Ronnie Henry

Ronnie Henry

200px Henry playing for Stevenage Borough in the 2009 FA Trophy Final
Personal information
Full name	Ronnie Stephen Henry
Date of birth	(1984-01-02) 2 January 1984
Place of birth	Hemel Hempstead, England
Height
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Stevenage
Youth career
2000–2002	Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2003	Tottenham Hotspur	0	(0)
2003	→ Southend United (loan)	3	(0)
2004	Dublin City	12	(0)
2005–2012	Stevenage	280	(3)
2012–2014	Luton Town	76	(0)
2014–	Stevenage	32	(0)
International career‡
2006–2008	England C	4	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 03:29, 22 March 2015 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:15, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

Ronnie Stephen Henry (born 2 January 1984) is an English footballer who currently plays for Stevenage. Henry was the first ever player to lift a competitive trophy at the new Wembley Stadium in May 2007 while at Stevenage.

Henry started his career on the books at Tottenham Hotspur, and although he was a regular feature in the reserve side, he never played a first–team game during his three-year spell with the North London club. In 2003, he was sent on loan to Southend United until the end of the 2002–03 season – playing three times for the club. In November 2003, Henry was released by his parent club after being deemed surplus to requirements. He spent nine months without a club, before signing for Irish side Dublin City on a short–term contract in August 2004. Henry played 12 times for Dublin before being released four months later due to financial problems at the club.

In January 2005, Henry joined Hertfordshire side Stevenage until the end of the club's 2004–05 campaign. He was part of the side that made the Conference National play–off final in 2005, falling one game short of promotion to the Football League. The following season, he was made captain, and was part of the Stevenage side that won the FA Trophy in the first ever competitive final at Wembley Stadium; ultimately becoming the first ever player to lift a competitive trophy at the new stadium in May 2007. He enjoyed FA Trophy success once more in 2009, before being an instrumental part of the side that earned promotion to the Football League the following season. Henry played a key part during the club's 2010–11 campaign, helping Stevenage earn promotion to League One. In May 2012, Henry left Stevenage after seven years with the club and joined nearby club Luton Town, where he was made club captain. In his second season at Luton, Henry was part of the team that won the Conference Premier title. He has also played four times for the England C team. He left after not being able to agree a new contract.

Club career

Early career

Born in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, Henry progressed through the Tottenham Hotspur youth system. He signed professional terms with the North London outfit at the age of 17, and despite appearing regularly in the reserves he never made a first-team appearance. Towards the latter stages of the 2002–03 season, Henry was sent on loan to Essex based Southend United until the end of the season. He made his debut for Southend in a 2–0 victory over Darlington at Roots Hall, and started two more matches for Steve Tilson's side. After returning to his parent club at the end of the season, Henry was released by Tottenham in November 2003, after being deemed surplus to requirements. Henry spent the rest of the 2003–04 season without a club, before being signed by Irish side Dublin City on a six-month contract in August 2004. He started twelve games for the Irish side before being released by manager Roddy Collins due to financial problems.

Stevenage

Henry returned to England in hope of finding a new club before the end of the English 2004–05 season. In January 2005, Henry signed for Conference National club Stevenage on an initial six–month contract. He made his Stevenage debut the following week in a 3–1 victory over Farnborough Town, playing the full 90 minutes. Henry continued to impress under manager Graham Westley and was a key part in the club's involvement in the Conference National play–offs, playing in both legs against Hereford United, as well as the 1–0 Conference National play-off final defeat against Carlisle United.

During the 2005–06 season, Henry featured 33 times for the Hertfordshire club, as the club narrowly missed out on a play-off position. In the same season, he was made captain by Westley in the side's 2–0 win over Exeter City. The following season, Henry played a total of 45 games under new manager Mark Stimson, and despite losing his captaincy in the early part of the season to Luke Oliver, Henry continued playing well and consequently regained his role as team captain later that season. During this season, Henry started the campaign in an unfamiliar central midfield role, but reverted to full-back following Stevenage's bad start to the season. In April 2007, Henry scored his first ever league goal for Stevenage, in a 2–1 home defeat against Kidderminster Harriers, hitting the ball on the half-volley from the edge of the area. In May 2007, Henry became the first ever player to lift a cup at the new Wembley Stadium; after Stevenage beat Kidderminster Harriers 3–2 in the FA Trophy Final. The 2007–08 witnessed Henry continue to hold down his place as a first–team regular under both Mark Stimson and Peter Taylor. However, in January of the same season, it was announced that Henry was put on the transfer–list after he was unable to agree terms on a new deal. Despite this, he continued to feature in the first-team until the end of the season. Following the re-appointment of manager Graham Westley, Henry signed a new-contract at Stevenage and again, featured regularly at right–back during the 2008–09 season. He was also a key part in the side's successful FA Trophy campaign in the same season, playing in all seven matches, including the 2–0 win against York City in the final at Wembley Stadium.

