Stubborn Gareth Southgate is walking very fine line with loyalty to England star

17 November 2023 , 21:43

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There was the odd pantomime jeer when Jordan Henderson’s name was read out before the match but it sounded more like mischief than vitriol.

Headmasterly Gareth Southgate had told everyone not to do it so a few naughty ones did. And after the faint strains of booing quickly died down, no-one really noticed Henderson.

That does not mean to say he played particularly poorly - a lot of a defensive midfielder’s work often goes unnoticed. But it is safe to say that on a night of learning very little, Southgate learnt least about Henderson. That’s mainly because he pretty much knows everything about Henderson and that is why he persists with a 33-year-old who often plays his club football in front of one man and his dog.

The former Liverpool man has been a good servant to Southgate and to his country - his 80th cap means he is now in the top 20 on the all-time appearance list - and retains his international manager’s faith.

In this dire game, Southgate used Henderson as a defensive midfielder and the fact that a couple of Maltese half-chances came through the middle of the park suggested the Al-Ettifaq man was a little laboured.

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That would be explained by the drop in the standard of his club job, by the lack of intensity in the Saudi Pro League. An entire season in that competition would hardly be the ideal preparation for a European Championship campaign but you can be sure, fitness permitting, Henderson will be in Southgate’s squad.

If, in January, Kalvin Phillips finds a Premier League club that allows him to play football, he will be in England’s starting eleven.

Let’s face it, if we make the ambitious assumption that everyone is injury-free, we could have a very good stab at naming Southgate’s line-up for the first game in Germany next summer: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Phillips, Rice, Bellingham; Foden, Kane, Saka.

Jordan Henderson in action vs Malta (FRANKIE OKEEFFE/PPAUK/REX/Shutterstock)

But Henderson - a hugely respected figure in the England camp and one of Southgate’s lieutenants - will go as one of the leaders of this squad.

With the squad-size back to 23 for Euro 2024, though, every selection will count and, whether Henderson goes or not, Southgate will have to leave behind some seriously talented players.

There are some seriously talented players not in this current squad, James Ward-Prowse in particular. And while Henderson was no more dreadful than a lot of individuals against Malta, he did nothing to suggest his powers have become stronger by his switch to Saudi.

When even Southgate had seen enough after an hour, the jeers that accompanied Henderson from the field were a little more pronounced. Those boos were probably for his perceived hypocrisy more than for his ineffective performance and will probably only strengthen the manager’s loyalty to Henderson.

But Southgate’s loyalty sometimes looks distinctly like stubbornness and that is surely the case when it comes to Henderson.

And that stubbornness could backfire next summer.

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