Hendo
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I'm done with you. While I was taking the time and trouble to get the information you'd asked for in another thread, you were trying to stir things up on this one with your weird mate Modo. That's what you do: when you're not posting stuff that makes you sound like a special needs patient, you're poking your nose into exchanges that don't concern you, simply to spark some clashes. Mind your own damned business from now on.
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'The sideways days'. Jesus fecking christ. I see Modo's 'Massive Tit Days' are still going strong.
Henry Winter, Saturday December 19 2020, 12.00am, The Times
When Jordan Henderson began co-ordinating footballers’ response to the pandemic, the Liverpool and England midfield player was guided by the experiences of a cousin working on the NHS frontline. As he liaised with other Premier League captains, Henderson relayed stories of the severity of the situation, the people dying from Covid in isolation units, unable to see their family in their final hours. Henderson’s cousin would hold the patient’s phone and FaceTime relatives so they could say goodbye.
Henderson became so driven with raising funds for NHS workers that even when keeping fit during the first lockdown, pushing himself hard on his running machine, he fielded endless calls from the NHS and from club captains such as Kevin De Bruyne, Mark Noble and Troy Deeney. He talked and strode, cajoled and organised, helping establish #PlayersTogether which has generated millions.
Henderson’s remarkable 2020, fighting for the NHS, supporting gay rights and taking a knee, let alone lifting the Premier League trophy and representing England, has put him in the running for this weekend’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) award.
“A lot has gone on this year, good and bad,” the 30-year-old Wearsider says. “I’ve learnt a lot. I’ve grown a lot. I got more close with the kids [Elexa, Alba and Myles] and it was nice to have time with them but at the same time you’ve got everything going on in the outside world.
“I was waking up, sticking the news on, and it’s got the number of deaths. I became a little bit obsessed with it. Every morning you think, ‘the deaths are going up’. I thought it could only happen in films, so to be happening in real life was a shock. It put a lot of things into perspective: family is the most important thing, and health.
“In football you never have time to really reflect. Football is intense, constant. We get three weeks a year off and even then you’re training.” Lockdown allowed him to take a step back from the game, see the enormity of the pandemic sweeping the country, and made him determined to help. “I was on the phone four or five hours a day at times, setting up the fund, speaking to all the players,” he says.
“When I was training there were times I had to take the call. I couldn’t stop, I had to keep doing my running. I was listening and trying my best to reply. The captains were amazing, all the players were brilliant and it was a big boost to the NHS, the volunteers and the frontline staff who needed it the most — and still need it now.”
Henderson led Liverpool to their first league title in 30 years last season
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER BRADLEY ORMESHER
Even when the pressure finally eases on the hospitals, Henderson can see the strain remaining on many of the staff. “One of the many reasons I like NHS Charities Together is they focus as well on the mental health side. I’ve got family and friends on the frontline in the NHS up in the North East. I speak to my cousin and mentally some of the stuff they’ve had to do is incredible. They’ve got to be the ones holding the phone up, holding FaceTime, and letting them say goodbye. I couldn’t believe it.
“My cousin says you’ve just got to keep going. There are so many NHS people doing that up and down the country. They’re incredible. When the vaccine comes and it [the pandemic] starts easing off, the after-effects [of being on the frontline] could be a problem for some.” The players will continue to support them.
Henderson is proud of how the game’s dressing rooms rallied behind the NHS. He has built relationships with the likes of De Bruyne, seen the human side of rivals, but increased respect does not dilute his desire to beat them. “I can always say how good Kevin is as a player and I respect him on the pitch anyway but it’s my competitive nature that as soon as I step over the white line I want to win,” he says. “After the game, I speak to people a little bit more because you’ve had that contact, but when I’m on the pitch that will to win doesn’t change. Adam Lallana is one of my best friends but when we played Brighton the other week, as soon as you’re on the pitch you think only about winning.”
Henderson has won the Champions League, now the Premier League, and wants more. “My hunger hasn’t diminished, I can tell you that,” he says. “When you have a taste of it you definitely want that feeling again. The will to win has always been the same for me. When I was a kid growing up I hated losing. Going through school, through the academy at Sunderland, playing for Sunderland and Liverpool, that hunger has never changed.
“A lot of it is down to what I went through as a kid. I’d always miss out a little bit. When I was young, one of my good friends would win player of the year. In the academy, there would be somebody better. As I was getting older there was always someone who would get in the first team before me. I’ve been trying to prove people wrong, that I am worthy and capable of being a footballer.”
When did he feel he finally arrived? “Never.” But you’re the reigning footballer of the year?Henderson is a mixture of modesty and that slight, persistent niggle of insecurity from the past, the memory of Liverpool considering offloading him to Fulham in 2012, the number of potential positional rivals signed by the club.
Henderson has grown into an inspirational leader since signing for Liverpool in 2011
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER BRADLEY ORMESHER
He tries to play the “luck” card, that he has been fortunate to achieve so much, but it’s nonsense, of course. It’s hard work. “A lot of it is down to the way I’ve dedicated everything in life to football from a young age,” he says. “I’ve had the right people around me from the beginning: friends, family, wife, team-mates.”
He thinks of his parents, of the sacrifices they made for him. When winning the European Cup in Madrid last year, Henderson embraced his father Brian, who had just overcome cancer. “Every time I see it back, I get emotional,” he says “It was nice to see him so quick after the final whistle. He was on the sideline doing interviews. I’m thinking, what’s going on here?” (He adds that Brian’s health is “good” now.)
He thinks of his formative years at Sunderland. “There were great lads who helped me a lot, Phil Bardsley, Anton [Ferdinand], Dwight Yorke, Andy Reid. I learnt from them and Roy Keane and Steve Bruce as manager and Kevin Ball [in the academy].
