Stephen Hendry 1985-2012

Wild wrote:

Casey wrote:His video piece on the retirement with the BBC shows he is at peace with this decision. It looks like he will have a new career in China and a new project to be creative on.

Interesting to hear Terry G say Hendry should have retired a couple of years of is strange - he is made 2 max's in the last 14 months, but there you go.

for what its worth i agree with Terry.

Stephen Hendry was all about Titles and Dominating Players not playing a bit part. it was almost like Laurence Olivier Being a Extra on Eastenders.

Snooker Moves on Stephen is at an End i wont be shedding any tear because what i always wanted not seeing crap beating him now that was depressing when you know how good he was.

what would have been the perfect time for Hendry to retire? After winning the Malta Cup?

No, after giving it one more go, qualifying for the Crucible and making a 147 in a session where he showed vintage form. Now is the right time. #legend

Like he said should of done it 10 years ago, tarnished it big time. All todays youngsters saw a guy who turned up and got stuffed time after time.

So he should have retired after losing the World Final 18-17? Don't talk bullocks. He can hold his head high, there was no tarnishing of his legacy in later years, we saw the natural cycle of great performances when it mattered, still able to compete with and beat the best but consistency of performance due to natural causes (age, family, drive) not how it was when he was super sharp in his 20s where he could hold his concentration throughout entire tournaments.

Sonny wrote:So he should have retired after losing the World Final 18-17? Don't talk bullocks. He can hold his head high, there was no tarnishing of his legacy in later years, we saw the natural cycle of great performances when it mattered, still able to compete with and beat the best but consistency of performance due to natural causes (age, family, drive) not how it was when he was super sharp in his 20s where he could hold his concentration throughout entire tournaments.

So youngsters who have taken to watching in the last 5 years or 10 years will have the same opinion on Hendo as those who watched in the 90's. No chance. He carried on for cash, no shame in that, so has Jimmy. But to say he record or reputation was not tarnished is just plain blind.

Funny you should mention Jimmy on that score....

Sonny wrote:Funny you should mention Jimmy on that score....

yeah, thats where I am a realist...............they both carried on as its all they know, they both tarnished their careers. My opinion. Having watched both, I think it is very sad when a player who had played just top notch is then scratching around and playing real mediocre - just for the hell of it.

What Hendo do I remember ???? Well considering my memory is not that great its a clouded memory of some success but lots of crappy performances like yesterdays, same with Jimmy.

Like I said I don't think Hendry has tarnished his career whatsoever. I do get slightly frustrated at youngsters looking at Jimmy White now and not realising how good he was and the same goes for Hendry but you can't say players should retire at their peak or just after to keep their legacy untarnished. They should play on as long as they want to play on.

Sonny wrote:Like I said I don't think Hendry has tarnished his career whatsoever. I do get slightly frustrated at youngsters looking at Jimmy White now and not realising how good he was and the same goes for Hendry but you can't say players should retire at their peak or just after to keep their legacy untarnished. They should play on as long as they want to play on.

yeah but he clearly said "10 years ago" in the interview, now Hendo of the last 10 years and Hendo of the 90's just like Jimmy of the 90's.................if an alien came down you would be hard pressed to convince him that they were the same player. Totally different = tarnished.

Sonny wrote:Like I said I don't think Hendry has tarnished his career whatsoever. I do get slightly frustrated at youngsters looking at Jimmy White now and not realising how good he was and the same goes for Hendry but you can't say players should retire at their peak or just after to keep their legacy untarnished. They should play on as long as they want to play on.

the difficulty for jimmy is that when he does retire, it might mean him not being back in the crucible for one last time which i was hoping jimmy could manage. its sad in a way jimmy in struggling atm, i know he has had some decent results this season but all the same its tough watching him knowing how great jimmy was.

i had the same feeling watching stephen last night , in the way he struggled in both sessions. most snooker fans fans were hoping he would continue for a few more years yet but i think he made the right decision

Sonny wrote:Like I said I don't think Hendry has tarnished his career whatsoever. I do get slightly frustrated at youngsters looking at Jimmy White now and not realising how good he was and the same goes for Hendry but you can't say players should retire at their peak or just after to keep their legacy untarnished. They should play on as long as they want to play on.

thats what steve davis and jimmy have done, most got the feeling stephen would not go for too long especially after the last 2 years

The commentators, media, reporters - fans - everyone talks about how good Hendry was. Also the fact the won 7 World titles doesn't go away and that's what people will look at.

I think I should better explain, rather than use the word tarnish (and you think I have used it lightly, I believe I have been fair in the use of that word).

Case Study:

Joe is a builder. He is 21 years old. He is qualified (city and guilds), has his own van and is successful. He does all sorts of building jobs and gets a lot of work thru recommendations. His reputation is second to none. He works 5 days a week and Friday night he goes for drinks with his mates (this never changes).

