There’s no player who divides the Liverpool fan base quite as much as Jordan Henderson. There seems to be a split between those who think he’s great, and those who find him underwhelming and unworthy of being the successor to Steven Gerrard as Liverpool captain. Personally, I’m a huge admirer of Henderson, and I have been for quite a while. I’m not trying to portray him as better than he is, but I think he is still, in general, remarkably under appreciated by Liverpool fans and non-Liverpool fans alike.
There are a few obvious reasons why many people don’t rate Henderson. Perhaps his reputation is still tarnished by the mockery and mass-criticism he endured in the immediate aftermath of his £16 million transfer from Sunderland in 2011. Many people believe the price tag was too high, and have decided that he will never be worth the money Liverpool paid for him. There’s also the more current issue of who will be Liverpool captain next season once Gerrard leaves for LA Galaxy in the summer. Henderson is the most likely candidate, and it seems that many people find this proposition rather uninspiring in comparison with Gerrard’s heroics over the years.
You would be foolish to expect anyone to live up to the heights of Gerrard, however. The man is an absolute phenomenon, the greatest player to wear the Red shirt. Therefore, to bemoan Henderson in comparison to Gerrard is completely unreasonable. Therefore, some perspective is much needed. Finding a player who can match Gerrard in terms of his sporting ability throughout his career is practically impossible. What a captain must provide is leadership, authority, and to command the respect of his peers. This is exactly what Henderson does, which is why he’s the natural candidate to take the captaincy next season. You can see it now when he wears the armband in Gerrard’s absence. In the 8 games when he has captained Liverpool this season, we’ve never lost (6 wins and 2 draws). Although there may not be a direct correlation between the two, it has to be a positive sign. He has a real voice on the pitch, he encourages his team mates, and most importantly his attitude is exemplary. His over-excited goal celebrations are also a wonderful sight to behold.
You will rarely find a player with the desire and commitment of Henderson. After his difficult start to his Liverpool career, he found himself with the option to move to Fulham just a couple of years ago. It takes a strong character to turn things round from there. Henderson rejected the idea of leaving the club. Instead, he got his head down, forced his way into Rodger’s first team and became an integral part of our title challenge last season, also breaking into the starting XI for England at the World Cup. Nowadays, he’s probably the first name on the team sheet and is a crucial member of the Liverpool team in the present and for the future.
What Henderson offers as a midfielder is quite unique. He is renowned for his energy, dynamism and willingness to run non-stop for 90 minutes, which in itself is a hugely valuable set of attributes. Yet it’s unfair to label him as simply an ‘engine’ or an ‘athlete’, because is technical ability is extremely underrated by many. Since the start of last season, no player in the entire Premier League has more assists from open play than Henderson, with 13. That’s quite an extraordinary statistic, and one that will probably surprise many people who don’t realise how creative he is. He rarely takes corners or free kicks, yet he finds himself right at the top end of the assists table since the start of 2013/14.
This season alone, he already has 10 assists which more than many world class midfielders across Europe’s top leagues. For a player whose role isn’t primarily attacking, it’s all the more impressive that he creates so many goals as a box-to-box midfielder. Goal scoring is the area where he needs to improve the most, for sure. Henderson has scored just 16 goals in 169 appearances for Liverpool, but if he can improve this ratio it will move him into the top bracket of midfield players. Despite his creativity, Henderson has also made 42 tackles in the league this season, which is more than any other Liverpool player. If you consider this, in combination with his assists record, his quality of passing and energy and mobility you have a rare blend of attributes which make Henderson the midfield general he has become.
As I said earlier, I won’t try to claim that Henderson is world class, or even close to world class. His dribbling ability and lack of goal scoring hinder him from reaching that category. However, you don’t have to be a world class player to have an enormous influence on the field. For those Liverpool fans who don’t think Henderson has what it takes to captain the club next season, or those who think we need to upgrade central midfield to buy a better quality player than Henderson, I think you’d be wise to reconsider. Liverpool have players with flair. The likes of Sterling, Coutinho and Sturridge are fast, skilful and dazzling to watch. It would be nice to have a bit more top class talent in our side, but to complement and not to replace this man. Every team needs a player like Henderson.
He has gone through a rough patch of form in parts this season, but in general his level of consistency is excellent. Especially when Gerrard doesn’t play, the shackles are released for Henderson and he can make more aggressive forward runs without having to cover as much defensively (which highlights the need for a quality natural DM to be signed in the summer), so I’d expect we’ll see a further progression in Henderson’s game as he takes on greater responsibility next season. What he brings in terms of creativity, work rate, leadership and all round contribution is priceless. In my eyes, he’s more than fulfilled the £16 million price tag and I hope he gets rewarded with a new contract soon and at 24 years old, there’s still plenty of time for him to continue developing and growing as a player. I know not everyone shares this view, but I can honestly see Henderson being the captain and mainstay of this Liverpool side for many years to come.
Red Regista
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