What is John Llyod thinking. I know Henman is sorely missed in the team but he is retired now. End of. I am sure he would have a massive impact on the outcome of the next tie. In fact they would probably win with both him and Murray in the team.
But I think he has made his decision on retiring and that is it.
He did the G.B Davis cup team proud for over a decade . He has a lot to be proud of and I think going back now would be wrong. He would help them a lot of course. But he needs to concentrate on his singles career and what remains of it.

Its a tough one really, I think its a shame when players do put their career before Davis Cup, although when a player is at the peak of their career and they have no real back up then maybe it makes sense to want to focus on their singles career.

But Henman is in the twighlights on his career he is no way going to win a Grand Slam at this stage he has barely been winning matches in Slams these days, so I realyl dotn see at his stage in his career if he did have something to offer his team in DC why wouldnt he do it he has back up now im Murray something he used to complain about not having, so to me its a strange one

I dont think he has put his career before the Davis Cup as he?
He played solidly for the Davis Cup for 10 years. Did he ever miss a tie?
I dont think he did. Which is a good patriotic record. He always enjoyed playing for his country . It was his passion. If you can recall through out the years many players from different countries often decide not to represent Davis Cup for their country. Sampras hardly bothered, Jimmy Connors didnt and Agassi used to flit in and out of it when he felt like didnt he . To name but a few.
He well did his bit and i think with his back problem as it is. It could flare up at anytime again. He probably thought .
A. its just too much of a risk and
B. Davis Cup ties are often very close to major tournaments.
And I think frankly he is just to old to play consatntly like that. He has got to give himself in his remaining years the best chance possible to have good success at Slams and Masters.
And no he wont win one but he could very easily even now make the latter stages.

Yes i agree but he did have Greg and just dissed him every chance he got. He has nothing to offer now so we are probably better of without him. I guess he knows he will retire and that he will NEVER catch up with Andy. He says he sin't interested in being Brit number one but methinks he protesteth too much and frankly will NEVER get a chance.

Ark I heard Lloyd has ditched Bogdanovic as he has well underperformed the last couple of ties. No suprise really

Yes I'm nto surprised. Boggo just isnt up for it is he?

I dont; think Tim has put his career first, he's played Dc for 10 yrs and is entitled to pack up now for what is left of his career. However, i woudl like to see him come back as we are so short in talent he can only help.

I agree . I would be delighted if he did play for D.C again but I doubt he will.
He never put his singles career before D.C . That is just a myth put around by some on the BBC board to use as another stick to beat him with.
Its sad and pathetic people think that way when he gave his all for a good 10 years. Often single handidly winning the tie. As Greg was having a lot of injury problems on and off during that period. And not forgetting a lot of players do not even want to play Davis Cup.
I wish people would lay off him and see all the positive things he has done for British Tennis

I know, totally agree. selfish my ass! Now if you want to be critical, Bogdanovic is selfish - I mean what singles career is he protectign exactly and he is so reluctant to represent his *ahem* country it makes me sick! roflmao I dont; hate th eguy, i do feel sorry for him, he seems very nice and he is talented but he just isnt; motivated and his psychology is that of a loser, also ran. he likes to put on a good display but he never believes he can win. I'd love to grab him and giv ehim a good bloody shake, that's how much it gets me :angry: Well, I can onyl blame his caoches/mentors to a degree too, and also the LTA - money well spent eh? ;)

Anyway TIM HEMMAN - he isnt; playing DC, so it says on BBC reports. Fair play to him, although I'd really like to see him do so and dont; see what harm it could do him - in fact surely getting practice in would help? But the GOOD news I hear si that he WILL get a KNIGHTHOOD when he reitres, and too bloody right he should. Throughyl deserved. Makes me laugh all these peopel who say he doesn't deserve it. It woudl eb for Service to British Tennis, which he has certainly served brillinatly for over 10 years, and the best service since the great fred Perry in the 1930's so what is wrong with these people? If they think he doesn;t deserve it, then who the hell does? :o Shocking. thread on the BBC btw.

