After teen tragedy, Turkish turmoil and almost quitting to be a dentist, Ian Henderson has found his happy place — Rochdale

There is an orange sky behind Spotland as Rochdale prepare for an evening League One visit from Lincoln.

The night will see Ian Henderson’s 313th appearance for the club; his oasis of consistency after a journey of brutal challenges.

Between the Pearl Street and Main stands is Paul Hanson, wrapped up for the cool autumn air and now in his 58th year watching Rochdale. “Sometimes I joke he has two hearts given the amount he runs, and not just for himself. He’s our talisman,” Hanson says of Henderson. “Honestly, I think he’s the best individual player I’ve ever seen here. If there was to be a statue outside, Reg Jenkins would be first. Then Hendo a close second.”

Legendary figure Jenkins (1964-73) is the club’s leading scorer with 129 goals from 332 appearances. Henderson currently has 114. To say the Cornish-born forward’s record is in his sights would be an understatement.

Henderson is now captain of an expansive, possession-based side being cultivated by Brian Barry-Murphy. Their 16-pass third goal in a 3-0 win at Southend (Henderson’s 100th league strike) just before the September international break caught Twitter’s imagination.

Pass count = 1⃣6⃣

Here's our first goal from Saturday in all its glory 😍#RAFC #Rochdale pic.twitter.com/l8wNbDjfk4

— Rochdale AFC (@officiallydale) September 2, 2019

It was held up as an example of how far Pep Guardiola’s influence is permeating English football. This ignores the fact that Barry-Murphy’s biggest inspiration is actually Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino.

The comparison works well, given Rochdale’s legacy of producing young talent capable of rising to the Premier League. Rochdale will soon make that jump themselves, sort of. Following Saturday’s trip to nearby Fleetwood, it’s Manchester United away in the Carabao Cup third round.

“Playing at Old Trafford will be a dream come true,” says Henderson. “I know that may come across as a cliche but when you love football, you just want to play at the best stadiums that are steeped in history.”

Henderson turns 35 in January.

He has seen everything football has to offer, and much more besides. More than most. Coming through Norwich’s youth team and breaking into the Premier League. Bouncing between clubs and countries. Acting as his own lawyer. Looking to ditch it all to become a dentist — it has forged the confident, focused, intense man sat across a bare table from The Athletic inside Rochdale Sports Club, where the Lancashire club currently train.

He is so different to the wiry, lively boy who emerged from the Canaries’ youth system after shining for Thetford Panthers, first appearing in a senior squad at age 16 and making his debut 10 months later.

On their first look, in a Sunday trial tournament, Norwich turned down an eight-year-old Henderson.

So he wrote a letter to the club’s long-time youth scout, Colin Watts, telling him to come and watch him.

“I might have mentioned in it that I was better than my brother,” he smiles.

Tommy Henderson, older than Ian by five years, was already in Norwich’s youth system.

Ian was 15 when, in December 2000, Tommy was killed in a car accident.

He had been released by Norwich that summer after one year as a professional.

Fellow trainee Coren Hardy, who was driving his car with Tommy as a passenger, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. Tests showed Hardy was twice over the drink driving limit. A female passenger survived the crash.

Henderson says: “When I look at how my career path has gone — my brother passed away and then my grandad passed away quite quickly after — I ask myself, did I understand mourning? Did I mourn properly? Did I give the time to that?

“It probably took me until I was 25, 26 years old to really understand it, because I was a young boy. I hadn’t had many life challenges or life skills. I maybe boxed things away and it took me a while to really understand it and come to terms with it.

“I remember the morning of the tragedy and my parents said I could go to football if I want to go. I remember going and it being a numb experience. Numb in terms of the fact I didn’t believe it, so I thought I’d just go out there and score some goals.

“We played, I scored and one thing I look at now, is that the media was there and I was trying to get my head around why. There were camera crews, people there reporting on it and it was so fresh. That opened up my eyes and it’s why I went and did some media training, to understand why they do what they do and maybe why they’re so tireless in their approach towards it. Which I get, now even more so.

“Then, going home, I was just crying uncontrollably and not understanding why, and asking why? Why? Why? Over and over again. People were saying to me I would understand it in time. And I’m thinking, ”In time’? It’s not happened to you.’ I was quite dismissive to people, maybe in a selfish way. But again, that might have been immaturity. These are questions I’ve always asked myself. I have apologised to the people I may have been short with.

“The only real emotions I have now are happy ones, remembering times where my brother was in a good youth team with Darren Kenton, Robert Green, Craig Bellamy, Chris Llewellyn. They used to watch us play. I remember asking why all the younger pros came and watched our team, and it was because they saw themselves in our team. We were 12, 13, and we were winning everything. The tenacity of that team. They were winners. Young men that went on to have careers in professional football. That’s why they were watching.

“My brother would watch and that made me proud. That’s why I love watching the young lads here at Rochdale progress, because there is nothing better than seeing a young player come through and really be able to express themselves with no fear. There is genius in the naivety of a young player. They do things you wouldn’t expect.”

