Jordan Henderson named as FWA Footballer of the Year

Liverpool captain honoured by the Football Writers’ Association after beating Kevin De Bruyne and Marcus Rashford due to their Premier League title success and his leadership during the coronavirus pandemic

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has been voted the 2019/20 Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year.

The England midfielder steered Liverpool to their first Premier League title in 30 years and the Reds were crowned English champions, following on from their Champions League triumph last season. With Henderson as captain, Liverpool secured the title with a record seven games left to play, and with an 18-point lead over Manchester City ahead of Sunday’s final round of fixtures, they could yet break the record for the largest winning margin – the existing record of 19 is held by second-placed City.

However, what swayed the vote in Henderson’s favour was the work that he did off the pitch during the coronavirus crisis. Henderson proved a leading figure in gathering the 20 Premier League captains and working towards a resolution not just in negotiating pay cuts and deferrals between players and clubs, but building a way where they could help the NHS and other services who felt the strain during the pandemic.

The 30-year-old, who succeeded Steve Gerrard as Liverpool captain in 2015, beat City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne into second place, with Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford coming in third after a vote by the members of the Football Writers’ Association.

His Liverpool teammates Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane completed the top five, while there were also votes for Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson, Raheem Sterling, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Sergio Aguero, Adama Traore, Danny Ings, Jack Grealish, James Madison and Jonny Evans.

Although the award is an individual accolade, Henderson immediately attributed his success to his teammates, who not only helped to clinch the Premier League title for the first time in three decades, but did so in the most dominating fashion ever witnessed in the Premier League era.

“I’d like to say how appreciative I am of the support of those who voted for me and the Football Writers’ Association in general,” Henderson said. “You only have to look at the past winners of it, a number of whom I’ve been blessed to play with here at Liverpool, like Stevie (Gerrard), Luis (Suarez) and Mo (Salah) to know how prestigious it is.

“But as grateful as I am I don’t feel like I can accept this on my own. I don’t feel like anything I’ve achieved this season or in fact during my whole career has been done on my own. I owe a lot to so many different people – but none more so than my current teammates – who have just been incredible and deserve this every bit as much as I do.

FWA Footballer of the Year award

1. Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)
2. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
3. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
4. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
5. Sadio Mane (Liverpool)

“We’ve only achieved what we’ve achieved because every single member of our squad has been brilliant. And not just in matches. Not just in producing the moments that make the headlines and the back pages but every day in training.

“The players who’ve started the most games for us this season have been as good as they have been because of our culture and our environment at Melwood. No one individual is responsible for that – it’s a collective effort and that’s how I view accepting this honour.

“I accept it on behalf of this whole squad, because without them I’m not in a position to be receiving this honour. These lads have made me a better player – a better leader and a better person.

“If anything I hope those who voted for me did so partly to recognise the entire team’s contribution.

“Individual awards are nice and they are special and I will cherish this one. But an individual award without the collective achievement wouldn’t mean anywhere as much to me – if anything at all.”

Henderson succeeds Raheem Sterling as FWA Footballer of the Year (PA)

While other awards look to honour performances on the pitch, such as the Premier League and the Professional Footballers’ Association gongs, the FWA’s Footballer of the Year adds weight on what individuals offer off the pitch just as much. Last season Sterling was honoured not just for his form in City’s title-winning campaign, but for the work he did in highlighting racism within the sport, both from fans and within the media.

Having been at the forefront of the #PlayersTogether scheme during the coronavirus pandemic, Henderson’s impact on the English game in the last 12 months simply could not be ignored, according to FWA chair Carrie Brown.

“Leadership is intangible and often unquantifiable unless it is inarguable,” Brown said. “Jordan Henderson is both the ultimate professional and now a bona fide Liverpool legend.

“Jordan is a player his teammates look to on the pitch and who his rivals look up to off it. The voting criteria for the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year is one who leads by precept and example and in this country’s darkest moment, Jordan, unprompted, personally rallied club captains to establish #PlayersTogether.

“Millions of pounds have been raised for the NHS and significantly #PlayersTogether is now an established collective power base for players to engage in campaigns, none more so evident in the ongoing and powerful anti-racism #BlackLivesMatter campaign.

“He is a truly worthy winner of our award.”