Jordan Henderson’s highs and lows at Liverpool after being named Steven Gerrard’s successor as captain before winning it all

In one of Jordan Henderson’s first Liverpool photos in 2011, he stood, arms crossed, before an old boot storage rack in their Melwood training base. 

Behind him were hundreds of boots, hundreds of footballing time capsules, but in the wooden structure there were vacant spaces so that this skinny Sunderland lad might leave his own trace.

Twelve years on and with his £12million move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq confirmed, questions of memory and morality have arisen.  

For many footballers, how they leave a club influences the light and shade of their legacy. Despite the joys he brought Liverpool fans, Fernando Torres was branded a ‘fake and a fraud who has spat in the faces of the Liverpool supporters who idolised him’ by John Aldridge when he left for Chelsea. This stuff matters. 

Much has and will be written of Henderson’s transfer and £700,00-per-week contract, lines of hurt, disappointment, counter-arguments and understanding. 

As he trades Merseyside for the Middle East, Mail Sport reflects on the times he had at Liverpool – from the highs to the lows. 

HIGHS

Taking Liverpool captaincy from Gerard – and Europa League run

After the departure of Gerrard in 2015, his right-hand man ascended to the Liverpool throne. There was little doubt around the central midfielder’s leadership qualities. By this stage he was a well-established England international. 

He would still suffer from accusations of being rather safe and mundane – he wasn’t seen in the same galvanising, game-changing ilk as Gerrard was – but in time he would prove the doubters wrong. 

As if to do just that, Henderson overcame an injury at the start of the 2015/16 season to help his side to the Europa League final in Jurgen Klopp’s first season. 

Sadly he didn’t get to play in the final due to a knee injury sustained in their quarter-final first leg against Borussia Dortmund, but the evidence was there: special seeds were being sown at the club. 

Jordan Henderson signed for Liverpool from Sunderland for £20million in June 2011 aged 20

Champions League win caps off record-breaking year

The 2018/19 season was the one in which Henderson chiselled his name into the wall of the Hall of Fame. 

Perhaps the most famous images to exist of the talisman came from the 2-0 European final win over Spurs; Henderson shining in pure joy, holding the trophy aloft, mouth agape and voice hoarse with cheering. 

And then there were the moving photos with his father, Brian, who a few years prior had been told he had cancer and had been unable to travel to watch his son at the 2014 World Cup due to sickness. The love between players and their family is something that transcends the sport. 

This was the culmination of a long footballing journey and a vindication of Henderson’s leadership after Liverpool lost out on the Premier League title in the weeks prior. 

Their 97-point haul was a club record and the third-highest total in English top flight history, but it wasn’t enough to usurp City. For two seasons in a row they remained unbeaten at Anfield, bringing an air of invincibility to the entire city, but it wasn’t to be – yet. 

The midfielder led his team-mates to Champions League glory over Spurs in 2019

He celebrated with his father, Brian Henderson, who had had cancer in previous years

Premier League title and FWA Award 

It had to happen sooner or later. Jurgen Klopp told Liverpool fans when he arrived that he wanted to turn them from doubters into believers, and the 2019-20 season officially made good on this promise. 

After steering his team-mates through a humid 2019 Club World Cup final against Flamengo, Liverpool looked on the home straight when the Covid-19 pandemic suspended the season in March. 

A record-shattering streak of 18 consecutive wins until late February had put them firmly in the driving seat, but a three-month break threw people into a state of anxiety as they waited to get formalities over the line.

With a staggering seven games to go, Liverpool won the Premier League title and received a guard of honour from previous champions Manchester City before taking a 4-0 drubbing from them.

For Henderson in particular, the 2019-20 season was unique because he won the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year Award, not only for his on-pitch achievements but for reasons discussed below.  

In 2020, Henderson won the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year Award

Using his platform for social good

Something that made Jordan Henderson a hero to so many was his commitment to using his power to try and drive social change, and that’s part of why he was the FWA Award. 

To help during the Covid-19 pandemic, he kickstarted the #playerstogether initiative, a charitable fund created by Premier League captains that aimed to distribute funds to whoever needed it most. 

He had also positioned himself as a vocal ally to the LGBT community. His support of Keith Spooner, a gay Liverpool fan, made people feel he was a strong supporter of the community. 

Spooner had tweeted that seeing Henderson wearing the rainbow laces armband meant the world to him, and the Liverpool captain replied: ‘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. Hope you enjoyed the game tonight.’

For his services during Covid-19, Henderson was awarded an MBE in 2021. To make things even better from a Liverpool perspective, he signed a contract extension until 2025, committing his future to a city that embraced the north-eastern running bean as a Scouser.  

