A Toast to Jordan Henderson
Jordan Henderson is very much like Marmite. You either love him, or you hate him and he goes delightfully well on toast. But recently he’s set himself on the path to proving his doubters wrong. Making his way down the long road of redemption that many have walked before him, Henderson has shown in the last few weeks that he may well have what it takes to succeed at Liverpool. Since being offered the chance to renew his career at Fulham in exchange for Clint Dempsey, he has been determined to show fans that he isn’t a big money flop.
The thing about Jordan Henderson, is that he’s a very smart player. He’s not a Brazilian, with his flicks and tricks, he’s not an Italian midfielder with an incredible beard who sprays sexy passes however he likes. Nor is he a powerhouse that just thunders through, thumping strikes from 30 yards on a regular basis. But he’s smart. It was evident last season that he had this intelligence, he just didn’t show it often enough. There were brief, fleeting glimpses of a player who looked like he was worth £20m. But they were those sort of “blink and you miss it” type moments. There were faint flickers of brilliance in a season shrouded in a big black menacing cloud of disappointment. But it just appeared as though he was daunted by the task that lay before him. With the club paying £20m to sign him he had a lot to live up to. Fans wanted an instant response from a player they spent a huge amount of money on. And he wasn’t able to deliver as they expected; demanded even. Playing in the wrong position and a complete lack of confidence didn’t help him. Kenny Dalglish insisted in pushing him out to the wing and while he is supposed to be able to play there, judging by his Sunderland days, his preferred position was through the middle. And coming to a new club, one of the biggest clubs in the country, with that kind of price tag on your back, and being told to play in a position that isn’t your favourite must be incredibly difficult. When he came on to play in the middle on those brief occasions last season, he looked much more comfortable and much better than he did out wide. He looked confident playing there. But he wasn’t given enough opportunities to do it. As a result of playing out wide, his confidence faltered, he didn’t play as well as he could have and things turned pear-shaped. He was even booed off the pitch in one game.
That was the point when it became clear that Henderson was a fighter. He could have quite easily curled up into his metaphorical shell and sat there, unwilling to give it any more, unwilling to try, wishing the days would pass him by like a cloud. But no. He didn’t do that. He pulled himself together and kept going, kept trying, kept giving it his all. That’s the most obvious thing about Henderson; his drive. When the chips are down he rises. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. And other clichéd phrases about strength of mind and such. It’s what Henderson does best. He runs and he presses and he keeps his opponents on their toes. And he does it for 90 minutes, every game, continuously. People say he runs around like a headless chicken but it’s simply not true. Headless chickens run without a reason. Apart from the reason that it doesn’t have a head. Henderson doesn’t (run like a headless chicken, obviously). And what he does is incredibly beneficial to the cause. It’s easily his most admirable quality. He has a “never say die” attitude.. He’s like a gladiator. Except with better hair. The point is he fights like he did when booed last season, like he did when offered the chance to go to Fulham, like he did when competition was added in the forms of Allen and Sahin. He fought and went out of his way to secure his place in the team. Not only has he battled for his place, but he’s made it his own and made it very hard to justify dropping him. The disappointment among fans when it was announced that Allen would start ahead of him against Manchester United earlier this month showed how good he has been as of late. His determination and drive was clear to see in his goal against Arsenal. No dancing through the defenders, just sheer perseverance put him through on goal, and, with a bit of luck, he managed to finish it. It was that moment that epitomised his work ethic. It’s incredible, and it was a goal he well and truly deserved.
Henderson obviously has other redeeming qualities. I spoke earlier about his intelligence. He knows when and how to pass a ball, it’s blatantly clear. It was clear last season, those few moments of magic that I spoke about from him – some wonderfully weighted first time through balls against Bolton, Everton and Manchester City all spring to mind for me. He’s got the brain and he’s got the ability, it’s just utilising it. His performances this season, particularly in the last month or so, have emphasised this. He’s been performing well all season – each performance of his has gotten better and better since that Europa League game against Young Boys back in September. It’s ticking in him. Rodgers’ system, and how to play it, is something he can connect with. it’s his style, it’s how he plays football. And he’s done it very well. Rodgers has played him as that link between the two deeper lying midfielders and the attackers, and Liverpool’s scoring record since he’s started playing there has improved drastically. Not only that, but because of the vast amount of energy he has and the determination he approaches each game with, he can get up and down the pitch with absolutely no problem and cover any of the midfield positions. He’s a great player to have, and given his age, he has plenty of time to improve and become better.
The game against Wigan at the back-end of 2012 was a prime example of how much Henderson has come on under Rodgers. Brought on after barely 30 minutes, replacing Suso, his job was simple. It was to keep Wigan contained and stop them from taking control any more. Wigan had been all over Liverpool for the first half, pushing them back and pressurising them a lot. Suso, for all his talent, wasn’t tracking back enough and making it difficult for the other midfielders to actually stop Wigan from countering. Henderson came on, slowed things down, and helped to put Liverpool in control. There was a clear change in the tempo. In the second half we came out a completely different side. We were dominant, in control, and the game was played at the pace we wanted it played at, rather than the pace Wigan were trying to force us into. I’m not saying it was all down to him but he played incredibly well and helped to set the tempo that we wanted the game played at. And obviously we went on to win 3-0. He played a big part in that game, and that was about the time when it became clear that Henderson did have something in him, and would work in Rodgers’ system.
So the question really, on everyone’s lips, is whether or not he’s good enough for a top four club, seeing as that is our ambition. It’s not a simple question to answer. Personally, I believe he is. But there’s also a very minor case of serious bias in that statement. The honest truth is I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see. There’s always the possibility, of course, that he could well prove to be our most valuable midfielder in a year or two. There’s also the case that he may disappear off the radar, what with the Coutinho signing. The truth is we have to actually get back into the top four before we can start to judge who is and who isn’t good enough to be a part of the club thereafter.
I’m not a huge fan of statistics but in the 5 games that he’s started this season, Henderson has managed to score twice and get 3 assists. Throughout the entirety of last season, he managed the same tally. Add his goal from earlier this season, plus his assists, and his tally goes up to 3 goals and 5 assists for this season alone. He’s only started 17 games this season overall, compared to 41 in the last. So there’s been a vast improvement and it’s clear to see. It can be put down to confidence, being played out of position last season, Rodgers’ system, anything. It’s more likely a combination of all of them.
Jordan Henderson is a Liverpool player. He wants to play for Liverpool, he wants to fight for the right to wear that shirt. His attitude is unquestionable – you never hear of him moaning or complaining or doing anything wrong, he just gets his head down and gets on with it. He’s an invaluable player to have in the ranks, a player you’d look to in a few years as a leader among men, perhaps a potential captain, if things continue as they are doing. His attitude is excellent, his work rate is phenomenal, and he’s great with the ball. I started off by saying that Jordan Henderson is a Marmite footballer. You either love him or you hate him. As is pretty clear by what’s written above, I love him. I think he has huge potential still. He could be one of the clubs most important players in a few years, given the chance to play consistently. He’s got “it”. Just that charisma. That look of someone you just know is going to be big. Henderson has shown this season that he can play for Liverpool. He is good enough to play for this club. I’d go so far as to say that he has all the attributes to play for Rodgers for the next ten years, perhaps in one world even captain them. If Henderson keeps up his form for the rest of the season, and carries it into the next, he could be a very important cog in Rodgers’ machine. And, given time, may well go down in history as a bit of a cult figure. But only time will tell.