Henderson and his fellow Premier League captains join forces to make a real difference helping the NHS
WHILE the MPs were busy justifying the extra £10,000 they can claim for working from home, the Premier League’s stars were actually helping the NHS. No soundbites. No bluster. Here was a £4million donation – which could reach as much as £20m – with more where that came from. Led by Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson, Watford’s Troy Deeney, Manchester United’s Harry Maguire and West Ham’s Mark Noble, the #playerstogether collective could mark a sea change in the way top-flight players deal with a range of important issues.
With four of the most outspoken skippers in the Premier League leading from the front, we could now see a similar solidarity on rule changes, racism, even the timing of the players’ return to work amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
All of them are men with a social conscience. All of them have a massive social media presence. None of them has ever had any compunction about speaking their minds.
WhatsApp and Zoom have now given them the chance to silence their critics and lead all 20 top-flight captains towards an even greater strength in unity. “It’s the power of everyone coming together,” said Bournemouth skipper Simon Francis, who paid particular tribute to Henderson’s leadership.
“Jordan took the initiative to pitch the idea to the rest of the lads and it was a no-brainer for us. It shows there’s so much support within the football community to show we are one.
“It’s a great chance for players to show how much the NHS means to us – a cause that is close to a lot of players’ hearts.
“The talks are due to take place with each club, Jordan has the fund set up and then, hopefully, it’ll be distributed across the country. “I don’t want it to seem like it was a knee-jerk reaction to what has been said in the media – it wasn’t that at all. I spoke to Jordan on the morning of the day (Health Secretary) Matt Hancock came out and made his comments, so it was bad timing.
“With the problems we have across the country, for him to pick out footballers was disappointing.”
The praise for Henderson was echoed by Wolves skipper Conor Coady, who said: “Jordan was brilliant in terms of setting up and taking the initiative, and moving forward with it, then getting in contact with everybody.
“As soon as he
This could mark a sea change in the way top players deal with a range of issues