A FATHER & SON TEAM IS THE DREAM END FOR ME

RIVALDO did it. Henrik Larsson too. Now Ronnie Henry is hoping to join a select group of footballing dads to share a pitch with their kids.

- CHRIS DUNLAVY

The 40-year-old defender joined Potters Bar Town last week after being inspired by watching his son Louie playing on loan for the Isthmian Premier side last season.

Louie, 16, has now returned to parent club Stevenage but Henry – who works as a fulltime development coach at Boro – says talks over a return are already underway.

“If Louie did come back on loan and I got the chance to play with him that would be unbelievable,” said Henry.

“If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. He’s going back to Stevenage and they’ll decide what sort of experience he needs.

“But it’s a realistic possibility and if it does happen then I think it would be unforgettable for both of us. It’s something I never dreamed would happen.”

Louie is actually the third footballing Henry off the production line. Great grandfather Ron, a left-back like Louie, was a member of the famous Tottenham side that won the Double under Bill Nicholson in 1961. He also earned one cap for England and won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963.

Henry himself bounced back from rejection by Spurs to become a legendary figure at Stevenage, where he won the National League title in 2010, promotion to League One a year later and racked up a club-record 502 appearances across two spells.

In 2014, he captained the Luton side that overcame five years of pain and frustration to regain their place in the EFL under John Still, below.

Ron’s medals and tales of past glories were a huge influence on Henry’s decision to become a footballer and he believes family history has also given Louie a head start in his own burgeoning career.

Aggressive

“Louie’s doing really well,” says Henry, who joined the staff at Stevenage following his retirement from fulltime football in 2019.