“When I came here I learnt a lot from Stevie [Gerrard], Carra [Jamie Carragher], Pepe [Reina], Dirk [Kuyt], Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger and Lucas [Leiva]. If I look at the dressing room now it’s incredible not only in talent but mentality. I couldn’t ask for anything more as team-mates. They give everything every single day. They’re also good human beings who treat people properly and want to make a difference off the field as well. Jürgen [Klopp] and his staff are so good for me. Since Jürgen came in I’ve improved a lot as a player first and foremost but also as a person, definitely.”
Does he feel underrated? “I don’t need people to tell me if I’m a good footballer or not,” he says. “I don’t get to where I am without being a good footballer. The only people I need to have the trust, confidence and respect of are the players and the manager, whether that’s at Liverpool or England. I’m not interested in what other people may be saying.
“Football’s about opinions. People will like me. People won’t. Certain players may look better on the eye but it isn’t important for me. I’m there to do a job. I don’t look at myself like the fans look up to Sadio [Mané], Mo [Salah] or Trent [Alexander-Arnold]. Fans idolise them. I’m just normal.”
In his pursuit of excellence, Henderson still sees the distinguished sports psychiatrist, Steve Peters. “I spoke to Steve regularly when he was at Liverpool and I speak to him now and again,” he says.
Henderson flinches slightly when asked to describe himself as a player. He instinctively wants to play the “it’s a team game” card. After a pause, he replies: “I’d like to think I’m passionate, someone who gives everything for the team but also has the quality to produce good moments in both boxes, defending and attacking.
“One of the biggest things is I’d like to think I can make people better on the pitch and off. I’ve realised more and more that I’ve got responsibility to the outside [world] to make a difference.”
Henderson and the Liverpool players celebrate the Champions League success in 2019
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER BRADLEY ORMESHER
It’s why he wore the multi-coloured armband in Rainbow Laces week, supporting gay rights, and tweeting, “Football is a game for everyone”. A 24-year-old Dubliner, Keith Spooner, replied: “At 17 I came out, I struggled through my teenage years but the one thing that always made me feel at home was Liverpool. Seeing this means the world to me.”
Henderson responded: “You’ll never walk alone Keith. If wearing the #RainbowLaces armband helps even just one person then it’s progress. Everyone is welcome at Liverpool Football Club.” The post garnered 32,000 likes.
“It’s the truth,” Henderson says of Liverpool’s welcome to the LGBT community, “especially at this club and I’m sure at all the clubs in the Premier League and Football League. It took me 30 seconds to do and means the world for him. It would have been wrong not to. A big part of leadership is listening and helping. If I can do that and I feel strongly about it then why wouldn’t I say something or reply to people?
“I look at LGBT or Black Lives Matter and listen to people that are affected whether friends, team-mates or family and if I can help even just one person then it’s important to do that.”
He voiced the line “I’m tired of watching black men die” in Raheem Sterling’s anti-racism video. “It’s a powerful message needed,” he says. “I think taking the knee should continue. We’re sending a strong message that we’re all the same. I’ve got a lot of friends who are black, good friends, and it would be wrong for me not to say something. I want to support them as much as I can.
“Doing the video, taking the knee or speaking about it in public can only help other people understand more and more and educate people more and more. I’m a father. I want my kids to grow up with the education that no matter what colour, religion, gay or not, whatever, everyone is equal and you treat everybody the same.
“When you are in the dressing room none of that matters at all — religion, colour, sexuality, whatever. We’re a team and that’s it. Everyone respects each other.”
He points to the team’s change in choice of celebration drinks at trophy presentations because Mané and Salah are Muslim and don’t touch alcohol. “The champagne was non-alcoholic with the trophy lift because of Mo and Sadio,” Henderson says. “Within the dressing rooms there’s none of that [intolerance] so why isn’t that the case in the outside world?”
He recalls the racism endured by Sterling, Tyrone Mings and Marcus Rashford in Sofia in October 2019. “When England played in Bulgaria, it’s like, ‘Wow, this is actually still really happening?’ I would have walked off. We spoke about it before the game, we spoke about it at half-time, and if one player wanted to walk off, everybody walks off. No one [wanted to]. We felt the right thing was to stay on and play because if we walked off they [Bulgarian racists] would win.”
And if England get racially abused in the future? “If someone wanted to walk off, then everybody would walk off and I would make sure of it,” Henderson says.
He loves the variety in the Liverpool dressing room and admires each player’s individual journey. “I look at Sadio and Mo and where they have come from [rural Senegal and Egypt respectively] and what they have achieved is incredible.
Henderson says he has always been striving to prove himself since being overlooked earlier in his career
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER BRADLEY ORMESHER
“When we’re in the pool and Sadio’s swimming, he’s saying he learnt because he lived in a village right next to the water [the Casamance river in Sédhiou] so he used to like going in the water. I look at my journey and I’ve been very lucky, a working-class family, but I’ve never experienced some of the stuff they’ve been through in their lives.”
He thinks of Rashford, who needed sustenance from food banks and soup kitchens growing up and now leads the fight against child food poverty. “What Marcus has done is incredible and something that he’s been close to from when he was a kid,” Henderson says. “He deserves all the credit he gets. He’s not doing it for any other reason than to help the kids that need it. As an England team-mate of his, I’m really proud of what he’s doing.” Rashford is up for a special award at SPOTY.
For Henderson himself, it was “a bit of a shock” to be nominated for the main SPOTY award with Lewis Hamilton, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stuart Broad, Hollie Doyle and Tyson Fury. “I look at Lewis and what he’s achieved over his career and a seventh world title this year,” he says. “Not only that but what he stands for off the track as well is incredible. It’s amazing what Ronnie has done in his career. I could go through all the nominees. They’re like the best in their sport for years and years. It’s a huge honour to be involved.