Norwich City is woven into the fabric of such a personal tragedy for Henderson. Only now he feels at peace with that.

“I did question that when I was younger,” he says. “We all have choices in life. The decision to get in the car was solely his decision. For his best friend to be driving, for that to happen, and for that to be on his conscience for the rest of his life, is hard. Did my dad stand up in court and say don’t send Coren to prison? Yes, because why punish someone when they’ve already been punished? I’m a huge believer in that as well.

“Is it tragic? Yeah. And I hope when this is articulated, it is coming across on a level of unbelievable sadness but also empathy towards Coren. Whatever way you want to look at it, his life has to continue. The young lady as well. And it’s sad, because that’s always going to be on their conscience. We have to be forgiving. Accidents do happen. No one goes out intentionally for that to happen. Yes, my brother’s life has gone and the memories live strong, but do I hold anyone responsible for it? No.”

By the age of 16, Henderson was training with Parma’s Primavera development side and facing sides from Juventus and Inter Milan as part of a link-up between Norwich and the Serie A club.

“It was the first time I had ever been on a plane and I flew with my best football friend at the time, Dean Sinclair,” says Henderson. “To go to a different country, a different culture, with a language I couldn’t speak and be put in at the deep end to train with these boys who were maybe 21 years old, we were tested.

“But football really is a language. If you pass a ball and you move in a certain direction, you know if the other player sees you, he’s going to pass to you. It was an amazing experience.”

Named in Norwich’s first-team squad on December 15, 2001 when Coventry visited Carrow Road, Henderson would have become their youngest ever debutant had he played that day. “I look back and reflect now, was I physically ready? No. Was I mentally ready? No,” he says.

When Norwich visited Highfield Road the following October, Henderson did get on. A 16-minute cameo. The following game, against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park, saw Henderson get double that amount of time on the pitch — and his first senior goal.

“The manager (Nigel Worthington) put me on the right wing,” he says. “I’d never played right wing in my life. Never once trained there. So I’m thinking, ‘Wow. “Play the right wing.” What do I do?’ All I did was I just kept running in behind, as I was a striker.

“Gary Holt picked up the ball and played me through. I knew I had the pace to beat the defender, the goalkeeper came out, and I lobbed it over him. At this time we were 3-0 down, by the way. A minor detail! With youthful exuberance, I ran off celebrating. Maybe it was a bit naive. I got a little bit of stick off the players after, but on a personal level that was an amazing moment.”

Henderson played his part in Norwich’s 2003-04 Championship-winning side but made only three substitute appearances in the Premiership a year later before breaking his foot as he volleyed a ball in training. By the time he was back, Norwich had been relegated. Worthington’s sacking and the appointment of Peter Grant in late 2006 signalled the end of Henderson’s 12 years with the club.

Henderson almost became Norwich’s youngest debutant and helped them into the top flight (Photo: Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)

“On Match of the Day I remember they did an image of Arjen Robben and myself,” says Henderson. “The genetic make-up was totally different. He was the same age and, physically, I was nowhere near his capabilities. I was like a little boy playing in a man’s game and it maybe took me until 24, 25 before I developed a man’s physique.

“The manager was sacked, I was out of the new one’s plans… and there began my nomadic journey.”

Henderson’s first mentor was Sammy Morgan.

The former Port Vale, Aston Villa and Northern Ireland forward was Norwich’s youth development officer as Henderson followed the same path as big brother Tommy through the football ranks at the Colney Training Centre.

“We played Peterborough the other week, and I always get a call off Sammy when we play them,” says Henderson. “He was my second father, my first mentor. There are people that transform your life, and I hold him in the highest regard you could ever hold a human being.

“I look back at the ties from Norwich and people like Sammy, Colin Watts, (former reserves boss) Steve Foley. Good people that put an arm around me. There might be a pattern to this! The people who put an arm round you, that self-worth and respect. It’s all humans want, right? That feeling of being accepted.

“By coincidence, Sammy’s dad actually died the same day as my brother: December 17. Because we had that relationship, he was there to support me through it.”

Short spells at Northampton and administration-stricken Luton did not work out for Henderson. Both clubs opted to cut ties at the first opportunity, leaving the then 24-year-old at the first of two career crossroads.

“No club in the country wanted me, even to take me in on trial,” he says. “I was sat there thinking, ‘I’ve got to do something about this.’”

The call came for a trial at Ankaragucu in Turkey’s second-biggest city Ankara. Two days in he was offered a two-year deal by the club, who also had former England striker Darius Vassell.

But mounting financial pressures led to an associate of neighbouring club Ankaraspor, Ahmet Gokcek, becoming Ankaragucu’s new chairman. Ankaraspor were relegated as punishment. They were soon absorbed completely by their rivals.

