Sticks and Stones: Southgate’s midfield muddle will not be solved by Henderson

Jordan Henderson, now playing at Ajax, has featured in all of England’s big defeats of the last six years. Photograph: Marcel van Dorst/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Earlier this week Ajax’s social media feed released some haunting video footage of Jordan Henderson closing down the Utrecht goalkeeper. The clip lasts 16 seconds. It shows Henderson running in an entirely straight line from the centre circle, never slowing or breaking stride, alone in all that green space, gripped with an unrelenting fury.

If you’ve ever wondered what it might look like if someone were to strap an improvised explosive device to Jordan Henderson, primed to detonate if he slows down, stops, or turns left or right, then the answer is, it would probably look like this.