“I feel as though I haven’t done anything. Liverpool have had an amazing year, it’s about my team-mates.” I mention Liverpool fans’ forum verdicts that “performance levels drop when he’s not there” and their captain being “the heart of the team”.
And voice. Games behind closed doors have revealed Henderson, Kasper Schmeichel and Conor Coady as the most vocal. “Conor has to be top,” he says. “I listened to him in one of the England games and he was pretty loud.”
Henderson will be his usual demonstrative self against Crystal Palace this lunchtime. “I can get vocal but the lads understand it’s not personal, we’re all close enough to know that when someone needs a kick up the backside we need to tell them. That’s why I’m so emotional and passionate when I’m playing. I want to win.”
Speaking of being vocal on the pitch, Barney Ronay had this tidbit about the Palace game:
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There was space to be found on Liverpool’s right flank as Eze and Ayew doubled up on Alexander-Arnold. The Liverpool FC marketing department might want to think about commercially exploiting the sheer visceral power of Jordan Henderson’s cry of “TRENT” heard every few minutes as Liverpool’s right-back wandered a little, and surely an attractive option as either ring tone or doorbell chime.
I wasn’t stirring anything. Every man and his dog knows you dislike Modo, maybe even more than you dislike me. He asked if you mentioned him and I simply answered the questions. Hardly a hanging offence. Not like it was a surprise or a secret.
I appreciated the quotes from Salah thank you. That’s the side of you that’s superb.
Calling people special needs not so much, especially when it’s clear you have mental health issues of your own clearly suffer from bi polar or something similar.
Spark a clash between you and a poster who has you on ignore? Ffs, get over yourself ya big child.
It’s crazy how far he’s come, even from last year when a lot of rival fans questioned his choice as player of the year. He’s been sublime this year and gotten even better. What a model pro. Coming up on 10 years and up there with the very best signings over the last 3 decades.
Go to hell. You object to people wondering if you're mentally ill? You must have lost count by now. Maybe have a look at yourself. And why are you trying to encourage some idiot who has me on ignore to complain about me? Have you thought that through? (What am I asking? - I might as well ask a cat if it's understood Wittgenstein.) Once again, are you mentally ill? Your posts would be funny if you were a sitcom character. Sadly, you're a real person. And a real cunt. A real stupid cunt. So as I said, I'm done with you. Don't respond to me and I won't respond to you. I tried to explain this agreement to you before and you failed to understand it. So let me ask you again. Stay the hell out of my posts, you retarded cunt, and I'll, blissfully, ignore you. As every sane person should do. You fucking idiot.
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This thread got a little sidetracked...
Henderson is the type of player and leader that young people should spend some time learning from. Heck, old people too for that matter. He takes full responsibility for the team performing at their best. He doesn’t expect others to grit it out and him swan around the pitch. He leads vocally and physically. You know the players respect him.
Yes he has some forgettable games. But name another player in world football you would rather be the leader in Liverpool? More talented maybe, but rarely a better leader.
Henderson is the type of player and leader that young people should spend some time learning from. Heck, old people too for that matter. He takes full responsibility for the team performing at their best. He doesn’t expect others to grit it out and him swan around the pitch. He leads vocally and physically. You know the players respect him.
Yes he has some forgettable games. But name another player in world football you would rather be the leader in Liverpool? More talented maybe, but rarely a better leader.
Be careful, he will send you a strongly worded personal message then threaten to add you to his ignore list along with half the board. He's the most fragile, and quick to anger of anyone on here. He will campaign for people to be banned but calls all and sundry a cunt left and right if his dander is up. He's fantastic, and I love his posts. Long live scm: the gang of miserable lunatics.
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[article]Jurgen Klopp read out a heartfelt letter to his Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson on BBC's Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday evening.
The England midfielder was nominated for the top award after guiding the Reds to Premier League glory last season.
After lifting the Champions League trophy the season before Henderson helped Liverpool end a 30-year wait for a domestic league title in 2020.
Henderson played 30 of the 38 league games last season and is now being recognised for his efforts.
Klopp revealed Henderson had written a personal letter to every Liverpool player after the triumph and that now it is his turn.
"Hello friend, hello our captain," the Liverpool boss said on BBC SPOTY.
"When we won the Premier League title last season you wrote a personal letter to every player in the squad and myself. Well, now it's my turn. I write this letter to you.
"This Liverpool team they say we don't have one superstar. For us the team is the star. This is true. But you are a superstar at making us that team.
"Jordan, people too often ignore your quality. But not me and not your team-mates.
"After a touch journey with many obstacles everyone can see it - personality, character and ability. The complete package.
"You led our club to ending a 30-year wait. You did it with humility and grace. You're a world class athlete and football player but you are an even better human being.
"Thank you for everything, my friend, and here's to a great 2021.
"With love, Jurgen."
Henderson graced the stage himself and replied to Klopp's kind words.
"It's amazing the words that I hear but I still can't believe when I look back at the times, as a kid, growing up, watching the Champions League, the Premier League to actually get there is incredible," Henderson said.
He added: "To win the Premier League trophy I dreamt of ever since I was a little boy was a dream come true. Not only for me but for my team-mates it was a special year."[/article]
Completely agree. He scored a cracker last match, and had one of our better efforts today with his only shot. Why not try a few more?
We needed him to dictate the pace and intensity of the game too but he didn't.
One of his worst games for us for a while 🙁
Liverpool’s captain on turning round his career at Anfield, how 2020 has changed him and his use of a sports psychiatrist
Jordan Henderson and Liverpool play on Monday at Southampton, where a game in 2019 marked ‘a little turning point’ for the midfielder. Photograph: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC/Getty Images
At the end of a dark year like no other, and the start of a new one that will complete a decade of his life at Liverpool, Jordan Henderson is in a mood to pause and reflect. The Liverpool captain has family and friends who work for the NHS on the Covid-19 frontline. Sometimes they have held the phones and tablets which offer the only way for people who are dying to say goodbye to those they love.
