Karl Henry

Born in Wolverhampton, West Midlands,[1] Henry began his career as a youth player for Stoke City in 1998. He made his first team debut on 7 February 2001 in a 4–0 Football League Trophy victory against Walsall.[2] He broke into the first team under Gudjon Thordarson in 2001–02 making 28 appearances as Stoke gained promotion via the play-offs.[3] Henry went on again to feature regularly for Stoke in the 2002–03 season making 22 appearance as Stoke narrowly avoided relegation.[4] He scored his first and only goal for Stoke in a 4–2 defeat against Bradford City on 26 December 2002.[5] This saw him selected for the England under 18, 20 and 21 squads.[6]

Henry was unable to hold down a regular starting role in the 2003–04 season and was loaned out to Third Division side Cheltenham Town on a two-month deal in January 2004.[7][8] Henry played nine times for the Robins scoring once against Mansfield Town.[9] Henry came back into the first team following his loan spell and at the end of the season he signed a new contract.[10]

The 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons saw Henry play a bit part role for Stoke mainly being used as a substitute. He made 15 starts for Stoke in each season and overall made a total of 34 substitute appearances.[11][12]

In the summer of the 2006–07 season Henry was out of contract, and although officially a free agent, was still training with Stoke City. The club allowed him to go on trial at Wolverhampton Wanderers, who he joined permanently in August 2006 for a fee of £100,000.[13]

Henry joined his hometown club on a three-year contract in August 2006 a week before the start of the 2006–07 season. He made his Wolverhampton Wanderers debut and his first start for his new club against Plymouth Argyle on the opening day of the season. Henry spent most of his first season filling in at right back and playing a few games in central midfield.

He was appointed captain for the first time in December 2006 as Jody Craddock was out injured. Henry's first season for Wolves came to an end when he suffered a serious injury in the game against Luton Town on 3 March 2007. Henry bruised his spleen and was forced to sit out the remainder of the 2006–07 season, which saw him miss out on the Championship play-offs. He made a total of 34 appearances in his first season for Wolves, scoring three goals.

In the 2007–08 season, Henry again impressed for Wolves after holding down his position in the centre of midfield. He went on to make a total of 42 appearances for Wolves, scoring three goals again. These goals came against Preston North End and two against Charlton Athletic, both home and away. Henry also picked up an injury against Charlton on 29 March 2008, which saw him miss the last six games of the season.

The 2008–09 season saw Henry impress again for Wolves and he was also handed the captain's armband for the majority of the season as Jody Craddock was out injured. He was an integral part of the team which made an impressive start to the season as Wolves were at the top of the table for numerous months with Henry captaining them. He was in the starting 11 against Queens Park Rangers in which Wolves went on to win the game which resulted in them gaining promotion to the Premier League. On 3 May 2009, Henry and Craddock both lifted the Championship trophy at Molineux on the final day of the season after their 1–0 over Doncaster Rovers.

Henry was an ever-present captain in the Wolves team in the 2009–10 season, his Premier League debut came against West Ham United on the opening day. He went on to make 34 appearances for Wolves during 2009–10, missing only four games, as Wolves stayed up at the end of their first season in the Premier League.

During the 2010–11 season, Henry made 31 Premier League appearances as captain. On the last day of the season, on 22 May 2011, Wolverhampton Wanderers stayed in the Premier League after finishing 17th.

A start of the new season, new signing Roger Johnson replaced Henry as club captain.[14] Henry started Wolves' first three games in the 2011–12 season, including the 0–0 draw away at local rivals Aston Villa. Before the match between QPR and Wolves, Henry threw down the gauntlet on Joey Barton as they prepared to go head-to-head at Molineux. The two (both Joey Barton and Karl Henry) were involved in a physical confrontation in August 2010 when Barton was still at Newcastle.[15] The confrontation occurred after Henry made a number of strong tackles on Barton. During the match between QPR and Wolves, which QPR won 3–0, Henry continued his strong challenges on Barton,[16] who hit back by making claims that Henry 'tries to hurt people'.[17] Henry says Barton was 'embarrassing' after recent comments.[18] Henry was taunted by a section of the Molineux crowd after being substituted,[19] when Wolves were defeated by Newcastle United by a score of 1–2.[20] He was defended by Wolves captain at the time, Roger Johnson.[19]

With the arrival of Kenny Jackett as manager, Henry was transfer listed,[21] despite his contract still having three more years to run.[22]

Henry (wearing white) playing for Queens Park Rangers in the West London derby against Chelsea, 2014

Henry signed for Championship side Queens Park Rangers on 23 July 2013 for an undisclosed fee.[23] He scored his first goal for the club against future employers Bolton Wanderers on 28 January 2014.[24]

On 25 September 2017, Henry signed a contract with Championship side Bolton Wanderers on a deal until the end of the season.[25] He made his first appearance for a Bolton the next day, playing the full 90 minutes of a 2–0 away defeat to Bristol City in the Championship.[26] He was released by Bolton at the end of the 2017–18 season.[27]

He signed a two-month contract with Bradford City on 23 November 2018,[28] making his début for the club in the 2–0 win over Oxford United the following day.[29] On Christmas Eve, he left Bradford by mutual consent.[30]

In August 2019, after eight months without a club, Henry announced his retirement from football.[31][32]