How Jordan Henderson bottled his Liverpool initiation – “He just left us!”

Former Liverpool winger Stewart Downing has revealed Jordan Henderson refused to sing during an initiation after joining the Reds.

Both Downing and Henderson moved to Anfield in the summer of 2011, with their careers ultimately heading in different directions.

While the latter went on to captain Liverpool to Champions League and Premier League glory, the former only stayed for two seasons, making 91 appearances.

Downing, now an academy coach at Leeds United, has opened up about his initiation song after joining Liverpool, also revealing how a “nervous” 21-year-old Henderson refused to take part.

“I didn’t have to do many initiations actually, throughout my career,” Downing said.

“I didn’t do one at Villa, I don’t know why. Maybe it was because I’d signed late on, so I’d got away with it.

“I did one at Liverpool – we’d gone to a restaurant and had a meal, and it was a couple of weeks in, so I’d already got to know the lads.

“We’d had a few beers, so I thought it was the best time to do it. When you know the lads, you’re a bit more relaxed about it, so I sang Penny Arcade – Charlie Adam was loving it, as a Rangers fan.

“I’ll always remember Jordan Henderson getting his wife to get up and leave the restaurant with him because he didn’t want to sing.

“He just left us! He was that nervous – he hadn’t had a beer, so he was just adamant he wasn’t singing; he’d rather have paid a fine!

“I’ve heard stories of players not signing for clubs because they’ve been worried about initiations…honestly, just sing for 30 seconds! What’s the worst that’s going to happen?!”

The story certainly reflects better on Downing than it does Henderson, in terms of being willing to make a fool of yourself in front of your new teammates.

As Downing alludes to, however, initiations are no longer as prevalent in the modern game as they were, and perhaps shouldn’t be forced upon a player.

Footballers are very different characters, so expecting everyone to have the confidence to step up and sing may be unfair, even if it is a lighthearted rite of passage.