S.B ,


I have to keep this short as i have to go off for a bit. I agree with all your comments BTW
Last year I said on the BBC board that Tim Henman will surely be knighted one day for all he has done for British Tennis and for his fantastic career.
And I was laughed at and ridiculed on that board for weeks after that.
They thought I was a nutter. But it seems it is true afterall. I knew he would sooner or later ;)

Well when you look at who gets honours, how can you NOT give Tim one? O mean Pete Waterman for services to music? Bloody DISservices more like! roflmao

Thats funny S.B and I couldnt agree more roflmao
At least he put British Tennis back on the map. And always gave 100%. At the end of the day his Tennis was just not quite good enough to win a Slam ( hardly his fault) but at least he tried and he maybe could have with a bit of luck.
But thats life . Not many do win a Slam do they

When you look at the percentages of those whodo and those who don;t you see that winning a slam is something that very few achieve. And when you see the same name sover and over again winning slams, you see it is much harder. People put too much store in slam wins in measuring success over a career. Tim suffers from this unfortunately. And when you see soem of th ename swho do win slams or are RU it is quite sickening really. I mean look at Martin Verkerk, Ao runner up. And people like Nalby who was Wimby RU on his debut when he really wasn't the second bast player there, and look how crap he playe din the final.

Uh hate to break it to you ladies but apart from the thread on the BBC has there been anywhere else that mentioned Henman getting a knighthood?

If not then I doubt it's true because the thread was started by a troll - check her posting history it's mostly stupid threads trying to get attention.

Frankly it would be a disgrace if Henman was to get a knighthood. Sporting knighthoods should be reserved for athletes who have been truly great in their sport & as good a player as Tim his that doesn't include him.

There are lots of sportsmen/women who are more deserving such as

Jonathan Edwards
Colin Jackson
Sally Gunnell
Mathew Pinsent
Daley Thomson

And if we are talking about tennis than Virgina Wade & Ann Jones are both easily more deserving than Henman.

It would not be a disgrace at all. The point is that it is about service to one's country, not slam wins. No one has served men's tennis well since the great fred perry in the 1930s. Tim has put British tennis back on the map, so IMO it is thoroughly deserved. He's had a great career with some great achievements for this country. I don't know if this is a wind up, but I am prepared to put money on the fact that Tim's achievements WILL be recognised at some point in the future with an honour. I mean look at some peopel who get them - like entertainers. They don't have to win events for them either, they have basically had logn careers and are popular. Like David Jason - nto sure what honour he has exactly, but he i soen of the most overrated British actors on TV. As are Caine and Connery, who think both have honours. Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought they had. At least we can measure Henman's consitency, whereas with entertainers we tend to forget all the absolute crap they have starred in and their terribel perfromances where they spoke russina in a Scottish accent! roflmao

Anyway, your list - not saying any of them are undeserving. However, surprised you forgot Kelly Holmes as she is more deserving than all of them. Mind you there are people who say Paula radcliffe doesn;t deserve it purely cos at world level she gets beaten by Ethiopians. Well that is rubbish, as she is outstanding in her sport and has been so at Britsh and European level. She gets knocked a bit liek Tim.

What he has done for British tennis is irrelevant & really what tangible effect has he had apart from being a decent player who wasn't quite top notch world class. As I mentioned sporting knighthoods are given out to people who have achieved at the absolute top global level.

Henman already has an honour doesn't he - an OBE or something like that. To me that's the level of achievement he has had nothing more.

Whatever your feelings (or mine) about Caine & Connery they are a bigger deal both in this country & globally than Henman has ever been. David Jason is constantly voted the most popular actor in this country & I think you'll find most people would consider him more important than Henman though I'm with you in not caring about him one bit.

I didn't mention Kelly Holmes because she's already a dame. Paula I should have included as she's been succesful at a global level - One of the best long distance runners ever - possibly the best ever at the Marathon.

Compared to her and the others I mentioned Tim Henman's achievements (impressive though they are) just don't measure up.

I'm not a Henman hater though i've never been a huge fan but I genuinely have never seen a convincing argument for him getting a Knighthood. Really I couldn't care less whether he gets a Knighthood as i'm an ardent republican and think the royal family & royal honours should be abolished bit within the rules of the honours system as it exists at the moment Tim Henman is not deserving of a Knighthood.