His father, whom the NHS helped to save during a long battle against cancer, has been shielding and Henderson did not see much of him last year. This helps to explain why he started and drove the crisis fund that raised millions of pounds from Premier League footballers for the NHS.
Having just returned home after a morning of training, amid the blurring end-of-year fixtures, Henderson is engaging company even when addressing the brutal impact of 2020. “I think it has,” he says when asked whether the year has changed him. “It certainly puts things into perspective. Not that I ever take stuff for granted but it reiterates what is important – family and health. That’s all that matters. You’ve got to enjoy life while you can and try not to get too down. But it’s been difficult for everyone because of the virus. Hopefully we can see the other side very soon but a lot of people are struggling, a lot of people have died, and it’s affected us all. All me and the other lads [his fellow club captains who worked on the fund] tried to do was help make a difference.”
On the field, despite the absence of fans, Henderson led Liverpool to their first league title in 30 years. He epitomised the imperious self‑belief and hard-running zeal of the champions. His Player of the Year award, voted for by the country’s football writers, was followed by second place behind Lewis Hamilton in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year poll.
The plaudits have replaced the criticism and doubts which once hounded Henderson. Yet he insists his hunger to improve remains undiluted. He points out that, as Liverpool play Southampton away on Monday night, the same fixture in April 2019 represented a turning point. Henderson rose from the bench and produced a commanding display as Liverpool recovered from conceding an early goal to win 3-1. Their captain, striving to establish himself as a much more attacking presence, proved he could play in the advanced midfield role he craved.
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Jordan Henderson celebrates scoring for Liverpool at Southampton in April 2019. Photograph: Marc Atkins/Offside/Getty Images
Of course, moments of personal crisis seem more fascinating to those of us who did not live through them. But Henderson responds to questions about the adversity he overcame in a way which suggests his emotions are still vivid. In June 2011, when he joined Liverpool from Sunderland for £20m, he was the Fenway Group’s first major signing following their takeover. Fourteen months later, as hard as it is to imagine now when considering Henderson’s importance to the club, Liverpool wanted to sell him to Fulham in a swap deal with Clint Dempsey.
“That was a difficult moment I remember very clearly,” Henderson says of a time which reduced him to tears. “We were preparing for a [Europa League qualifying] game against Hearts at Anfield. We met as normal in the [Hope Street] hotel and I got a knock on my door saying the manager wanted to speak to us. To be fair to Brendan Rodgers, it was really just a conversation. It was an opportunity [to leave for Fulham] I didn’t want and I didn’t like. I still felt I had an awful lot to give.
“But I was in a very dark place at that time. It made us a lot stronger and a lot wiser later on and, without that, you never know what could have happened. So I really cherish them moments because you need setbacks, you need adversity. You get back up, and it makes you stronger because you want to prove people wrong. Ever since that day I had something in me. I needed to prove to the manager I would get in his team eventually. I’d do absolutely everything to be in his team, this football club, and I’d prove them wrong. In the end I did.”
Steven Gerrard told me, when we worked on his autobiography, that Henderson’s mum even approached him to share her concern. “She was worried for her boy,” Gerrard said. “He was a little lost. The move was initially too big for him.” While he joked about feeling very old because Henderson once had a poster of him on his bedroom wall, Gerrard was convinced the club had found his successor. Stressing that Henderson was one of the Liverpool players “I cared about most”, Gerrard reassured his teammate’s anxious mother.
He promised Liz Henderson he would look after her boy but, also, that he had been watching Jordan closely. “I know he’ll be fine,” Gerrard said before emphasising that Henderson would become “a vital player for the club”.
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Steven Gerrard consoles Jordan Henderson after Liverpool’s Champions League exit in 2014. Gerrard backed his fellow midfielder in tough times. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Jordan Henderson and Liverpool play on Monday at Southampton, where a game in 2019 marked ‘a little turning point’ for the midfielder. Photograph: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC/Getty Images
At the end of a dark year like no other, and the start of a new one that will complete a decade of his life at Liverpool, Jordan Henderson is in a mood to pause and reflect. The Liverpool captain has family and friends who work for the NHS on the Covid-19 frontline. Sometimes they have held the phones and tablets which offer the only way for people who are dying to say goodbye to those they love.
His father, whom the NHS helped to save during a long battle against cancer, has been shielding and Henderson did not see much of him last year. This helps to explain why he started and drove the crisis fund that raised millions of pounds from Premier League footballers for the NHS.
Having just returned home after a morning of training, amid the blurring end-of-year fixtures, Henderson is engaging company even when addressing the brutal impact of 2020. “I think it has,” he says when asked whether the year has changed him. “It certainly puts things into perspective. Not that I ever take stuff for granted but it reiterates what is important – family and health. That’s all that matters. You’ve got to enjoy life while you can and try not to get too down. But it’s been difficult for everyone because of the virus. Hopefully we can see the other side very soon but a lot of people are struggling, a lot of people have died, and it’s affected us all. All me and the other lads [his fellow club captains who worked on the fund] tried to do was help make a difference.”
On the field, despite the absence of fans, Henderson led Liverpool to their first league title in 30 years. He epitomised the imperious self‑belief and hard-running zeal of the champions. His Player of the Year award, voted for by the country’s football writers, was followed by second place behind Lewis Hamilton in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year poll.
The plaudits have replaced the criticism and doubts which once hounded Henderson. Yet he insists his hunger to improve remains undiluted. He points out that, as Liverpool play Southampton away on Monday night, the same fixture in April 2019 represented a turning point. Henderson rose from the bench and produced a commanding display as Liverpool recovered from conceding an early goal to win 3-1. Their captain, striving to establish himself as a much more attacking presence, proved he could play in the advanced midfield role he craved.