One week he is super busy and has got so many jobs on his plate that he fears he will have to work Saturday to get it all done. This Friday just happens to be his mates birthday so he cannot miss the pub. Joe reckons this is not a problem as the job scheduled for Saturday, which he has to do, is a simple garden wall (albeit in a prominent location on the high street).

Friday comes and the birthday celebration is good - a good time is had by all. Saturday comes and he builds the wall, with a slight hangover but gets it done. The owner of the property are away that weekend but he can get payment next week, they are trusted.

Monday comes and Joe is again very busy and in the afternoon he gets an irrate call from the owner of the property where he built the garden wall. They are complaining that the wall is not straight and that they are not happy with the standard of the work.

Joe goes back to inspect his work and with his fully sober head on he agrees the work is not his usual standard. Its a wonky wall !!!!

The owner says he wants it knocked down and rebuilt and that he wants a hefty discount for his inconvenience.

The bigger problem is that the wall and the property is in such a prominent location that the knocking down has caused a stir. Not only will the owner give no recommendation to his friends/family but everyone has seen the newly built wall
(wonky) be knocked down due to its poor state.

After this episode, Joe got very few recommendations and work dried up for him.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

To relate Joe to Hendo. Hendo repeatedly did well at Round 1 of the crucible therefore maintaining his top 16 ranking for many years. So he got easy entrance into the first TV round of all major events (and also jokingly got a premier league invite). The fact was though that he was not competing for most of the season and his high reputation was fading fast.

Eventually the growing tour coupled with his flagging ranking forced the issue of retirement, but he only carried on because he had to just turn up for his first round money, now he cannot rely on that - hence the retirement.

Barry Hearn says Stephen Hendry has made wrong decision
World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn says Stephen Hendry has made the wrong call in announcing his retirement from snooker.

The seven-time world champion called it a day after losing 13-2 to Stephen Maguire at the Crucible.

Hearn tells BBC Radio 5 live Breakfast it was a bombshell and calls him the "finest player to ever pick up a cue".


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/17923450

Hendry is the GOAT, best of luck to him in the future

Smart, at best you can suggest Hendry tarnished your memory of him and you never liked him so what did he tarnish?

Everyone else has been good enough to wish Hendry well and then we have you. Class act you are

Sickpotter wrote:Hendry is the GOAT, best of luck to him in the future

Smart, at best you can suggest Hendry tarnished your memory of him and you never liked him so what did he tarnish?

Everyone else has been good enough to wish Hendry well and then we have you. Class act you are

I watched him in the 90's, I also watched the last 10 years. 2 different players. If Pele carried on playing past his best in top flight football rather than go to the joke MLS - he would of tarnished himself.

Perhaps so but at least the vast majority of fans would have the class to congratulate him on a great career.

Try to show a fraction of the class Hendry displayed through his career or just don't comment on a thread congratulating him if that's beyond you.

Expected better of you, you should be

Smart wrote:

Sonny wrote:Like I said I don't think Hendry has tarnished his career whatsoever. I do get slightly frustrated at youngsters looking at Jimmy White now and not realising how good he was and the same goes for Hendry but you can't say players should retire at their peak or just after to keep their legacy untarnished. They should play on as long as they want to play on.

yeah but he clearly said "10 years ago" in the interview, now Hendo of the last 10 years and Hendo of the 90's just like Jimmy of the 90's.................if an alien came down you would be hard pressed to convince him that they were the same player. Totally different = tarnished.

a player wins his last tournament how does he know he wont win again ?

This might be Ronnies last chance to win a tournament we dont know if it is or its not until he wakes up in 7 or 8 years and realise buck me ive won nothing for ages.

I wouldnt say Davis had tarnished his reputation by playing on long past his peak

if anything his longevity has enhanced his reputation.

the cop out is quitting once it all goes wrong

Davis could easily have jacked it in around the year 2000 when he was Hendrys age and fell out of the top 16 but he regrouped and fought back well making ranking finals, 2 WC Quarters, being back in the top 16 at 50, etc

Hendry i feel has retired too soon and he could easily have had a similar Indian Summer to what Davis had in his mid to late 40s.

Hendrys no worse on his day than 4 or 5 guys who are among the so called elite so i think he shoulda plugged away.

If the order of merit and flat 128 system had just been in place by now, then Hendry would have had more freedom to manage his career and the events he entered and i doubt he would have retired.

The way ive seen snooker going lately is more towards darts with a broad range of ages on the tour and thats another reason i think Stephen has missed a trick.

His choice at the end of the day though, but hes hardly retiring if hes going to play pool in China instead. Its like when Ric Flair had his last ever match at Wrestlemania a few years back only for him to then appear a week later in TNA wrestling again.

I don't think he will be playing in Chinese pool tournaments, just the promotion.

10.45 BBC1 next wednesday "Sporting Heroes: After the Final Whistle" obviously its been filmed already so wont feature Hendry but looks interesting
http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/qmg6t ... al-whistle

this song should play next to Hendry every time that he is mentioned..

Steve Davis says he cannot imagine anyone bettering Stephen Hendry's tally of seven World Championship titles.

Hendry, 43, retired on Tuesday after a 13-2 quarter-final defeat by Stephen Maguire ended his 27th consecutive appearance at the Crucible.

"John Higgins is on four, it's very hard to see anyone reaching seven," said Davis, a six-time world champion.

Hendry's trophy cabinet
•UK Championship: 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996
•World Championship: 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999
•Masters: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996

"I can't really envisage it happening, there's just going to be more and more players knocking each other out."

Davis, 54, beat Hendry in the 1989 World Championship semi-finals en route to winning his last title at the Crucible, with Scotsman Hendry turning the tables at the same stage five years later.

Hendry himself did not rule out someone overtaking his record eventually, even if the odds are against it.

"I would say no, because there are so many great players competing against each other to win every tournament," he told BBC Sport. "But records are there to be broken. John Higgins has won four and is good enough to win another four; it is hard to say."

BBC pundit and 1985 world champion Dennis Taylor believes Hendry's achievements mark him out as the stand-out player in the sport's history.

"It's been an unbelievable career," Taylor told BBC Radio 5 live. "For me - and I've said it since 1990 - he's the greatest player ever to lift a snooker cue.

"I can't see Stephen changing his mind; once he decides on something, that's it. Once he decided he'd be the greatest player in the world, he achieved that."

Use accessible player and disable flyout menusHendry honoured at Crucible
While Davis, the world number 39, has continued to play on the tour along with another legend, Jimmy White [ranked 44], Hendry has opted to quit 13 years after winning his last world title in 1999.

The Scot, who dropped out of the elite top 16 earlier this season and is currently ranked 23, admitted having to qualify for this year's World Championship for the first time since 1988 "was not a nice feeling".

Davis, who lost the 1989 and 1990 UK Championship finals to Hendry, continued: "In a way I feel that it's quite a sad day for me.

"Jimmy White would probably feel that even though he's not at the cutting edge any more, he's enjoyed the challenge of trying to stay within the game, and I've enjoyed the same challenge, but obviously Stephen didn't.

"You could still have business interests and still play, but he's chosen not to. I wouldn't say it's the wrong decision - it's just down to the individual."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/17923571

Goodbye Stephen Hendry,You will be sorely missed,A legend and a dedicated honest minded man who always spoke the truth.
Always kept it real.

Once this tournament is over and the dust has settled i shall do an article on Hendrys career and what i see as his legacy and also that burning question..............just where does he rank among the all time greats?

( i did a mock one earlier and he only came 3rd once i tallied up all the points for each key attribute)

Witz78 wrote:Once this tournament is over and the dust has settled i shall do an article on Hendrys career and what i see as his legacy and also that burning question..............just where does he rank among the all time greats?

( i did a mock one earlier and he only came 3rd once i tallied up all the points for each key attribute)

mate to be honest whatever crap article a twerp like you put up on his career will be a load of rubbish

and I doubt Hendry would care what he thinks or anyone else would bother to read it either

yous will be pleasantly surprised at the kind words towards Hendry i will have to say.

Stephen Hendry for me is the GOAT by a decent margin, everything has already been said in countless threads and people have their own opinions so theres no point in going on and on.


Ive been a long time lurker on this forum and i must say im really turned off coming back, the comments on here are nothing short of sickening. One of snookers biggest stars has just retired and all people can do on here is lovely lady and try to bring the man down, the people saying this crap are either 14 or just plain dicks.


Anyway


Stephen Hendry is my sporting hero! Im a fan of many sports but nobody seems to come close to Stephen Hendry for me. Its a combination of my dad being a fan with us bonding over many many nights of amazing drama featuring the great man and also just the plain genius and ability the likes that ive never seen before or since.


Ive been gutted about his retirement and i kinda wish that he would change his mind, the same as i wish he would have played safe a bit more often over the last 10 years :) but who am i to question what the great man does. I think he still has a lot to give to snooker but its his life and i just wish him the best with anything he does. Hes gave me many many many hours worth of enjoyment and im going to miss him dearly.


for the people who think he needs the money and all that crap, my fiance's family live on the same road as Stephen and regularly see him at Gleneagles etc.....believe me he doesnt need the money.


Stephen Hendry i salute you and i only hope we will see a player as good as you again at some point......although somehow i doubt it.

freakmoomin wrote:Ive been a long time lurker on this forum and i must say im really turned off coming back, the comments on here are nothing short of sickening. One of snookers biggest stars has just retired and all people can do on here is lovely lady and try to bring the man down, the people saying this crap are either 14 or just plain dicks.

I agree and this topic will be cleaned up tomorrow.