Fair enough, we must agree to disagree. :)

Glad someone else doesn't give a hoot about David Jason! roflmao Tell you what, I saw somethign with him in th eother day )and left the room pretty quick! - A bit of a Do I think - and he wa ssupposed to be Northern. His accent seemed to span the length of the country, he could nto be consitent at all. I was shocked. Yes popularity is often hwo actors are measured, which is just part of it really. Popularity gets you more contracts, films, etc. but in sport you really have to go out there and prove it by winning year in, year out, popular or not. It's so different. I suppose they judge some actors on money grossed at th ebox office and number of films, but when you look at Caine he admits that he has been able to stay on the scene and therefore have th echance to have the odd good moment by starrign in load sof films, good or bad. Have to say personally his acting ability to me is on a scale of 2/10, and Connery 1/10. I am sure my aortner's mother who is an amateur actress and pretty good could turn in better perfromance week in, week out than they do but she isn't famous ! :D

Does anyone know if per chance Tim himself has any views on these recognitions??

Honorary titles and real Slam titles..depending on where you stand I will take the Slams....albeit..Dame Suzi is one I could live with :giggle:

A Bit Of A Do!

Were you watching ITV3 by any chance, they have it on permenant rotation!

Yes we'll have to agree to disagree about Tim - I have nothing against him just think there are other more worthy sporting recipients. I'd agree with you that some of the people that do get it a pretty questionable though!

Fair enough :ok: Yep I reckon it was ITV 3 - back to back? oh no, how dire! roflmao

I disagree with all that. That it would be a disgrace. It would be a disgrace if he didnt.
I think it is a foregone conclusion that he will someday. His career is not over an I predict he will make a massive contribution still to British Tennis after he has retired

Sir Tim Henman?! :wacko: Somehow i dont see it :lol:

You keep saying it's a foregone conclusion without offering one convincing reason why he deserves a knighthood - apart from this vague he did so much for British tennis.

In British tennis terms he's less important than Jones or Wade and they haven't been made Dames yet have they?

Compared to the other sportspeople I mentioned his career hasn't been as impressive so why does he 'deserve' it so much?

If you gave Tim Henman a knighthood then you might as well give one to every decent British sportsman that didn't quite have what it takes at the very top level of their sport.

Unless when he retires he takes over the LTA and starts turning out multiple future champions his achivements don't even come close to deserving a knighthood.

He will. He has said that he sees his future on the courts rather than doing TV, commentary etc. I think he may become DC captain, and I think he will land a very high profile role in performance enahancment and coaching for sure. he wont; just dissappear, he ha sa big contributiont o make to the development of future tennis players in the country. I would not be surprised if he doesn't end up beign responsible for a hugley successful slam winning Brit. And I hope eh does, cos then all the detractors will have nothign to whinge about when he gets knighted! :D

Sorry to drag this up again GS, but how about the fact that he his really stood out in his field in this country and put British tennis back on the map? when our tennis was a barren and dried up as it was, along came Tim - a bubblign oasis in the barren desert widlerness! :D

If we had ten top 10 players in the country befor ehe arrived, and five ha dwon slams I'd say fair enough, he doesn;t deserve a knighthood as he doesn't stand out. Okay, you may say well big fish in small pool, but he is hardly crap is he? Not an eddie the Eagle.

He's clearly not crap - he's been a good top 10/20 level player for the last 10 years but is that really all you need to do to deserve a knighthood?

Yes he has been a bright spot to British Tennis fans and it's been good to have someone to follow these last 10 years but I doubt you'll find many in the wider British public who think he deserves a knighthood for it.

To them he only becomes of note when he wins a few matches and then failed to win at Wimbledon. We tennis fans may think it's unfair that he's viewed that way because he's clearly not a failure but we'd also have to acknowledge that he's never been one of the absolute best either.

Being the best in Britain at tennis for me isn't a good enough reason for him to be getting a knighthood - you have to look at the wider sporting context and as I mentioned there are other sports people in this country whose achievements make them more deserving.

Fair enough. I do think the public in this country are hard on tennis though, it is not a majorly popular sport is it? football, rugby, althletics are much more popular. In fact nto sure but golf may be more appreciated than tennis over here.

