The Jordan Henderson fantasy shows us how far from reality Ibrox and its media still are.

Another day, another crazy story and once again Ibrox fan media is on fire with the latest delusion; another barmy Ibrox story has broken, and it’s got them all buzzing. It’s one of those rumours that doesn’t need much oxygen to take flight, not because it’s credible, but because some of their fans will cling to anything shiny and ridiculous if it means ignoring the gaping void where logic and realism should live.#Today’s fever dream? Jordan Henderson wants to reunite with Steven Gerrard… at Ibrox.

Let that sink in for a moment. This is what they’re selling now.

Apparently, Gerrard’s potential return to the club—already a deeply daft and damaging notion—isn’t enough. Now it’s being paired with the possibility of one of his old pals following him. Not just any pal, either, but Jordan Henderson, who left Liverpool, got a mega-money deal in Saudi, headed for Ajax next and—according to some reports—has already made more than enough money to afford him warlord status in case of the apocalypse.

This is fantasy football in its purest form.

Let’s start with the basics. Henderson isn’t just on a huge wage; he’s used to being on a huge wage. He didn’t go to Saudi for the weather. He went for the money, plain and simple. He has since come back to Europe, yes—joining Ajax, who, for all their recent issues, are still a major European name. He will not be taking some bargain bin deal to play in Scotland under a manager who already failed there once, for a club without Champions League football, without a clear plan, and without a budget to match his expectations.

This isn’t just unlikely. It’s absurd.

But there’s more to unpack here than just how ridiculous the rumour is. There’s something deeper in this—something telling. Because even if this is just idle chat, it exposes the deep contradiction at the heart of what they’re telling their fans: that they want to follow a Celtic-style model of player trading and smart recruitment.

You know the script by now. Their board has been talking up the idea of becoming a “self-sustaining, modern football club,” and what example do they always hold up? Ours. Celtic. The way we buy smart, develop talent, and sell for a profit. The way we avoid bloated wages and ageing stars. The way we reinvest and build foundations. They say they want that.

But if they really did, Henderson would be the last name on their lips.

I’ve been saying for an age now that their club does not want a trading strategy like the one we have, They want, instead, some mug to fund the next round of transfer bling signings. The very idea of this is a repudiation of everything the media has been saying for months about the so-called plan. It’s a joke.

Because what does this idea represent? It’s not a project signing. It’s not a smart pickup of a young player with potential. It’s not a clever market exploit or an undervalued asset. It’s a marquee deal, a short-term headline grabber, and—crucially—a massively expensive gamble.

He’d come in on a wage far beyond what that club has ever paid anyone. He’d be a brand name, yes, but he’d also be 35 soon, and every single football mile he’s run has been at the top level. It’s not a growth asset. It’s not even a sensible one. If this what they think a rebuild looks like, then they’ve learned absolutely nothing.

You cannot talk out of one side of your mouth about a new sustainable model based on player trading and youthful energy, and then peddle this sort of fantasy to your fans out of the other. You can’t say you want to be like Celtic, then go back to the same tired playbook of signing faded names and hoping for a headline.

In fact, this is worse than most of their bling fantasies.

At least when they brought in Aaron Ramsey, there was some attempt to paint it as opportunistic—he was a late loan with Juventus footing most of the bill. It didn’t work, but you could see the desperation and the logic. When they did the same with Joey Barton it was a mad gamble but he wasn’t some over the hill friend of the manager seeing it as a soft option and a chance to top up an already overflowing pension pot.

And ignore all talk that having made all that cash that he might come here and play for a typical SPFL wage. It’s nonsense and all those who would peddle it would be well aware of it. Even at a quarter of his normal earnings it would require a monumental salary.

And let’s be honest: this kind of fantasy doesn’t come out of nowhere. This is what happens when a club doesn’t know what it wants to be. This is what happens when supporters are sold a dream and then served up a horror show every few months. It’s what happens when you’ve tried and failed with one rebuild after another and you’re still pretending the next one will be different.
So now, they’re talking about Gerrard and Henderson.

The start of something new? Why then does it stink of the last mad act of a desperate regime. Or something worse; the last desperate punt by a media which is as locked into fantasy mode as the fans of the club itself are?

There is a massive disconnect between what that club claims it wants to do and what it actually does. They say they want to modernise. But the Gerrard return would signify regression. They say they want to develop talent. But Gerrard is the man who spent millions and left them with a squad of ageing, overpaid players who had to be ripped up when he left.

They say they want to follow our path. But they don’t understand what our path is

Because what they want is the results without the work. They want to flick a switch and be us, without actually doing the hard bit. So instead, they talk about culture change, while continuing to chase shiny objects and make the same mistakes.

Jordan Henderson at Ibrox would be the ultimate symbol of that. A big name. A huge bill. A short shelf-life. It would be yet another attempt to cheat the process, to pretend you can skip the steps and get to the destination anyway.

Here we are, heading into another summer window, and already they’re being linked with ideas that undermine everything they claim to stand for now.

This is not how serious clubs operate.

We’re not perfect. Our summer last year had its issues. We’ve had to course correct. January was a scandal, and it’s amazing how many people have caught up to that fact in the last couple of days. But at least we’re trying to evolve. At least we have an actual plan.

Over there? They’re still living in Fantasyland. Still pushing Gerrard as some kind of returning Messiah. Still talking about players who belong to another world, another budget, another level. Still promising things they can’t deliver.

And if that’s how they want to go about their “rebuild,” then I say let them. Let them blow money they don’t have. Let them chase ghosts. Let them dream of Jordan Henderson.

Reality catches up eventually. Even over there.