Jordan Henderson reaches new nadir at Ajax as ‘square ball’ merchant gazes longingly at Liverpool
Jordan Henderson is captaining the worst Ajax team this century having earned nothing from a Saudi sojourn which left his reputation in tatters. Meanwhile, Liverpool are on course for a quadruple. You’ve got to laugh.
One of the few silver linings for the neutral as we endure Jurgen Klopp’s farewell tour and a potential Liverpool quadruple is the thought of what it’s doing to LGBT+ turncoat Jordan Henderson, whose season went from bad, to better, to worse.
Klopp told Henderson he wanted him to remain at the club but the former Liverpool skipper opted to leave for Saudi Arabia in search of guaranteed football and untold riches.
Unreceived riches, as it turned out, because Henderson didn’t receive a penny of his £350,000-a-week wage from Al Ettifaq, having deferred his wages to avoid UK tax before ripping up his contract with the Saudi Pro League club.
Sympathy was hard to come by after Henderson abandoned his morals to play football in a country that denies human rights to members of the LGBT+ community, having previously been one of their foremost supporters in his time at Anfield.
Having received no money, with his reputation in the toilet, Henderson sought solace at Ajax, understandably desperate to draw a line under his Saudi sojourn.
“I just want to look forward now and concentrate on being the best player I can for Ajax,” he said, insisting “it was never my intention” to “let people down”. So not just greedy, but also ignorant and incredibly naive. But things started off smoothly in the Dutch capital.
His No.6 shirt became the fastest-selling jersey in the club’s history and manager John van ‘t Schip hailed Henderson for his leadership skills and knowledge of when “you have to keep possession of the ball a little longer” after his debut in the 1-1 draw with PSV Eindhoven. “That boy comes in, brings his experience with him and immediately ensures that everything is back in order,” Wesley Sneijder added.
But what was deemed a show of experience and composure six weeks ago is now seen as tedium and lethargy on the back of one win in his five Eredevisie games since. “They have brought in Jordan Henderson, who passes sideways and backwards all the time. That doesn’t make anyone happy,” Rafael van der Vaart said.
Feelings of discontent towards Ajax, and Henderson in particular, were very apparent in the now captain’s interview after their 2-2 draw at home to Fortuna Sittard, a result which leaves them six points adrift of the top four and European football, on course for their worst league finish since 1999, when Jari Litmanen was their top scorer.
A clearly taken aback Henderson was directly asked: “Was this the worst game of the season since you are here and maybe your worst performance?”. Having said “no, because we didn’t lose” Henderson was then probed over there being “too many square balls”, to which he gave a similar response.
Henderson has won just seven of the 26 games he’s played for Al Ettifaq and Ajax this season, a win percentage of just 27%, compared to Liverpool’s 73% under Klopp this term.
The final twist of the knife for Henderson at the end of this season could be his exclusion from the Euro 2024 squad, though Gareth Southgate’s selection of him even when playing in Saudi Arabia suggests he’s near guaranteed a seat on the plane having returned to Europe. He’s made it for the friendlies.
Whether he deserves that spot will be a debate that will rage up to and into the summer, with a large section of the Three Lions fanbase hoping either for Ross Barkley’s reinstatement after his remarkable season for Luton, or an early opportunity – of which there will surely be many – for Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo, partly on the basis of football merit, but also in large part because of the disdain for Henderson that he’s brought upon himself.
Liverpool may not have enjoyed such an excellent season had Henderson remained – their midfield rebuild has gone about as well as it could have done – but the England international would surely have enjoyed a bit-part role in what could turn out to be one of the greatest seasons in Liverpool’s history more than his starting spot playing in front of hundreds of nonplussed Al Ettifaq fans and thousands of angry Ajax supporters, as he captains their worst team of the century.
You’ve got to laugh, and we are.
