To anyone dreaming of seeing Jordan Henderson leading England to World Cup glory in 2018, it’s time to wake up.
Strong rumours had suggested the Liverpool midfielder, who isn’t a regular in the starting line-up for his country, would be confirmed as England’s new captain by Sam Allardyce. Quite where the rumours came from, we don’t know, but it certainly caused a stir on Twitter on Monday afternoon.
Instead, it was confirmed that Wayne Rooney will keep hold of the armband for the foreseeable future, with Allardyce adding that it was an “easy choice” to pick the Manchester United captain.
Rooney, who inherited the captaincy from fellow Liverpudlian, Steven Gerrard, recently became his country’s record goalscorer and is expected to lead the team out for their opening World Cup qualifier against Slovakia later this week.
“You would hope the captain would make a decision on the pitch if he felt it needed to (be made),” Allardyce explained. “For me, that’s the captain’s role. It’s a big responsibility at club level and even more so at international level. First and foremost lead by example.
“It’s all about the personality. Can you handle the responsibility of being captain? I think he has enjoyed the responsibility. Some players don’t want that responsibility.”
Maybe next time, Jordan.
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