FacebookTwitterPinterest
Jordan Henderson celebrates scoring for Liverpool at Southampton in April 2019. Photograph: Marc Atkins/Offside/Getty Images
Of course, moments of personal crisis seem more fascinating to those of us who did not live through them. But Henderson responds to questions about the adversity he overcame in a way which suggests his emotions are still vivid. In June 2011, when he joined Liverpool from Sunderland for £20m, he was the Fenway Group’s first major signing following their takeover. Fourteen months later, as hard as it is to imagine now when considering Henderson’s importance to the club, Liverpool wanted to sell him to Fulham in a swap deal with Clint Dempsey.
“That was a difficult moment I remember very clearly,” Henderson says of a time which reduced him to tears. “We were preparing for a [Europa League qualifying] game against Hearts at Anfield. We met as normal in the [Hope Street] hotel and I got a knock on my door saying the manager wanted to speak to us. To be fair to Brendan Rodgers, it was really just a conversation. It was an opportunity [to leave for Fulham] I didn’t want and I didn’t like. I still felt I had an awful lot to give.
“But I was in a very dark place at that time. It made us a lot stronger and a lot wiser later on and, without that, you never know what could have happened. So I really cherish them moments because you need setbacks, you need adversity. You get back up, and it makes you stronger because you want to prove people wrong. Ever since that day I had something in me. I needed to prove to the manager I would get in his team eventually. I’d do absolutely everything to be in his team, this football club, and I’d prove them wrong. In the end I did.”
I needed to keep working, keep getting stronger in the gym, working around the clock, doing things other people weren’t
Henderson explains that he and his wife, Rebecca, remained as close as ever during this tumultuous period but that “it was difficult because I didn’t like mixing family with football”. He says: “When I was coming home, back then, I wasn’t in a great mood a lot of the time. I was still very young and learning how to deal with situations like that. But I was so focused on what I needed to do. I needed to keep working, keep getting better, keep getting stronger in the gym, working around the clock, doing things other people weren’t doing, just to be given an opportunity. So, for me, all the focus was on what I love doing – playing football and being the best I can be. Rebecca has always been there for me but, yeah, it was a difficult period.”Steven Gerrard told me, when we worked on his autobiography, that Henderson’s mum even approached him to share her concern. “She was worried for her boy,” Gerrard said. “He was a little lost. The move was initially too big for him.” While he joked about feeling very old because Henderson once had a poster of him on his bedroom wall, Gerrard was convinced the club had found his successor. Stressing that Henderson was one of the Liverpool players “I cared about most”, Gerrard reassured his teammate’s anxious mother.
He promised Liz Henderson he would look after her boy but, also, that he had been watching Jordan closely. “I know he’ll be fine,” Gerrard said before emphasising that Henderson would become “a vital player for the club”.
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Steven Gerrard consoles Jordan Henderson after Liverpool’s Champions League exit in 2014. Gerrard backed his fellow midfielder in tough times. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Did Henderson share that conviction eight years ago? “I don’t think you ever know what’s going to happen. When I first signed I was very young and I knew it was going to be tough. But I always wanted to test myself and I knew, by going to Liverpool, I would become better. But it took a little time.”
Even as a key presence in the team, when Liverpool came so close to winning the league in 2014, Henderson was tested. His father, Brian, had been diagnosed with throat cancer a few months earlier. “It was a shock,” Henderson recalls. “I didn’t see him for at least five months because he didn’t want to see us when he was having treatment. I kept my head down, kept playing, because I knew him watching and us winning could help. So that’s where my energy went and you’d be surprised how quick six months went. My dad was diagnosed towards the back end of January so, when I was playing, I was just so free and doing everything I could to lift him.”
Few people knew what Henderson was facing then and he reveals that he spoke often to Steve Peters, the sports psychiatrist. “My dad was ill and when we were close to winning the league I spoke to Steve quite regularly. I also did when he was with England, so I had a good couple of years of talking to Steve. It made a big difference.
“A lot of people deal with stuff like this and it made us grow up even quicker and I learnt a lot. In a way it made my dad stronger and I feel it changed him for the better. He enjoys living life even more now than he already did. If you get through that you can have a positive outlook but for other people, unfortunately, sometimes it’s not a happy ending.”
On the night Henderson lifted the Champions League trophy in June 2019 he and his father shared a tearful embrace on the pitch which completed a profoundly moving celebration. Apart from his dad surviving cancer, Henderson finally felt accepted at the pinnacle of football. Yet just seven weeks earlier he had been a substitute against Southampton and still battling to move beyond the critics and doubters as he played more as a No 8 than a deeper-lying No 6.
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Jordan Henderson with his father Brian after winning the Champions League final. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters
“That game was a little turning point,” Henderson says. “Even though I performed well before that, I felt that was the start of playing in a slightly different position. I could bring something different to the team and from that point I felt a lot more confident. I performed much better and more consistently.
“When the manager [Jürgen Klopp] first came [in October 2015] it was difficult for me because I was injured. I kept getting niggles so it took a while to get the real me and my rhythm back. And then I began to play in a deeper role and that is thanks to Jürgen, because I don’t think many people would have seen how I could do that role. There were times when I wasn’t performing well. Then you would question if I was good enough. But I had confidence in the manager and kept working and I matured. I’m really grateful for having that opportunity because my all-round game has improved defensively and offensively.”
Was Klopp easily convinced when Henderson asked to play in a more attacking position? “When we signed Fabinho, a natural defensive midfield player, I felt that was a good thing for me because I could play a little higher up. So when I had the conversation with the manager he was very open. But I don’t think he was going to play us there straightaway. Not long afterwards I was on the bench at that Southampton game before I came on as an attacker and managed to score. I’ve matured even more since then. At the end of last year I played more as an 8, but with certain injuries I’ve had this season I’ve played a little deeper again. I feel I can contribute to both positions.”