A mural of Jordan Henderson lifting the Premier League trophy on Old Barn Road, Liverpool

LOWS 

Almost being sold despite League Cup win 

Henderson signed for Liverpool from his boyhood club, Sunderland, in June 2011 for a fee of £20m and immediately slotted into the side, facing his hometown team on the first day of the season. 

He played 48 times in a midfield that variously consisted of names such as Steven Gerrard, Charlie Adam, Jonjo Shelvey, and Jay Spearing as the Reds rolled to eighth in the Premier League and a League Cup win under Kenny Dalglish. A victory on penalties over Cardiff did the trick. 

But just a season into his Merseyside meander, the youngster’s future was under threat. 

New manager Brendan Rodgers had different ideas in the summer of 2012. Liverpool agreed a fee with Fulham – Henderson revealed that he cried when he was told he could leave .

However, the future skipper decided he wanted to stay and fight for his place. 

Henderson faced being sold in his first year before vowing to stay and fight for his place

Losing out on league title despite brilliant year

The 2013-14 league season was an incredible one for Liverpool as it gave fans genuine excitement for the first time in a long time. Rodgers’ target was a top-four finish and few thought that he could lead the Reds to within a whisker of the title. 

Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge ran riot with 52 league goals between them while Philippe Coutinho imposed sheer wizardry on his opponents. Raheem Sterling had a stunning campaign and Gerrard showed no sign of letting it slip – until Chelsea visited Anfield.

In April 2014, Henderson received his first career red card for a poor challenge on Samir Nasri. It took him out of action for three of the last four games – a pivotal time as Liverpool chased the title.

Going into the final three fixtures, the Anfield outfit had a five-point lead over Manchester City but had played two more. 

Despite winning on the last day, they finished two points off the pace due to a 2-0 loss against Chelsea and a 3-3 draw at Crystal Palace after being 3-0 up – vital let-downs where they missed Henderson’s industry. 

Mark Clattenburg showed Henderson a red card, meaning he missed three title run-in games

Losing 2018 Champions League final 

In any discussion of such a low it’s worth acknowledging the unbelievable highs that precede it – a crushing victory over Porto, humbling Manchester City at Anfield, surviving a dramatic comeback from Roma in the semi-finals to reach the exultation of the 2017/18 Champions League final.

And until a mixture of a Gareth Bale masterclass and a horror show from Loris Karius – anything felt possible. Liverpool had counteracted Karim Benzema’s goal with a Sadio Mane equaliser and for a spell looked on top of Los Blancos. 

But a midfield platoon of Henderson, James Milner, and Georginio Wijnaldum could do nothing to stop the supply line to the destructive, rip-roaring thunder of Bale, a wildebeest who charged down the flank and cut in as he liked, wreaking havoc on the Liverpool backline. 

The Welshman’s two goals took the air out of their balloon and made everything feel bleak. 

Would there be any way back for Liverpool and Henderson? Would they always be remembered as nearly-men? Existential anxieties abounded. 

Henderson led this Liverpool team out for the 2018 Champions League final vs Real Madrid

2022 title agony despite cup successes

The 2021/22 season was one of mixed feelings for Liverpool. On one hand, they held their nerve to win two domestic cups. 

He was unable to lift the 2022 Champions League trophy 

On the other hand, they lost out in the Premier League and Champions League in agonising fashion – a theme they have become used to. 

Talk of the Quadruple was alive but their hopes were dashed.

In the Premier League, Jurgen Klopp’s men yet again took it down to the final day. 

However, their 3-1 win over Wolves wasn’t enough as Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City completed a superb comeback from 2-0 against Aston Villa to seal the title. 

On the European stage, Real Madrid again played their trump card – the ability to squeeze out a game with minimal fuss and frustrate the opposition to the extreme. 

This time it took a solitary strike from Vinicius Junior in what was a lifeless, listless night at the Stade de France, where revelry was overshadowed by security issues and the dangers posed to fans outside the ground. 

The future  

Part of the emotion surrounding Henderson’s move to Al-Ettifaq – besides the ethical quandaries – comes from its suddenness. 

Almost overnight, a player adulated by a global fanbase had caused feelings of betrayal among swathes of the fanbase. 

Nobody was expecting this. Nobody envisioned a Liverpool season without Henderson for years to come. And so this will all take time to process, time to digest, time to come to terms with. For some, there will be no reconciliation, no feelings worth digesting beyond one of betrayal, and that is understandable. 

Whatever opinion people now hold, one thing is hard to deny: Henderson has had a positive influence on Liverpool’s history and the wider community through his actions over the last 12 years. 

The young man who stood before the stacks of boots on his first day in Liverpool’s nerve centre has helped reinvigorate a football club, but as he leaves for Saudi Arabia, there is an inescapable feeling that he leaves behind a great Anfield chapter under a cloud.