Jordan Henderson scored his first home Liverpool goal in four years during Sunday’s Premier League triumph over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield.
Stan Collymore has likened Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson to his former Nottingham Forest team-mate Steve Stone, writing in his column for the Daily Mirror (29 October, page 51).
Previously one of the most underrated and much-maligned footballers at the top of the Premier League, Henderson has silenced his critics in style during an outstanding 2019.
Lifting the Champions League trophy as skipper is one way to prove yourself to the masses and Henderson has kicked on since that famous night in Madrid too, capping an excellent run of form with his first Anfield goal since 2015 to inspire a dramatic comeback victory against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
And Collymore, himself a former Liverpool player, believes the former Sunderland man’s character more than makes up for a perceived lack of world-class quality on and off the pitch.
“I have to admit I got it wrong when I questioned the value of skipper Jordan Henderson 18 months ago,” Collymore says. “He’s not the world’s greatest midfielder but he looks the ultimate team player who enables those around him to flourish.
“Steve Stone was the same when I was at Nottingham Forest. Those players are important because you look at them and think; ‘I know what I’m going to get today’.”
Stone made over 200 appearances for Nottingham Forest between 1989 and 1999 and, while he might not have been the most technically gifted of footballers, he embodied two of those often overlooked attributes – consistency and work-rate.
That’s why he, like Henderson, was one of the first names on the team sheet each and every weekend.
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