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A mural near Anfield of Jordan Henderson lifting the Premier League trophy. Photograph: Visionhaus
Liverpool return to St Mary’s top of the table and remain favourites to retain the title. “The past few years we’ve proved how good we can be and now it’s about improving, working as hard as possible, wanting more and giving absolutely everything. We’re in a good position but the Premier League can change very quickly. But that hunger and desire will always be there for me and the team.”
Against the pandemic’s grim backdrop of rising rates of infection and death, Henderson stresses that the work his cousin, and other friends, do in the NHS continues to occupy his thoughts. “You hear stories all the time of what they’re doing, what they’re going through, and it’s really tough. They just keep going on the frontline, but there will come a time where the effects may be felt further down the line. It’s important we plan for that now and help them as much as possible because some of the stuff they’ve been doing is incredible.
“People were dying and their families weren’t allowed at the hospital. So you want to be there to hold the iPad or iPhone for them to say goodbye to their family. I found it really tough hearing those stories. People on the frontline see some horrendous sights and so the least we can do is try and support them and help them prepare for what may come when this all stops.”
The pandemic has also meant that Henderson did not see much of his father in 2020. “He’s very high-risk and has to be careful. When the [first] lockdown eased a little I got a moment to see him and maybe once or twice after that. It’s not much but my dad’s in good spirits.”
Henderson is the figurehead of a Dry January campaign jointeamzero.com created by the team behind Budweiser Zero, a non-alcoholic beer. “It’s a really good campaign which fits me well because I don’t really drink alcohol,” Henderson says. “In 2020 lots of people, especially during lockdown, turned to alcohol for comfort to try and keep their mind off things. I’ve heard people talk about how they were drinking too much. So let’s all try and complete Dry January and stay focused and healthy and make a good start to the new year.”
The last nine and a half years at Liverpool “have flown by” for Henderson and he pauses again only when I ask whether, at the age of 30, he has begun to consider life without football. “I try not to do that. I hope I can play for a very long time, because the hunger, the desire and the love for the game is still there. I feel good physically and mentally. So I’m not thinking that far ahead. I’m just concentrating on doing the best I can over the next however many years for the club and for England and see where that takes me.”
Jordan Henderson spoke on behalf of Budweiser Zero. Sign up to Team Zero to join Henderson and take on Dry January together, and for a chance to win tickets to an England home game at jointeamzero.com
Even as a key presence in the team, when Liverpool came so close to winning the league in 2014, Henderson was tested. His father, Brian, had been diagnosed with throat cancer a few months earlier. “It was a shock,” Henderson recalls. “I didn’t see him for at least five months because he didn’t want to see us when he was having treatment. I kept my head down, kept playing, because I knew him watching and us winning could help. So that’s where my energy went and you’d be surprised how quick six months went. My dad was diagnosed towards the back end of January so, when I was playing, I was just so free and doing everything I could to lift him.”
Few people knew what Henderson was facing then and he reveals that he spoke often to Steve Peters, the sports psychiatrist. “My dad was ill and when we were close to winning the league I spoke to Steve quite regularly. I also did when he was with England, so I had a good couple of years of talking to Steve. It made a big difference.
“A lot of people deal with stuff like this and it made us grow up even quicker and I learnt a lot. In a way it made my dad stronger and I feel it changed him for the better. He enjoys living life even more now than he already did. If you get through that you can have a positive outlook but for other people, unfortunately, sometimes it’s not a happy ending.”
On the night Henderson lifted the Champions League trophy in June 2019 he and his father shared a tearful embrace on the pitch which completed a profoundly moving celebration. Apart from his dad surviving cancer, Henderson finally felt accepted at the pinnacle of football. Yet just seven weeks earlier he had been a substitute against Southampton and still battling to move beyond the critics and doubters as he played more as a No 8 than a deeper-lying No 6.
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Jordan Henderson with his father Brian after winning the Champions League final. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters
“That game was a little turning point,” Henderson says. “Even though I performed well before that, I felt that was the start of playing in a slightly different position. I could bring something different to the team and from that point I felt a lot more confident. I performed much better and more consistently.
“When the manager [Jürgen Klopp] first came [in October 2015] it was difficult for me because I was injured. I kept getting niggles so it took a while to get the real me and my rhythm back. And then I began to play in a deeper role and that is thanks to Jürgen, because I don’t think many people would have seen how I could do that role. There were times when I wasn’t performing well. Then you would question if I was good enough. But I had confidence in the manager and kept working and I matured. I’m really grateful for having that opportunity because my all-round game has improved defensively and offensively.”
Was Klopp easily convinced when Henderson asked to play in a more attacking position? “When we signed Fabinho, a natural defensive midfield player, I felt that was a good thing for me because I could play a little higher up. So when I had the conversation with the manager he was very open. But I don’t think he was going to play us there straightaway. Not long afterwards I was on the bench at that Southampton game before I came on as an attacker and managed to score. I’ve matured even more since then. At the end of last year I played more as an 8, but with certain injuries I’ve had this season I’ve played a little deeper again. I feel I can contribute to both positions.”
FacebookTwitterPinterest
A mural near Anfield of Jordan Henderson lifting the Premier League trophy. Photograph: Visionhaus
Liverpool return to St Mary’s top of the table and remain favourites to retain the title. “The past few years we’ve proved how good we can be and now it’s about improving, working as hard as possible, wanting more and giving absolutely everything. We’re in a good position but the Premier League can change very quickly. But that hunger and desire will always be there for me and the team.”
Against the pandemic’s grim backdrop of rising rates of infection and death, Henderson stresses that the work his cousin, and other friends, do in the NHS continues to occupy his thoughts. “You hear stories all the time of what they’re doing, what they’re going through, and it’s really tough. They just keep going on the frontline, but there will come a time where the effects may be felt further down the line. It’s important we plan for that now and help them as much as possible because some of the stuff they’ve been doing is incredible.