The following season, Henry continued featuring predominantly at full-back, but appeared to have a much more attacking role in the side. He scored his third ever goal for Stevenage in a 2–0 win over Eastbourne Borough in September 2009, lashing the ball high into the net after good work on the overlap. The season proved to be a successful one for Henry, playing 48 times in total, scoring once – as Stevenage won promotion to the Football League for the first time in the club's history. At the end of the season, Henry signed a new two–year contract with the Hertfordshire club. At the Football Conference's Annual Presentation Dinner, he was named in the Conference Premier Team of the Year, alongside fellow Stevenage defenders Scott Laird and Mark Roberts. Henry made his 250th appearance in all competitions for Stevenage during the club's 0–0 draw at home to Torquay United, Stevenage's first clean sheet of the 2010–11 season. Manager Graham Westley said "he's a stalwart. He's been a tremendous servant for the club over the years. He's helped the club from where it was all the way in to the Football League". Henry played a total of 51 games during the club's first ever season in the Football League, a season that witnessed Stevenage earn promotion to League One via the 2010–11 League Two play-offs. He was almost ever present at right-back during the campaign, playing a key role in the club having the best defensive record in the division.

Henry remained a first-team regular during the 2011–12 season, playing in the club's first ever League One match, a 0–0 draw with Exeter City. He went on to make 40 appearances during the campaign, with the Stevenage defence being particularly strong once again. However, he suffered an injury following the club's 1–1 home draw against Preston North End on 9 April 2012. The game ultimately turned out to be Henry's last match for the club. After spending seven years at Stevenage, Henry left the club when his contract expired in May 2012. On leaving Stevenage, he stated — "I have had an absolutely unbelievable time with the club and I couldn't have wished to have spent seven years anywhere else. I just feel that now is my time to move on". He made a total of 329 appearances during his seven-year tenure, an appearance record that places him fourth on the club's all time appearance list.

Luton Town

In June 2012, Henry joined Conference Premier side Luton Town on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract with the club. He was announced as club captain for the 2012–13 season. Henry made his Luton debut in the club's opening day 2–2 draw against Gateshead at Kenilworth Road on 11 August 2012, playing the whole match as Luton came from two goals down to salvage a point. He played in 43 games during the 2012–13 campaign, but missed the last part of the season due to a double hernia. Henry underwent an operation in April 2013 in order to be fit for pre-season training before the 2013–14 season. He later stated he had been carrying the injury for a large part of the season, which inhibited his ability to attack up the right wing as often as he did at Stevenage. New Luton manager John Still retained Henry as club captain for the 2013–14 season. Henry captained Luton to the Conference Premier title, and was part of a defence that kept a club-record 23 clean sheets.

International career

Henry was named in the England C team, who represent England at non-League level, in January 2006, for a friendly against Italy, playing the whole match in a 3–1 win. After earning another cap for Paul Fairclough's side in a victory over Scotland C, Henry went on to captain the England C side in a 2–0 win over Finland C in Helsinki. He retained his captaincy in a 2–1 win against a Wales U23 side.

Personal life

He is the grandson of former Tottenham Hotspur defender Ron Henry, and says that his grandfather has been a "huge inspiration" to him throughout his career.

Honours

Individual

• Stevenage Player of the Year (1): 2006–07
• Conference Premier Team of the Year (1): 2009–10

Career statistics

As of match played 21 April 2014.

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Tottenham Hotspur	2002–03	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2003–04	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Southend United (loan)	2002–03	Third Division	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Dublin City	2004	LOI Premier Division	12	0	—		—		0	0	12	0
Stevenage	2004–05	Conference National	11	0	0	0	—		7	0	18	0
	2005–06	Conference National	32	0	1	0	—		2	0	35	0
	2006–07	Conference National	39	1	2	0	—		9	0	50	1
	2007–08	Conference Premier	35	1	1	0	—		2	1	38	2
	2008–09	Conference Premier	44	0	1	0	—		7	0	52	0
	2009–10	Conference Premier	36	1	3	0	—		6	0	45	1
	2010–11	League Two	42	0	4	0	1	0	4	0	51	0
	2011–12	League One	32	0	6	0	1	0	1	0	40	0
	Total		271	3	18	0	2	0	38	1	329	4
Luton Town	2012–13	Conference Premier	33	0	7	0	—		3	0	43	0
	2013–14	Conference Premier	43	0	1	0	—		0	0	44	0
	Total		76	0	8	0	—		3	0	87	0
Career total			362	3	26	0	2	0	41	1	431	4

External links

• Ronnie Henry career statistics at Soccerbase

Sporting positions
Preceded by George Pilkington	Luton Town Captain 2012-	Succeeded by incumbent