sport news OLIVER HOLT: The anyone but Henderson brigade are like the idiots who bashed ... trends now
I might as well declare a bias straight away. I’ve always admired Jordan Henderson as a player. I have always thought he is underrated. Criminally underrated.
He is a brilliant passer, someone who has the ability to thread the ball between the lines. He is a hard runner, a hard tackler, a relentless opponent, a clever organiser, a fine crosser. Just some of the reasons why he has captained Liverpool in three Champions League finals.
Another declaration of bias: I spent a bit of time with Henderson in the Algarve in the summer, helping with his autobiography. He has a house down there but I wouldn’t really say he was on holiday. He had played a couple of rounds of golf with Adam Lallana the week before I arrived but he had a personal trainer there as well. He worked alone with him on a pitch at a sports centre every day.
Jordan Henderson is a criminally underrated players despite criticism from England fans
His appearances against the United States and Wales were used as a stick to beat Gareth Southgate with and there seems to be an 'anyone but Henderson' attitude among supporters
One reason I’m happy to declare the bias is that a lot of people share it. Even out here in Doha, I have spoken to several former players, now prominent pundits, who are effusive about Henderson’s qualities. They don’t question him. They look at the fact that he has won everything there is to win in the club game and they shake their heads at some of the nonsense aimed at him.
When he played against the US at the Al Bayt Stadium nine days ago, he became only the fourth England player to feature in six successive major tournaments. The other three are Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Sol Campbell, so Henderson is in good company. He has played in three World Cups now, too. Only 13 other England players have done that. He must be doing something right.
Henderson is a decent man, too. He tries to do the right thing. He wants to help others. He is a team player. A genuine team player, not just someone who pays lip service to that idea while pursuing his own ends. Maybe that’s part of the reason why he’s at the World Cup with England: because he’s what they call ‘a good tourist’. But it’s not the main reason. The main reason is that he’s a superb footballer.
Henderson is seen by some as the man blocking the path for the likes of Phil Foden (right)
Not that you would know that from the reaction to his introduction as a second-half substitute during England’s disappointing 0-0 draw with the US. Nor from the reaction to his selection in the starting line-up for England’s third game, against Wales on Tuesday night, which England won 3-0, meaning they topped the group.
His appearances were greeted by many fans as a sign of the Apocalypse. More specifically, they were used as a stick with which to beat Gareth Southgate. Henderson, critics said, was a symbol of Southgate’s innate conservatism and caution. They cried out for Phil Foden and Jack Grealish and James Maddison. The attitude was pretty much ABH: Anyone But Henderson. It was pathetic.
It has been this way with England before. The attitude to Henderson fits into a different category from players who become scapegoats for a tournament exit, although we have a proud history of those, too. Peter Bonetti, Southgate, David Beckham, Phil Neville, Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho are just some of the players who have been targeted in the aftermath of tournament elimination.
Henderson joined Steven Gerrard (right) as one of four players to feature in six successive international tournaments
Henderson, 32, is different. He is part of a group of footballers targeted because he is perceived to be holding other, more creative, more talented, more exciting players back by keeping them out of the team. Henderson has come to be seen by idiots as the man blocking the path for Foden or Grealish and, by extension, damaging England’s hopes of winning this World Cup.
It is not a new phenomenon. Far from it. The first time I