“People were dying and their families weren’t allowed at the hospital. So you want to be there to hold the iPad or iPhone for them to say goodbye to their family. I found it really tough hearing those stories. People on the frontline see some horrendous sights and so the least we can do is try and support them and help them prepare for what may come when this all stops.”
The pandemic has also meant that Henderson did not see much of his father in 2020. “He’s very high-risk and has to be careful. When the [first] lockdown eased a little I got a moment to see him and maybe once or twice after that. It’s not much but my dad’s in good spirits.”
Henderson is the figurehead of a Dry January campaign jointeamzero.com created by the team behind Budweiser Zero, a non-alcoholic beer. “It’s a really good campaign which fits me well because I don’t really drink alcohol,” Henderson says. “In 2020 lots of people, especially during lockdown, turned to alcohol for comfort to try and keep their mind off things. I’ve heard people talk about how they were drinking too much. So let’s all try and complete Dry January and stay focused and healthy and make a good start to the new year.”
The last nine and a half years at Liverpool “have flown by” for Henderson and he pauses again only when I ask whether, at the age of 30, he has begun to consider life without football. “I try not to do that. I hope I can play for a very long time, because the hunger, the desire and the love for the game is still there. I feel good physically and mentally. So I’m not thinking that far ahead. I’m just concentrating on doing the best I can over the next however many years for the club and for England and see where that takes me.”
Jordan Henderson spoke on behalf of Budweiser Zero. Sign up to Team Zero to join Henderson and take on Dry January together, and for a chance to win tickets to an England home game at jointeamzero.com
[article]With the boisterous and calm presence of the 30-year-old in midfield, Liverpool haven't suffered a defeat in the league this season. In his absence with a groin problem, however, the tale reads very differently.
Henderson is back training ahead of tonight's clash in north London, after missing defeats by Burnley and United, but Klopp could not say for certain he would line up against Jose Mourinho's men. If he fails to make it, the Reds' hopes of halting a three-match winless run in all competitions (they've won just once in seven) become a lot slimmer. They need him for this one.
After Steven Gerrard's departure in 2015, he was entrusted with the captain's armband and hasn't looked back. His leadership abilities speak for themselves, both on and off the field.
His booming voice can often be heard echoing around the empty stadiums currently hosting Premier League action, with his regular bellow of 'good' greeting tackles and interceptions from his team-mates.
Liverpool are perhaps the hardest-working team in the top flight and Henderson stands at the fulcrum of it all, conducting his peers and keeping a close eye out as the chaos unfolds around him.
His strong passing range, willingness to leap into challenges and unbridled passion, known to spill over in a haze of red, have helped Henderson flourish into the perfect servant for the Anfield giants.[/article]
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I love playing with players like Hendo. They normally are great lads off the pitch too.
UCL, Premier League, WCC, UEFA Super Cup winning captain. He's already a bona fide LFC ledge.
He kind of has narrow shoulders though, so he can't be fully trusted.
Don’t remember you having massive shoulders Sanchez!
I never said that I conform to my own high standards of masculinity.
Yeah was going to mention that ... from the corner Hendo ran 100m to end up right next to Mo. at the finish (listen to his encouragement to Trent).
NB. Against West Ham, Henderson won 100% of his duels and won possession 11 times - the most of any player in the match.
Nine minutes: Mohamed Salah gave the ball away. West Ham advanced down the left. Salah charged back, which is usually a sign he has done something for which he feels he needs to make amends. But he couldn’t recover in time.
Michail Antonio was already moving at pace when Trent Alexander-Arnold got to him, and was able to sling a dangerous cross into the box. Tomas Soucek, the Czech Fellaini, rumbled into the penalty area. He didn’t have to check his stride. Neck muscles flexed, he readied himself for a fourth headed goal of the season. And suddenly there was Jordan Henderson, nipping in front of him to head the ball to safety.
Sixty-eight minutes: Liverpool cleared a corner and Alexander-Arnold slung the ball out to the left. Xherdan Shaqiri swept it instantly to the top of the box.
Salah’s first touch was sublime, his second beautifully deft and Liverpool suddenly had a 2-0 lead. About 10 yards behind him was Henderson, having sprinted 70 yards. He was the first to congratulate Salah and, in the unlikely event the Egyptian’s first touch had been less than sensational, he would have been on hand to collect the loose ball.
Salah was the obvious reason Liverpool beat West Ham. His two goals were both brilliant. But equally necessary was Henderson. He has become for Liverpool something more than a player.
He is a captain of the most inspirational kind, not just relentlessly energetic, but a constant cajoler and organiser – as these games behind closed doors have proved. The soundtrack to modern Liverpool is a constant Wearside bark, as though a collie at sheepdog trials had decided to commentate on itself. But Henderson embodies something more: he has become the spirit of all that is best about the club, somebody endlessly and selflessly willing to do what the team need rather than what necessarily comes most easily to him.
Talk to any of Henderson’s former coaches and they will tell you his greatest asset is his willingness to learn. It is that which has underlain his apparently endless capacity for reinvention.
When he first emerged at Sunderland, Henderson played on the right side of midfield. It was Steve Bruce who moved him into the centre, but very much as a box-to-box player.
At Liverpool, asked to play as a holder under Brendan Rodgers and then Jürgen Klopp, he initially struggled. His great breakthrough came after being shifted to the right of the midfield three. But when in autumn 2019 he had to revert to that deepest-lying midfield role, he excelled. And now, he looks a perfectly serviceable central defender.
The absence of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joël Matip and Fabinho prompted Liverpool to turn to their 12th starting central defensive pairing of the league season, Nat Phillips partnering Henderson, as he had after half-time in the win against Tottenham last Thursday.
