Henry voted No1 in England
Friday, May 2, 2003
Article summary
Thierry Henry has been named Footballer of the Year by the English Football Writers' Association.
Article body
Arsenal FC striker Thierry Henry has been named Footballer of the Year by the English Football Writers' Association (FWA).
Second award
Henry, who claimed the Professional Footballers' Association award on Sunday, edged out Manchester United FC forward Ruud van Nistelrooij and former England captain Alan Shearer of Newcastle United FC. In all, 13 players received nominations for the award, won last year by Henry's club-mate Robert Pires.
Fourth French winner
The 25-year-old Henry is the fourth French winner of the writers' award, Eric Cantona in 1996 and David Ginola in 1999 also being honoured before Pires's triumph last season. Gerry Cox, chairman of the FWA, said: "Thierry Henry is a worthy winner who has scored some magnificent goals this season and made another massive contribution to Arsenal's season."
Top scorer
Henry has scored 22 Premiership goals this term and is one strike behind Southampton FC striker James Beattie with three games remaining as he seeks to finish on top of the goalscoring charts for the second season in succession.
First winner
The eleventh winner of both the FWA and PFA awards in the same season, and the fifth in six years, Henry will receive the Sir Stanley Matthews trophy, named in honour of the first winner in 1948, on 15 May in London. The PFA award, voted for by the players, was introduced in 1974.
