A twenty-year-old Jordan Henderson signed for Liverpool FC on 9th June 2011 for the hefty, many would say extortionate, price of what is believed to be around £20 million. It’s fair to say that this is an incredible case of overpayment from Liverpool, considering Henderson had only made his Premier League debut two years earlier and only managed one England cap. But even so, Jordan Henderson was, and maybe still is, considered one of England’s hottest young prospects. FIFA even named Henderson as one of their “Players to Watch” in January 2011, a list which contained the likes of Shinji Kagawa, Mats Hummels and David de Gea.
Romelu Lukaku, Shinji Kagawa, David de Gea and Lucas Moura, who all also made the list mentioned above, were snapped up by top European teams. Liverpool wanted in on the act and, making a swoop for the only English player, they must’ve thought they’d pulled a cracker. Liverpool faced stiff competition from Fergie’s Man United, who seemed like clean-cut favourites to sign Henderson (and Jose Enrique too, by the way). Though, I’ll be honest, I was kind of perplexed with the signing myself. I’d not heard of Henderson a great deal and his form with Sunderland in the 2010/11 campaign was meandering between promising and infuriating. However, I was willing to see this twenty-year-old should be given a chance, and his over-the-odds price tag should be disregarded. He didn’t negotiate his own transfer after all.
Hendo played his part in what was an extremely infuriating 2011/12 campaign for Liverpool. It was clear Liverpool’s big-money signings (Downing, Henderson, and Carroll) were not paying dividends for a manager who had broken the bank to bring them to Anfield. He managed just two league goals for Liverpool that season, strikes against Bolton and Chelsea, but also failed to impose himself on the team, despite playing 46 games for the Reds in total that season. It can be said, however, that Henderson’s form may have suffered from playing what is largely an unfamiliar role, the right midfield position. Purchases of Charlie Adam, the resurgence of Lucas, and Steven Gerrard meant that Henderson was forced to fill the gap on the right side of midfield, with Dirk Kuyt out of form and out of favour.
There were games that season in which Henderson genuinely looked like a top young talent, worthy of a place on FIFA’s list. I recall the home game against Chelsea. In the 4-1 thrashing of the Rent Boy’s skeleton side, Henderson bagged himself a goal and put in a top performance. It was evident that he was coming into his own, playing more centrally and he made an impressive end to the campaign. The whole team did really (despite the 1-0 loss to Swanselona on the last day of the season). Following Lampard’s injury, Henderson was called upon to travel to the Euros with England and, despite not getting much game time, the experience and the mere fact he was called up would have done wonders to his confidence.
When Kenny Dalglish was sacked as manager, Henderson’s future appeared uncertain. New manager Brendan Rodgers seemed to join Liverpool with preconceived misconceptions of a few players who, undoubtedly, had poor showings the year before. Enrique, Downing and Henderson were all, in no uncertain terms, told they could leave Liverpool. These three have all stayed, of course, and have since seen an upturn in form (good man-management, Brend). Hendo has since talked about his delight in being a Liverpool player, saying “When I put the shirt on it is a real honour to go out and play for Liverpool so I want to do that for the rest of my career.” He vowed to keep fighting and to show Brendan Rodgers what he can offer the team. To me, that’s something to be admired. Flying in the face of adversity when others say you’re simply not good enough.
Some Liverpool fans, like myself, would say that Henderson’s perseverance has paid off, with the Englishman putting in some fantastic performances for the Reds as of late which have led him to scoring in consecutive Premier League games, something which would have seemed a mile away this time last season. According to thinkfootball’s statistical analysis of Henderson in February, Henderson has made improvements in all areas of his game. Pass accuracy, tackling, chances created, goal-scoring and possession keeping. Simply phenomenal, I think. What a difference a year can make. I want to take a look into a few particular games in which Henderson has impressed.
Henderson didn’t start Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Wigan in November, but he has been widely seen as a catalyst that day, brought on after 36 minutes that changed Liverpool’s game for the better. He played a slightly more advanced central role that day, one that is not too unfamiliar now, ahead of Gerrard and Allen. Despite playing over one-third of the game less than those two players, who are seen as pass maestros, Henderson managed just 4 passes less than Allen, 6 less than Gerrard. Liverpool’s shooting, tackling and passing stats all dramatically increased following the substitution.
(Source: ohyoubeauty.blogspot.co.uk)
Henderson provides legs… not that Joe Allen can’t do the running, but it seems Henderson has just been doing it better. For around 60-70 minutes of a game, Henderson just runs. He closes down, makes runs, intercepts, tackles and generally makes a nuisance of himself. Since this peak in form, Henderson has been one of the most hard-working, creative and influential players for Liverpool when on the pitch. This is shown in his fantastic performance against Arsenal at the Emirates. Henderson was Liverpool’s top passer, joint second most shot-taker and was joint first in creating the most chances for the team, on a night which saw Liverpool under fire from an Arsenal side who were surprised to see themselves 2-0 down at one point. He was an outlet. His goal, his second in two games, was an example of his sheer perseverance. Henderson found himself on the edge of the area (as he has done a lot recently, something Liverpool had lacked) sandwiched between two Arsenal players, when he made an optimistic jolt for goal. He squirmed his way through to goal and was able to score a rebound from his original shot. My reaction at the time was simply: “Fucking hell… Hendo.” I didn’t know how he’d did it, but for me that epitomised his recent performances.
Honestly, I cannot emphasise how impressed I’ve been with Henderson this season so far. From being told he could leave, to becoming an integral part of the side in recent weeks is remarkable. He’s even been able to usurp Joe Allen, a player which Rodgers has constantly publicly praised. Maybe not based on 2012 as a whole, but certainly judging by his season so far, Henderson maybe deserved his U21 gong for the Young Lions. I’d love to see him live out his full potential in a Liverpool shirt, something which we were so nearly denied in the summer, but it appears as though he’s in Rodgers’ plans for the future. Well, with performances like those, how can he not be?
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