Paul Henderson (footballer)

Football player infobox
playername = Paul Henderson


fullname = Paul John Henderson
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1976|4|22
cityofbirth = Sydney
countryofbirth = Australia
height = height|m=1.85
currentclub = Leicester City
clubnumber = 1
position = Goalkeeper
youthyears = 1994–1996
youthclubs = Sutherland Sharks
years = 1996–1998
1998–2004
2004
2004–2006 2006–
clubs = Sutherland Sharks
Northern Spirit
Manly United
Bradford City
Leicester City
caps(goals) = 021 (0)
134 (0)
006 (0)
040 (0)
059 (0)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate = 04:21, 4 October 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate =

Paul John Henderson (born April 22, 1976 in Sydney, Cumberland County) is an Australian football goalkeeper who plays for Leicester City.

Club career

Henderson started his career in club football in Australia. He played in the New South Wales Premier League for Sutherland before signing for NSL club Northern Spirit until the club became defunct in 2004. He returned to the New South Wales Premier League before moving to England to sign for Bradford City.

Leicester City

Henderson then became the latest Australian to join Leicester City when he signed on a free transfer from Bradford, where he had been a regular member of the first team, in the summer of 2005. He joined fellow Aussies Patrick Kisnorbo and James Wesolowski in the Leicester squad.

Henderson was brought to Leicester as an understudy to Rab Douglas. He signed a two year deal stating he was "willing to fight for his place" and the he felt Leicester was a club "moving in the right direction". After Douglas came under criticism for inconsistent performances, Henderson had a run of matches in the first team under new boss Rob Kelly, making 15 appearances during the 2005–06 season.

At the start of the 2006–07 season, Henderson played himself into the first choice position, and despite losing his place for a short term to Conrad Logan he soon regained his spot in the team. Despite conceeding 36 goals in 28 league games, Leicester nonetheless survived relegation.

Henderson was relegated to the substitute's bench again following the loan signing of Hungarian goalkeeper Márton Fülöp, who quickly excelled with a string of fine performances. Henderson returned to the first team on December 31 after Fülöp was recalled to Sunderland. He conceded three goals against QPR on January 1, 2008, in his first game since August 14, 2007,cite news
title = QPR 3-1 Leicester
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/7163883.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2008-01-01
accessdate = 2008-01-05] and another two against Southampton in an FA Cup match on January 5,cite news
title = Southampton 2-0 Leicester
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/fa_cup/7163968.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2008-01-05
accessdate = 2008-01-06] before being dropped again when Ben Alnwick's arrived on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. Henderson played a total of 14 league games, conceeding 16 goals as Leicester were releagated at the end of the season.

In the 2008–09 season, Henderson's first team place was shared with loan signing David Martin. He started the first game of the season against Milton Keynes Dons, keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 victory. [cite news
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/7541043.stm
title=Leicester 2-0 MK Dons
date=2008-08-09
accessdate=2008-08-11
publisher=BBC Sport] On September 23, 2008, he was hailed a hero when he saved two shots from a penalty shootout in a Johnstone's Paint Trophy match against Lincoln, with Leicester winning 3–1 on penalties.cite news | title = Leicester 0-0 Lincoln City (aet) | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/7626938.stm | publisher = BBC Sport | date = 2008-09-23 | accessdate = 2008-10-04]

References

External links

* [http://www.lcfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10274~30731,00.html Leicester City profile]
* [http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Players/H/HE.html Oz Football profile]
*soccerbase|id=39149|name=Paul Henderson