. It became apparent in October’s behind-closed-doors game in Croatia that Henderson is every inch England’s midfield general
. At 28 and with 48 caps to his name, Henderson is now among the more senior players
Image: /REUTERS
Before Gareth Southgate considers how to organise his midfield for today’s European Championship qualifier against the Czech Republic, he has to find a solution to the absence of John Stones.
It was an issue that was central to a discussion Southgate had with his coaching staff earlier this week, a meeting that was laced with frustration given the number of late injury withdrawals and the importance of the Manchester City centre half.
Stones came of age at last year’s World Cup and his ability on the ball is vital to how England play, not least when it comes to the accuracy and effectiveness of his passing between the lines.
So when the England manager’s options in central defence are limited to Harry Maguire, James Tarkowski and Michael Keane — and possibly Kyle Walker given his contribution in Russia — it will be interesting to see if there is a temptation to draft either Eric Dier or Declan Rice into the back four. They both have the necessary attributes, after all.
Of course, much of the excitement generated by Rice’s switch from Ireland to England concerns what the teenager can offer Southgate as a holding midfielder.
His performances at West Ham this season have already persuaded many observers that he is more dynamic than Dier and could soon prove himself a better option than Jordan Henderson, too.
But right now Henderson wins favour with Southgate not just for his form at Liverpool but for turning up when he was carrying a minor injury only last week.
Not only that, Henderson is a leader. It became apparent in October’s behind-closed doors game in Croatia that Henderson is every inch England’s midfield general and the way he conducted himself in an interview this week underlined his authority.
Rice might pose a threat to his place but Henderson was hugely generous in his praise for the youngster when he was asked to assess his qualities this week. Indeed he even defended Rice against the criticism he has received over quitting Ireland to play for England.
“Declan has done really well,” said Henderson. “For me it is not a big deal. It might be a bit different for him but it is not a big issue for me. He’s English, he was born in England, he wants to play for England, and he wants to represent England and that’s good for us. At the end of the day we want the best players in the squad and we want to compete with each other, to improve. And he has settled in immediately. He looks good, and he has done well for West Ham. It is good to have competition and he is a very talented young player.”
It is, Henderson reiterated, what he regards as healthy competition and something that is not alien to him. “You just have to try to be better than them,” he said.
At 28 and with 48 caps to his name, Henderson is now among the more senior players. And he is one of Southgate’s captains even if Harry Kane has the armband, as those who were permitted entry to that game in Rijeka witnessed.
“It’s something that comes quite naturally to me,” he said. “I haven’t just been like that over the past couple of years, I’ve been like that most of my career, even when I was really young. Maybe when I was younger I did things too much in the wrong way, but I feel as though I’ve improved that and I’m more constructive, more helpful to the team.”
“You need people who are vocal on the pitch to give information at different times of the game. Coaching younger players and coach them within the game. What you want them to do as a team, what we’ve been working on. I try to do that as best I can and when there is no crowd, like there was in Croatia, it can be a bit...”
The fact that the audience could hear every word did not seem to inhibit him. “Once you are in the game you are just focusing on that,’ he said. ‘But in normal circumstances you can’t hear it. But I don’t do it just for the sake of it. I do it because I feel it can help. The more people you have on the pitch that are talking and communicating then the easier it is.”
In Henderson’s opinion England have a good balance right now, a mixture of older players who have been round the block and younger players with the experience of winning tournaments at junior international level.
“Those younger players have so much talent,” he said. “It’s good for England because I can see in a few years we are going to have big, big players. I don’t think many of the older players have won things for England at youth team level so that’s really good that they have experienced that. It will help them in the future.” As will the presence of a midfielder like Henderson.
Meanwhile, The FA shortlist for their new chief executive is understood to include an internal candidate in current chief commercial and football development officer, Mark Bullingham.
While the FA are expected to look outside football — outgoing CEO Martin Glenn arrived with a hugely impressive c.v. as the former CEO of United Biscuits and PepsiCo UK and Ireland — Bullingham is believed to have cleared the first major hurdle in the selection process. Prior to joining the FA in 2016 he was the CEO of a sports and entertainment marketing agency.