Published: Thursday, 12th June, 2008 08:00
Henry king of the Royals
By Anthony Smith
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Royal hero: Reading youngster James Henry is out to conquer Europe with England Under 19s this summer.
JAMES Henry has vowed to return from the European Under-19 Championships and force his way into Reading’s first team next season.
The Woodley-born midfielder is determined to become a regular fixture in Steve Coppell’s side following loan spells with Norwich City in the Championship and Bournemouth in League One.
But it has been his form for England u19s that has really caught the eye and he is now preparing to join Brian Eastwick’s side in their hunt for European glory.
Henry helped England get their qualification campaign off to a superb start with a goal in a 5-1 rout over Iceland at Doncaster in October.
He then scored in a 1-0 victory over Serbia two weeks ago in the elite qualifying round before a 2-0 win over Poland and 0-0 draw with Belarus confirmed their place in the finals.
Henry, who celebrated his 19th birthday on Tuesday, told The Chronicle: “Playing for England is fantastic. I get a massive buzz just from being involved in international football.
“It’s strange but I always seem to do quite well for England, I rise to the occasion. It’s been like that since the start of qualifying. I’ve played 90 minutes three times and I’ve scored two goals which isn’t bad.
“I do my fair share of talking in the dressing room. It’s a key part of football now. I don’t shout my mouth off or anything, but I’m not afraid to speak up either. It’s a team game after all.
“Hopefully I’ve done enough to be selected for the squad which will meet up on July 7.”
England face hosts Czech Republic in the opening game of the competition on Monday, July 14. Their group also contains Italy and Greece, with the top two teams progressing to the semi-finals.
Spain, Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria make up the other group.
Henry added: “I think all the England games are on Eurosport so there will be quite a big television audience watching.
“The other thing is that we need to finish in the top two in our group to reach the semi-finals. If we do that we automatically qualify for the Under-19s World Cup in Egypt.
“I would absolutely love to be there and play against the likes of Brazil. It would be a major honour. Getting there will be tough but I think we can do it.”
Royals boss Coppell will find it difficult to ignore Henry next season if the Euro Championships go well.
With John Oster now departed, Glen Little and Jimmy Kebe are the only other right-sided midfielders at the club, although Liam Rosenior can also fill in.
Little will almost certainly start most games if he is fit, though the 32-year-old is yet to sign a new contract.
However, Henry is not fazed by the competition in front of him: “I’m really going to push things back at Reading this season,” he declared. “I want to be in the forefront of the manager’s mind.
“Glen Little is a great player, he always will be. If he signs his new contract it means there will be some tough competition and maybe we didn’t have much of that last season.
“But hopefully I can show the manager how much I want this. I’ve played in the Championship before with Norwich and I’m confident I can establish myself at that level.
“I’ve also played in League One and there is a big difference in class. There is more pace in the Championship and I think it’s the most physical division of them all. It’s so hard to get out of.”
Henry has made only one appearance for Reading in a 4-2 Carling Cup defeat to Liverpool last season but more look certain to follow.
“Clubs like Norwich came down from the Premier League and never managed to go back up so there is no guarantee that will happen to Reading,” he suggested.
“But I believe we can do it next season. You never know in football. Who would have thought Hull City would be in the Premier League?
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