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When Barcelona wrapped up arguably the coup of the transfer window by picking up the world class Thierry Henry for just over 16 million pounds, football fans were both puzzled and ecstatic about the transfer. Yes, they would be able to finally see four of the most formidable attacking players play together for one team- but on the other hand did Barcelona really need Henry? Already possessing Ronaldinho Gaucho, Leo Messi and Samuel Eto'o up front, Barcelona had three players that any team in the world would be happy to have one of- let alone three. Those that watched last season's title race would surely argue that their defensive needs needed improving much more than their attacking ones, which is why the purchase of Henry was seen as unneeded by many top football pundits around the world (Gabriele Marcotti stated that "where else but La Liga would their [Real Madrid] closest rivals sign one of the greatest attacking weapons in footballing history at great expense despite already boasting three of the best strikers in the world?"). Although Barcelona scored more goals and conceded fewer goals than any other team in La Liga, they finished second, not winning the title due to their inferior head to head record against champions Real Madrid.

Barcelona scored 78 goals in their 38 league games, meaning they scored an average of around 2 goals a game. Their 33 goals conceded meant they conceded an average of just below 0.9 goals a game. If you take these two figures into account, this means that should have (on average) won every game 2-1, so why didn't they win the title? Obviously in football you cannot win all your games- you will draw some, and yes you will lose some. However, given the fact that Barcelona scored 12 more goals and conceded 7 goals less than champions Real Madrid, this shows that they should have not even let the Bernabeu side close enough to let the head to head results have any meaning on the title race. The conclusion we can draw from these facts is that when Barcelona won games, they won them well yet when they conceded in games, they often lacked the impetus to claw their way back into a winning position. Most would argue that a striker of Henry's calibre would only help them do this- here I will reason whether Henry's signing was as needed or not.

While Barcelona definitely do not need help scoring goals in La Liga, it could be argued that Henry will help them dominate the prize they won in 2005/06- the Champions League. Although Barcelona

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