I agree with all S.B's comments and disagree that he did not reach the very top of his sport. When he clearly did.
To say he does not deserve a kighthood simply because he did not win a slam is absurd. you have to look at the bigger picture . The whole picture. He has had a fantastic career and has given his all for the sport
I personally am not bothered about the honours situation in this country. It could be abolished for all I care. But as it stands we still have and whilst we do . Then Tim Henman should definitely get. He has been a shining light in British Tennis for well over a decade.
Solid , consistent, never misses Slams. A true pro. Good sportsmanlike behaviour , a winner of many titles .
And a great role model. That is why he deserves it

I'm not sure if there's much point going on with this since we're coming from two different positions.

I'll just point out again that sporting knighthoods are generally given to those that have been exceptional in their field and have been among the greatest at an international level be it Steve Redgrave, Kelly Holmes or even members of the 1966 World Cup squad.

Tim Henman may be the best tennis player we have produced in this country for a long while but his level of achievements (good as they are) don't come close to matching the people I mentioned above or the other sportspeople I have mentioned in this thread who don't have knighthoods.

Surely they're should be a greater criteria to receiving a knighthood than just being a great contributer to british tennis!

Probably not much point as you say GS. I think you are sayign that you need to outstanding ont he global scene and bring home the top trophies. Those kind of people may be mor eoutstanding in their field, but I do think consitent, solid and profile raising performances should eb considered also. Steve Redgrave of course really does stand out, and i smor edeserving than Tim I will agree. I just feel that tennis has bene so bad in this country and that Tim cjhanged that and deserves somethign for it. A sJill says, look how consitent he ha sbeen and never missed a slam. You could argue that someone who wins a slam deserves it more, and that si fair point. But there are peolpl who win the top level prizes and jand have a terribly inconsistent career form then on. Would that make them more deserving that Tim? I dontl; think so, but IJ can bet you anyoen who won a single slam in this country woudl probably get an honour almost immediately.

The reason why someone who wins a slam would be instantly a shoo-in for such recognition is thats what sport is about. Winning the big ones - not about who comes 3rd or 4th on a regular basis. Earlier you said Kelly Holmes is worthy of such recognition. Why? Clearly because she won the double at Athens. Apart from that what did she do? Yes she may have won europeans and commonwealths but not the big 2 - the worlds and the olympics. If anything Colin JAckson was a better athlete than Holmes. He set a world record which had stood for 12 yrs (and held it for about 13 further years!!), consistently faced the best in the world and won 4 world championships and 4 europeans. The problem was he never won the olympics (only contested 2 finals).

That shows its all about winning the big ones, kelly holmes wasnt the best in her field but she managed to pull it out of the bag when the best in the world (the likes of Tomashova and Mutola) weren't at their best or were injured. All credit to her - but being a regular top 10 (or top 3 in Collin Jackson's case) means nothing if you don't win the pinnacle in your sport. Therefore i agree with gs2 and Tim (as much as i like him) doesn't deserve one.

Kelly Holmes is a totally different case it is is about more than that I feel. She came back from injury and proved she could do it, just as her career was abotu to end. She deserves it to me a smcuh for th esheer grit and determination and doing it against all odds as well as the winnign the big one. However, she di dwin two at th esame event, so it was even more special. I think her winnign both is quite a rarity too isnt; it? Only two other women did it (am I right? one is German and I gorget her name). Well I guess Kelly put sit al in perspective, but I still woudl tno agree that a oen slam wonder with a pithy career who had a bit of luck along the way is more deserving than the likes of Tim. He has done loads for tennis in this country and deserves recognition. And it is not all about what you achieve, but what you give. Those in arts and entertainment wo get honours don't have to enter the equivalent of a slam to get it do they? And dont; mention the Oscars as a comparison, we all knwo they are a fix and a load of crap.

Anyway Dame Kelly's achievements were one of my most favourite sporting moments of all time, magnificent performance and what a credit to the nation she is, and a lovely person too. :ok:

I think after all this debate the bottom line is. Whether you agree with it or not and I and S.B clearly do. He will get one one day.

I do beleive so. I appreciate people who would disagree with us in terms of their arguments and feelings too. :) But I am lookign forward to him beign a Sir, sorry guys! roflmao

Dont apologise S.B.
he deserves it :clap: