hendry- time to call it a day

[Rane]

After the quarter finals in Bahrain discussions was about whether Hendry was back in vintage form, after three impressive matches. Sometimes a little perspective could be nice.

We could just as well discuss if Ryan Day or Mark Selby should retire. They haven´t got very much out of beeing some of the strongest players this autum.

[Anastasia]

After the quarter finals in Bahrain discussions was about whether Hendry was back in vintage form, after three impressive matches. Sometimes a little perspective could be nice.

We could just as well discuss if Ryan Day or Mark Selby should retire. They haven´t got very much out of beeing some of the strongest players this autum.

yes we can especially Selby's

[Templeton Peck]

I think Selby is vastly overrated. He had a good run at three tournaments last season with the UK, Masters and Welsh Open but since then he hasn't really done anything. I know he made it to the final of the Premier League but to be fair it wasn't that tough qualifying for the semis given everyone else's poor form. The commentators keep insisting he's the second best player in the game but last time I checked Maguire was officially number 2, and provisionally number 2...

[CTquick147]

I'm not sure if anyone on this thread has mentioned Stephen's strong play at the Crucible this past year. His win over Mark Allen was terrific, and he made it to the semi-final where he knocked in 140 break in the opening frame. In the form Stephen was in, had he come up against anyone else, I'd bet he'd have made the finals. Yes the final score of his match against Ronnie was lop-sided, but as Stephen himself said after the match, Ronnie is the best player in the world right now. Steve Davis had to deal with this when Stephen beat him the UK finals back to back in 89 and '90. He was no longer "the man", but he still was, and still is a wonderful player, and someone whom I'm sure most still enjoy watching very much. Stephen may not be the world's number one star anymore, but he's still the greatest of all time, he's a legend, a hero to millions, and still a pleasure to watch. I hope keeps playing into his fifties as Davis has. I'd also like to point out, the guy's only forty years old, and for someone who's done what he has, it's a bit early to be calling for him to lay down his cue.

[dannyd0g]

Why should he quit? He's still one of the best 20 players in the world. He's a match for anyone. I still think that there could possibly be one more ranking event in him. Just like Jimmy, if he enjoys playing there is no reason to give up. He could be 100th in the world, but if he enjoys it, then let him play. Age has caught up with him, but I want the greatest player of all time to play for as long as possible.

I'm not sure if Hendry is "just like Jimmy" though.

Hendry has said "the misery of loosing is greater than the joy of winning".

That expalians why he looks so miserable most of the time at least !

I dont think its the same with Jimmy though - he might not have such high expecations all the time these days, maybe hes like John Parrot now and is sometimes just glad to be able to go out and play well. That may be why Jimmy still enjoys playing, whereas it often makes Hendry miserable.

Unlike Jimmy I dont think Hendry will still be playing should it come to the stage when hes facing gettting relegated off the main tour and having to play in the PIOS.

[daoc2006]

Look, when you get to 39/40 (Hendry turns 40 next month) - you cant Possibly in a million years play like you did when you were 25.

When you get older, your long potting goes, you miss more easy balls and your general cueing just isnt as good as it was.

Hendry for me is the best ever. At the height of his peak in say 1993-1996 is game was 10 out of 10. He was easily the best long potter and one visit big break scorer.

In your mid 20s you just get down and bang, every shot goes in sweet as anything and its all pretty effortless. Prove of this is looking at Hendrys 1995 World Championship 147 on youtube or some of his century breaks from the 1994 UK Final. He just got down and he knew the balls were going in the pocket. Its all pretty automatic when your like 25 years old. And at that age he was practising alot more hours than these days.

Nowadays his game is 3 out of 10. He is absoutlely no where near the standard he was in 93-96. And you cant be. When you get older, you do less practice, your cue action/cueing isnt as good as it was and you have to concentrate a heck of alot more even on easier pots when you get to Hendrys age.

To sustain so much concentration over a longer match must be so difficult when you get to 40 for a snooker player. And that is one of the main reasons why you cant win at 40. If your concentration isnt as good then easy balls will be missed, confidence will be down thus losing alot more matches than winning.

One more point is that. When your watching Hendry on tv these days, you just know he will miss an easy ball, you get a feeling when your watching.

You dont get the feeling with Ronnie O'Sullivan (yet).

It is Very noticeable Hendry isnt winning many frames in one visit anymore also.

[Hendry the 8th]

I have been a fan of Stephen's for 21 years now and his delcine is upsetting, but I don't think he should retire just yet. He did after all reach the semis at The Crucible this year and in doing so beat three up and coming stars (Mark Allen, Ding Junhui and Ryan Day).

Stephen is still a great player, he just needs to sort out the chaos that is going on in his head and he needs to stop taking on so many long pots. He needs to have a good run at the Masters and the Welsh Open to get some confidence back. I still believe that he could win another ranking event, possibly even the World Championship.

I believe that Stephen will retire when he drops out of the top 16 - I really can't imagine him wanting to go to Prestatyn or EIS for the qualifiers after all that he has achieved. I maybe wrong - he may follow in the footsteps of Steve Davis and could still be playing in 10 years.

[steedee]

Some bad form is not an excuse to retire otherwise doherty, stevens, williams, ebdon, lee and dott would all have jacked it in by now.

No one has mentioned the fact that stephen lee played superb at times yesterday and is as tough a qualifier along with williams as you will get this season. against them anyone could be out first round

[steedee]

I think Selby is vastly overrated. He had a good run at three tournaments last season with the UK, Masters and Welsh Open but since then he hasn't really done anything. I know he made it to the final of the Premier League but to be fair it wasn't that tough qualifying for the semis given everyone else's poor form. The commentators keep insisting he's the second best player in the game but last time I checked Maguire was officially number 2, and provisionally number 2...

Overrated players have a habit of getting to the worlds final as a qualifier, winning the masters, coming back from behind to beat o'sullivan in a ranking final, beating stephen hendry 6-0 and 5-0 and hitting successive centuries over 3 frames, they do it all the time.

[khizzy]

hendry is a legend,its a pleasure to watch him play,everyone has a bad day.

[Templeton Peck]

Overrated players have a habit of getting to the worlds final as a qualifier, winning the masters, coming back from behind to beat o'sullivan in a ranking final, beating stephen hendry 6-0 and 5-0 and hitting successive centuries over 3 frames, they do it all the time.

Let's not get carried way with his results against Hendry - even Steve Davis hammered Hendry in the league 2/3 years ago and let's not forget what Marcus Campbell did to him. Rating is all relative, and it's pretty clear he's not the number 2 player in the game, so by saying he is then he is clearly overrated. The fact remains he hasn't done anything in the last ten months in proper tournament play.

[steedee]

Let's not get carried way with his results against Hendry - even Steve Davis hammered Hendry in the league 2/3 years ago and let's not forget what Marcus Campbell did to him. Rating is all relative, and it's pretty clear he's not the number 2 player in the game, so by saying he is then he is clearly overrated. The fact remains he hasn't done anything in the last ten months in proper tournament play.

To be fair the current world number 2 has done very little in the last 9 months also, and the least said about the form of the world number 3, the better.

Before the start of the UK i would have said consistency wise, Ryan Day was the current second best though i really don't know anymore.

My initial point though, is that Selby is thought of extremely highly by everyone in the game as well as many on this forum, my recent poll on who will be the next first time winner of the WC proved this, he got over 50% of the vote, saying anyone is better than their current ranking could be deemed overrating them but it works both ways, there is simply no way that dave harold (prov 14th) is a better player than Ding junhui (prov 17th) we all know this but the rankings say different. After Ronnie, Selby is AS good as anyone else and what he has acheived in his career thus far, i believe backs this up.

[millwall32]

i think that Hendry turned to sh*t after mark johnston-allen beat him....

[moondan]

Some bad form is not an excuse to retire otherwise doherty, stevens, williams, ebdon, lee and dott would all have jacked it in by now.

No one has mentioned the fact that stephen lee played superb at times yesterday and is as tough a qualifier along with williams as you will get this season. against them anyone could be out first round

That sums it up completely.

Steven Lee is well capeable of winning this tournament, nobody hits the ball better when playing well and I think Im right in saying, Hendry has been beaten by the eventual tournament winner in the last 4 or 5 tournaments.
Perhaps that sequence will continue.

A few years left in him yet and maybe he will accept his decline a little better and then maybe he will stop beating himself up and we may still witness a good few centuries from him yet and also the odd 147.

[mister_e]

form is temporary....CLASS IS PERMINANT!!!!