But this looked a test far more likely to expose a player unfamiliar in the position. In the Premier League this season, nobody has scored more often from set-pieces, more from crosses or with more headers than West Ham.
That’s why that first header against Soucek was so vital, to show Liverpool were not to be cowed. In the end, West Ham did score, with their sixth corner of the game, but by then Liverpool already led 3-0 and there were only three minutes remaining.
Any assessment of Liverpool at the moment has to take into account their injuries. Liverpool are such an interconnected unit that changes in one area can have a major impact elsewhere.
This has been a season of firefighting all over the pitch and the changes of shape and personnel mean it’s unwise to draw firm conclusions but the first half seemed to demonstrate the danger that Thiago Alcântara, for all his excellence on the ball, could slow Liverpool down.
In part, of course, that’s the point. His role is to protect possession, to bring a sense of calm and to give Liverpool the option of playing in a more reserved style. But circumstances – the raft of injuries, including to Thiago, and the lack of time on the training pitch with the compressed calendar – have made a gradual integration impossible.
The result was that, before the break, Divock Origi and, particularly, Salah made a number of runs that went unseen, or at least that resulted in no attempt to feed them in, while the flow forward from full-back, which at its best can seem irresistible, was often interrupted, Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson left waiting for the pass rather than running naturally on to balls played in front of them.
But in the second half, Liverpool were more direct and more purposeful –and never more so than in that stunning second, that went from box-to-box in two passes – more like the Liverpool of last season.
Underpinning it all was Henderson. He blocked crosses. He tracked runs. At one point he challenged Soucek when he must have known doing so would mean a kick in the head. He took the ball from Alisson to orchestrate play. And always, always, he shouted.
In the end, Salah’s artistry won the game – but it was Henderson’s spirit that made it possible. - Guardian
Michail Antonio was already moving at pace when Trent Alexander-Arnold got to him, and was able to sling a dangerous cross into the box. Tomas Soucek, the Czech Fellaini, rumbled into the penalty area. He didn’t have to check his stride. Neck muscles flexed, he readied himself for a fourth headed goal of the season. And suddenly there was Jordan Henderson, nipping in front of him to head the ball to safety.
Sixty-eight minutes: Liverpool cleared a corner and Alexander-Arnold slung the ball out to the left. Xherdan Shaqiri swept it instantly to the top of the box.
Salah’s first touch was sublime, his second beautifully deft and Liverpool suddenly had a 2-0 lead. About 10 yards behind him was Henderson, having sprinted 70 yards. He was the first to congratulate Salah and, in the unlikely event the Egyptian’s first touch had been less than sensational, he would have been on hand to collect the loose ball.
Salah was the obvious reason Liverpool beat West Ham. His two goals were both brilliant. But equally necessary was Henderson. He has become for Liverpool something more than a player.
He is a captain of the most inspirational kind, not just relentlessly energetic, but a constant cajoler and organiser – as these games behind closed doors have proved. The soundtrack to modern Liverpool is a constant Wearside bark, as though a collie at sheepdog trials had decided to commentate on itself. But Henderson embodies something more: he has become the spirit of all that is best about the club, somebody endlessly and selflessly willing to do what the team need rather than what necessarily comes most easily to him.
Talk to any of Henderson’s former coaches and they will tell you his greatest asset is his willingness to learn. It is that which has underlain his apparently endless capacity for reinvention.
When he first emerged at Sunderland, Henderson played on the right side of midfield. It was Steve Bruce who moved him into the centre, but very much as a box-to-box player.
At Liverpool, asked to play as a holder under Brendan Rodgers and then Jürgen Klopp, he initially struggled. His great breakthrough came after being shifted to the right of the midfield three. But when in autumn 2019 he had to revert to that deepest-lying midfield role, he excelled. And now, he looks a perfectly serviceable central defender.
The absence of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joël Matip and Fabinho prompted Liverpool to turn to their 12th starting central defensive pairing of the league season, Nat Phillips partnering Henderson, as he had after half-time in the win against Tottenham last Thursday.
But this looked a test far more likely to expose a player unfamiliar in the position. In the Premier League this season, nobody has scored more often from set-pieces, more from crosses or with more headers than West Ham.
That’s why that first header against Soucek was so vital, to show Liverpool were not to be cowed. In the end, West Ham did score, with their sixth corner of the game, but by then Liverpool already led 3-0 and there were only three minutes remaining.
Any assessment of Liverpool at the moment has to take into account their injuries. Liverpool are such an interconnected unit that changes in one area can have a major impact elsewhere.
This has been a season of firefighting all over the pitch and the changes of shape and personnel mean it’s unwise to draw firm conclusions but the first half seemed to demonstrate the danger that Thiago Alcântara, for all his excellence on the ball, could slow Liverpool down.
In part, of course, that’s the point. His role is to protect possession, to bring a sense of calm and to give Liverpool the option of playing in a more reserved style. But circumstances – the raft of injuries, including to Thiago, and the lack of time on the training pitch with the compressed calendar – have made a gradual integration impossible.
The result was that, before the break, Divock Origi and, particularly, Salah made a number of runs that went unseen, or at least that resulted in no attempt to feed them in, while the flow forward from full-back, which at its best can seem irresistible, was often interrupted, Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson left waiting for the pass rather than running naturally on to balls played in front of them.
But in the second half, Liverpool were more direct and more purposeful –and never more so than in that stunning second, that went from box-to-box in two passes – more like the Liverpool of last season.
Underpinning it all was Henderson. He blocked crosses. He tracked runs. At one point he challenged Soucek when he must have known doing so would mean a kick in the head. He took the ball from Alisson to orchestrate play. And always, always, he shouted.
In the end, Salah’s artistry won the game – but it was Henderson’s spirit that made it possible. - Guardian
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