WATFORD play-off final goalscorer Darius Henderson was the perfect foil for pint-sized Leon Knight at the beginning of Albion’s 2003-04 season.
Steve Coppell borrowed the 6’4” striker from his old pal Alan Pardew at Reading giving him game time that was eluding him at the Madejski Stadium.
There was plenty of competition for places in Reading’s forward line at the time with Nicky Forster, Shaun Goater and Nathan Tyson ahead of him.
It had led to another forward, Martin Butler, being sold to Rotherham and because Pardew generally picked a lone frontman, Henderson found himself on the fringes.
“The solitary striker system, and the superb form of Nicky Forster, meant the vast majority of his appearances came as a substitute,” the Albion matchday programme noted.
In fact, he’d started only five league matches for Reading after turning professional in August 1999; but he had appeared 65 times as a substitute!
Given the chance of a start with the Seagulls, he got off to a flyer with the opening goal of the season from the penalty spot in a 3-1 win at Oldham, as well as netting the opener in a 2-0 home win over Luton Town.
Henderson, who celebrated his 22nd birthday while with the Seagulls, was adept at setting up chances for Knight too, outjumping QPR’s defence to set up Knight to score the winner as Albion won 2-1 at the Withdean and following it up at Plymouth where a strong run and cross teed up Knight for Albion’s third in a thrilling 3-3 draw.
It was good news when Pardew agreed to the loan being extended by another month, Coppell admitting: “It’s as good as it gets as far as I am concerned.
“Darius has given us a physical presence we didn’t have before and with him in the side I didn’t feel as exposed as we were defending set pieces.”
Unfortunately, Coppell couldn’t resist the lure of the Madejski Stadium when Pardew was poached to manage West Ham, and Henderson returned to Berkshire after 10 matches.
Born in Sutton, Surrey, on 7 September 1981, Henderson was brought up in Doncaster, south Yorkshire, and, after being rejected by Leeds, it was Rovers who gave him his first steps towards a professional career.
However, he joined Reading’s academy in 1999 and was one of three of that squad – along with Tyson and Alex Haddow – to make it through to the first team.
Although Coppell gave him game time at Brighton, the manager faced the same striker surplus issues as Pardew once he arrived at Reading, and he therefore sanctioned Henderson’s departure in January 2004. He’d made only 12 starts for the Royals but 71 appearances as a sub.
He was signed by Andy Hessenthaler’s Gillingham, telling the club’s official website: “I have had a good chat with the chairman and the gaffer and as far as I’m concerned I’m over the moon and am looking forward to playing now and getting to know my new team-mates.
“There was limited first-team options for me at Reading which was made clear by Steve Coppell. There was no doubt in my mind that I had to get away.”
He scored 10 goals in one and a half seasons with the Gills, as well as enjoying a prolific loan spell at Swindon Town, where he scored five times in six games.
The day before the 2005-06 season got underway, a £450,000 fee took him to Watford where he enjoyed the best three years of his career.
He became something of a fans’ favourite, with Matt Reveley, of footballfancast.com, explaining: “Darius is a player that often epitomises Watford’s footballing ethic (for) the 110 per cent effort and workrate that Watford fans like to see from their players.”
Manager Aidy Boothroyd paired him with Marlon King and Henderson’s 14 goals in 27 matches contributed towards Watford winning promotion to the Premier League.
It couldn’t have been sweeter when he scored a late penalty to round off Watford’s 3-0 win over Leeds in the 2006 play-off final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
As Henderson told watfordlegends.com: “Leeds released me when I was 16, and ever since that very day they released me I have always had the drive to go on and prove them wrong, so it was a great feeling to prove my point to them.
“The whole day though was memorable, just a terrific day all round and to score as well topped it off perfectly. I was mentally exhausted after the game though. It was incredibly draining and very emotional.”
The win sent the Hornets up with Henderson’s former club Reading and future employer Sheffield United.
Goals were far harder to come by amongst the elite and he managed only three as Watford went back down to the Championship.
He had scored 31 times in 117 appearances for the Hornets before being sold to the Blades for £2m in July 2008.
Before that, the striker could have joined Preston North End after a £1.3m fee was agreed between the clubs, but he decided to stay at Vicarage Road and fight for his place.
When Kevin Blackwell ‘sold’ United to him, though, he was persuaded. “Sheffield United is a massive club and it was a great opportunity for me so I went for it,” he told watfordlegends.com.
Henderson once again got amongst the goals, netting 21 for United, including one in April 2011 in a surprise 3-2 win over his old club Reading. It wasn’t enough to prevent relegation under Micky Adams, though, and Henderson moved to Millwall to take over the main striker role from Steve Morison, who had switched to Norwich City.
Henderson’s goals continued to flow and he registered three hat-tricks and a brace in his first Championship season with the Lions. In total, he scored 26 times in 56 matches for them, including his 100th professional goal.
Wage bill trimming in January 2013 saw him move to fellow Championship side Nottingham Forest where his teammates included Dan Harding, Greg Halford and Gonzalo Jara Reyes. Unfortunately, he was more often a substitute than a starter for Billy Davies’ side.
In the summer of 2014, former Albion boss Russell Slade picked him up on a free transfer for third-tier Leyton Orient on a three-year deal, although Slade left the club in September.
Henderson was also on the move again after only one season in East London, heading back up north with Scunthorpe United. But after failing to register a goal in 16 matches, he moved to Tony Mowbray’s Coventry City (above) in February 2016 on a short-term deal, once again failing to get on the scoresheet in five substitute appearances.
He joined his last league club in August 2016, linking up with League Two Mansfield Town, where he scored once in 13 matches before manager Steve Evans released him. He dropped out of the league and moved to Eastleigh Town. But he played only two games for the National League side and retired from playing in April 2017.
According to Everything Orient, Henderson now works as a consultant for AFC Bournemouth.
Bearing in mind the number of clubs he played for, it’s not really surprising @DHenderson7 has 13,500 followers on Twitter.
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