game where I was a substitute, and when I started warming up, the fans started singing it.

“I suddenly thought, ‘I remember this’, and it was really nice to hear it again as it’s always good to feel appreciated.”

There it is then. One of Wolves’ League One heroes from a decade ago is still going strong. And his song has returned to the airwaves.

‘So, I asked, who is he? He goes by the name of James Henry.’