“There were now about 100 players and it was like, ‘Wow!’ So I was surplus to requirements and obliging a contract wasn’t really adhered to. I was acting as a lawyer, going to the notary every morning to put down the previous day’s events. I was liaising with a UK lawyer, a Turkish lawyer,” says Henderson.

“The club had a general manager, a sporting director, a coach, and I didn’t know who to go to or communicate with. But one thing I did know after reading up on FIFA, about contract disputes, was if it’s in English, it’s going to stand up in a court of law. I had that in the back of my mind all the time.

“There was a lot of to and fro, being called to hotels with money in bags and being offered X, Y, and Z. It came to a point where we agreed to meet one of the representatives of the new owners with a bag of money at the HSBC bank downtown to sign it off, to then get on a plane to leave the country. That was a big, big eye-opener.”

Henderson returned to Turkey for the first time since earlier this year, on an “amazing” family holiday to Antalya. There were no regrets but once again a familiar situation as he flew back to the UK, wondering where he would be next.

One club was lined up in Germany before Aidy Boothroyd, Henderson’s former youth coach at Norwich and by then Colchester manager, picked up the phone in January 2009. Boothroyd and his successor, John Ward, helped Henderson get as close as he’d been to finding his football feet. He scored 26 goals in 128 appearances for Colchester, still from right wing.

“At that point in my career, the type of manager like John, who put an arm around me, was very forgiving towards my nature, it really did help me,” says Henderson.

“I’m very much an outgoing, extrovert type of person and that can be perceived in a certain way. I play football with huge passion, love, conviction. But I’m also a big believer in the technical and tactical aspect of football. I think when you marry those two and give people the love and attention, human interaction and respect… I know they are broad words I’m using, but personally I think that’s when you get the best out of me.”

Ward’s departure repeated a pattern.

Joe Dunne succeeded Ward early in the 2012-13 season, and Henderson was released following the expiration of his contract the next summer.

In a parallel universe, this is the point at which Henderson becomes a dentist.

As he left Colchester at 28 and questioned whether football really had much more to give him, Henderson moved up to Manchester. He turned a childhood fascination with teeth and his own journey wearing braces into researching courses and qualifications for a new career.

“It was January 31, 2013, and it was a conundrum day,” smiles Henderson. “I had that same feeling and emotion attached to not being wanted. I was questioning myself. Questioning football. I’d always been intrigued by dentistry and I’d hit a big crossroads. I had a previous partner up there too, so maybe it was an escape for me.

“It was a big decision to uproot because I had literally just redeveloped a home in Essex. Then all of a sudden, it’s taken away from me. As well as I did in football, the highs and lows, up and downs, ultimately my destiny was always dictated by another person. And I feared that, I really did.”

In this universe however, Keith Hill called.

Henderson labels the now-former Rochdale manager as his second mentor. Henderson has finished as the club’s leading scorer every season since they earned promotion to League One in 2014. He even got the gig as a striker. Finally.

“I remember Keith putting me and Matty Done up front together. Two of the smallest players in the squad and we played as split strikers, so we weren’t playing directly down the middle.

“We hit it off big time, up to Christmas and then he moved to Sheffield United. We had a little bet over who would get the most goals come the end of the season. He didn’t play there and I stayed up front here. He still owes me the money — even though he’s back at Rochdale!”

Whenever Henderson says he is happy, there is always a ‘but’.

From such early promise at Norwich and then struggles to really impose himself on a club, his impact at Rochdale is a victory for persistence alone.

With dentistry put to the back of his mind, Henderson’s seven-year-old network marketing business interest and a Master’s degree in sports directorship from Salford University are preparing him for life after playing. But he isn’t finished with his boots just yet.

His stint with the Rochdale captaincy has lasted four years and counting, best summed up by his personal efforts to support team-mate Joe Thompson in his battle against cancer, which saw him retire from the game earlier in the year. Henderson’s expectations for how he wants to be treated are backed up by how he treats others.

“I can already tell you now, I’ll never retire,” he says, before conceding he does not want to embarrass himself either. He knows it is only a matter of time before Rochdale’s youth system delivers players who will be coming for his place.

“My happiness will come from creating a legacy at this football club and has nothing to do with me, if I’m honest,” adds Henderson. “It’s to do with the development and evolution of the youth structure, the profitability of the football club from that and just to inspire people to believe in themselves. That’s the only person that will really ever believe in you 100 per cent.

“We’ve had some exceptional players come through the youth system at this football club. No doubt there will be many more. Yes, it’s myself that is going to be the one that breaks the club’s goal-scoring record, and am I proud of that? Yes. But would this be possible without the team? No. And I’d be doing myself and my team an injustice if I made it all about me scoring the goals.

“It’s been seven years now and this place is really special to me. Once the record is broken, I can’t wait for the next person to break it. I really can’t.

“I think that’s where the real happiness will lie, in creating a legacy of impacting people. People can be held in such high regard; those who entertained. Come the end of my journey, if people come up to me and say that, I will be happy.”

(Photo: Andy Whitehead/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)