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Jordan Henderson played every minute of his first Chelsea start, against Brentford, months after breaking his arm at the World Cup in July.
Paul Scholes says the 36 year old should not be picked to start again in the Premier League this season.
Scholes wants Xabi Alonso to use Henderson only in the closing 15 to 20 minutes of matches, the role Scholes accepted himself at the same age.
Jordan Henderson at Chelsea: how it happened
Paul Scholes has told Xabi Alonso to stop starting Jordan Henderson, after the 36 year old played every minute of his full Chelsea debut against Brentford. The Jordan Henderson Chelsea switch was meant to add know how to a young squad, not test his legs over 90 minutes so soon.
Henderson arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer through a gentleman’s agreement with Brentford, which released him from the final year of his contract without a transfer fee changing hands. Alonso pushed for the deal because he wanted more experience inside a squad built mostly around younger players.
The plan hit an early setback. Henderson broke his arm celebrating England’s win over Mexico at the World Cup in July, falling over an advertising hoarding during the celebrations. The injury delayed his first appearances and pushed back any real test of how he would cope with Premier League speed.
When Alonso finally named him from the start against Brentford, detailed in our report on the Brentford lineup selection, Henderson played the full 90 minutes. It was that decision, and that performance, which prompted Scholes to question whether the midfielder should start again at all.
The expert angle: Scholes warns Premier League pace has caught up
Scholes made the point in a football.london report on Paul Scholes’ comments, arguing that Brentford’s style made the mismatch worse. “When I saw Danny Welbeck, Welbz is brilliant, and Jordan Henderson playing in the same team, I thought, ‘You couldn’t be playing against a worse team,’ because Brentford have so much energy about them,” he said. “They have so much athleticism about them and I thought, ‘That is the worst thing that could happen to them [Chelsea]!'”
He then explained why age becomes such a problem in the current Premier League. “Look, we’ve been there. At 35, 36, 37, you’re a million miles away from where you should be. You can use your experience to get through games, of course you can, but I think these days, especially now, it’s more of a young man’s game and you will get found out. You will get found out starting a game,” he said.
Scholes was blunt about the selection itself. “I never expected him to be starting a Premier League game,” he said, before adding a wider point about fitness at 36. “I don’t care how old you are, how much you look after yourself, being at that age and playing in the Premier League now especially, you’ve got to be a machine.”
He drew a direct line to his own career at Manchester United, recalling a start against Manchester City when he was the same age Henderson is now. “You’ve got to be athletic, you don’t get away with it I’m afraid. You get found out. He’ll know it himself. He’ll think, ‘I shouldn’t really be starting’, I remember I did it against Manchester City when I was 36,” he said.
Scholes remembered exactly how that day felt. “The manager actually picked me and I thought, ‘I shouldn’t be playing this game, I shouldn’t be starting this game… maybe the last 15-20 minutes if it needs calming down a little bit,’ and I never got the ball, I never touched the ball. I just knew it was too much for me, I shouldn’t really have been playing.”
Asked if Henderson could even be trusted with 45 minutes, Scholes doubted it. “Maybe not even that long. Maybe a last 20-25 minutes, unless you’re playing League Cup games.”
What happens next for Xabi Alonso and Henderson
Scholes’ verdict leaves Alonso with a clear question over team selection. Does Henderson start again, or does he become a substitute kept for closing spells. Scholes’ words are punditry, not confirmation of club policy, and Alonso alone decides how Henderson is used from here.
The Jordan Henderson Chelsea plan, as Alonso set it out when he signed him, was always about leadership inside a young dressing room, a theme we explored in Alonso managing squad balance at Chelsea. Scholes’ argument is that experience alone cannot cover for a lack of pace over 90 minutes.
For now, Henderson stays part of the squad and will keep training and travelling with the group. The question hanging over his next appearance is whether it comes from the start again, or from the bench, in the 15 to 20 minute spells Scholes believes suit a 36 year old best.
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