Stephen Henderson: Portsmouth forced me to join West Ham against my wishes - the move destroyed me

A Tuesday training return for Stephen Henderson represents the resumption of Premier League duties.
Stephen Henderson made 27 appearances for Pompey before forced to join West Ham in March 2012. Picture: Tony MarshallStephen Henderson made 27 appearances for Pompey before forced to join West Ham in March 2012. Picture: Tony Marshall
Stephen Henderson made 27 appearances for Pompey before forced to join West Ham in March 2012. Picture: Tony Marshall

Crystal Palace’s third-choice keeper is relishing football’s reopening, particularly having last week extended his Selhurst Park stay by another 12 months.

Yet the Irishman has spent approaching a decade seeking to recapture the Pompey love affair which coincided with the greatest form of his career.

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As a 22-year-old plucked from a loan season with Yeovil by Steve Cotterill, Henderson established himself as Fratton Park’s first choice keeper in 2011-12.

Such was his immense promise, he swiftly dislodged Jamie Ashdown, an ever-present the previous campaign, and soon an international entrance with the Republic of Ireland was mooted.

Then, after just 27 appearances, West Ham intervened, capitalising on Pompey’s desperation to cash in on prized assets during a second administration in two years.

Against his wishes, a reticent Henderson was instructed to relocate to Upton Park in March 2012. It was a career-defining moment.

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In the ensuing eight years, he has totalled eight clubs and just 102 first-team appearances – while never fulfilling that international potential.

Stephen Henderson made just two appearances for West Ham during a disappointing spell following his switch from Pompey. Picture:  David Rogers/Getty ImagesStephen Henderson made just two appearances for West Ham during a disappointing spell following his switch from Pompey. Picture:  David Rogers/Getty Images
Stephen Henderson made just two appearances for West Ham during a disappointing spell following his switch from Pompey. Picture: David Rogers/Getty Images

Inevitably a football career is strewn with regrets.

Yet, for the 32-year-old, none more prevalent than being forced out of Fratton Park to join West Ham.

Henderson told The News: ‘Ipswich came in for me and Joel Ward in February 2009 and it was put to me would I like to go? I declined.

‘I was loving it too much at Pompey. I wasn’t getting paid at the time, but was playing regularly and had a good relationship with the fans. What a fantastic club.

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‘My agent was telling me “Think of the bigger picture. Do you fancy Ipswich? The way Pompey are going it’s not looking good there”.

‘We came to the agreement that we’d see it out. If things got worse I would reassess it. Instead other people did.

‘The following month, I was driving home from training and Trevor Birch, who had just been appointed as administrator, rang asking to see me at Fratton Park.

‘It was: “Stephen, we have agreed a fee with West Ham for you. You’ve done great for the club and we’d love to keep you, but we just can’t. We have to get all our assets out”.

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‘That was my Pompey career over after a one-minute meeting without me really saying anything.

‘I don’t want to say I was guilt tripped into leaving – but it was basically put to me that the club was going to suffer more financially unless I left. I had my hands tied behind my back.

‘I left that meeting absolutely distraught. I didn't want to leave, at that stage I was playing the best football of my career.

‘The Republic of Ireland were in the European Championships that summer, without a regular behind Shay Given. I fancied my chances that, if I kept doing what I was doing, I’d have a chance of achieving something I dreamt of as a kid.

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‘Besides, Robert Green was at West Ham and I knew it would be a bigger task to remove someone like him at a club like that.

‘I can’t lie, the contract they offered was very good, so I’m not going to sit here and say financially it didn’t make sense, because it was very tempting.

‘But, looking back, I should have said “No Trevor, I’m seeing this out”. I’m sure he would have said “Fine, it’s your call”, but that’s hindsight.

‘If only I had the ruthlessness of Tal Ben Haim. I would have said “I’m not going anywhere, I’m staying”. But that wasn’t really me.

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‘I went to a West Ham side pushing for promotion, but had to start from scratch. I didn’t play again that season.

‘I remember sitting in an Upton Park box watching West Ham play Doncaster, needing a win to get into the automatic positions, but drawing 1-1.

‘However, I was actually spending most of my time watching Pompey against Brighton on the TV behind me. I was thinking “That should be me playing for Pompey”.

‘I have a lot of regrets, but joining West was one in particular. I went into that club as a 23-year-old kid and mentally weak – it destroyed me.’

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Initially joining West Ham on an emergency loan until the end of the season, it was pre-agreed to become a permanent arrangement.

Subsequently, in May 2012, Henderson signed a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, becoming the first summer recruit of the newly-promoted Premier League club.

With Rob Green departing, Sam Allardyce immediately identified the Irishman to become his number one – yet Henderson would never play a league match for the Hammers.

He added: ‘When you sign for West Ham, the one thing you need is mental strength.

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‘I had gone from playing at Huish Park 12 months earlier – and the step was probably too big mentally. Ability-wise, I felt I was well able to do it, but at the time lacked the mental strength for a club the size of West Ham.

‘I know supporters will say “He gets paid well to play” – and I agree with them. However, when you are in a dark place at a club where you don’t feel wanted and have gone from a respected player to the bottom of the chain within a month, it’s difficult to build yourself up when not playing regularly.

‘I went from doing well at Pompey to playing for West Ham’s under-23s at training grounds with no-one watching. It was an emotional roller coaster.

‘West Ham were promoted and Sam pulled me and said “Next year is your year, son”. Instead of embracing that, I got a knot in my stomach thinking “Blimey”.

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‘That summer of 2012, I received a call from my goalkeeping coach, Martyn Margetson. He told me I was one of the best young keepers in the country. It was great praise.

‘I hung up the phone thinking “How am I going to handle this pressure?”. I ended up going back pre-season and put so much unnecessary pressure on myself.

‘Rob Green had left, while Jussi Jaaskelainen arrived at the age of 37, there couldn’t have been a better first-team path laid out for me – it was there to take.

‘I had a poor pre-season. In Germany, I had one of the worst halves in my career to date and was taken off at the interval. I handled it so badly. Looking back, I was such a child about it.

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‘Sam Allardyce is one of these people that if you’re not mentally strong then you are not for him.

‘I didn’t know that at the time, but that was his first glimpse that maybe this kid was not cut out for it.

‘I was given the Capital One Cup to play in and, in the second round in September 2012, we lost 4-1 at home to Wigan. I was absolutely at fault for four goals and, in my head, that was me finished, done.

‘It probably wasn’t to be honest, but, as a young lad, I just felt everyone thought I was rubbish and the manager didn't like me.

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‘I was back to that dark place as a goalkeeper – and never played for West Ham again.’

Henderson later went on to represent Ipswich, Bournemouth, Charlton, Nottingham Forest, Wycombe and Palace.

There was also a brief loan return to Fratton Park in February 2018, when he ruptured his right thigh while kicking a ball, ruling him out for nine months.

Yet leaving Pompey eight years ago remains one of his greatest regrets.

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He said: ‘If I had stayed at Pompey, I probably would have got to the level I always wanted.

‘Had I maintained what I was doing at Fratton Park, I don’t see why I couldn’t have kicked on to reach the top.

‘Who knows, perhaps mentally I would have been a lot stronger going forward with the right people around me.

‘Looking back, West Ham wasn’t a great move. However, financially it enabled me to get a house back in Ireland and to help out my family.

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‘But I often wonder what would have happened if I had been allowed to keep playing for Pompey.’

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