It’s perhaps taken a little long that we all expected but Ian Henderson has now broken Reg Jenkins’ record and become Rochdale’s all-time leading goalscorer.
A quite sensational pass from Ethan Brierley found Ian Henderson who headed past the advancing goalkeeper with just 10 minutes left. The goal was enough to win the game and give Rochdale an invaluable three points. It was only fitting that this was against Salford City wasn’t it. If my calculations are correct, Ethan Brierley would only have been 9-years-old when Hendo joined Rochdale.
This record looked like it was never going to be broken when Hendo left Spotland during the Covid-19 pandemic and it’s fair to say he left under a cloud. He was just three goals short of the record at this point. The club were operating under the previous board of directors, spearheaded by people who saw fit to sell their shares to Morton House such as former CEO David Bottomley and former Chairman Andrew Kilpatrick. The club claimed they offered Hendo a new contract but Hendo showed no intention of signing it and therefore it was withdrawn. Ian Henderson had a very different story. Who you believe is up to you but regardless, our talisman and only real source of goals was gone. He soon joined Salford City in League Two where obviously, he continued scoring goals. He was released by Salford and Robbie Stockdale and the new board of directors brought him back.
It was Keith Hill who brought Hendo to the club originally after he’d left Colchester United in 2013 and he quickly became a fans favourite with his sublime touch, skill and all-round ability in the final third. He soon became a striker and was our only real source of goals for a long time! He reached double figures in every full season he was at Rochdale in his first spell and now currently has 130 goals in 364 over his two spells.
An absolute legend who many will claim, myself included, to be the best player we’ve ever had.
So, here’s to you Ian Henderson, Rochdale loves you more than you will know!