On June 1st, 2019, Jordan Henderson joined an illustrious list of Liverpool legends to have had the life-changing experience of lifting the European Cup.
With just shy of 250 appearances for the club, he fits the profile of going down as a club legend, as well as being a player being consistently picked by Jurgen Klopp, Brendan Rodgers and Sir Kenny Dalglish, all of which while getting a starting place for Englands national side.
But a quick look around the away end on Sunday to the sight of disgruntled moans or spurts of negativity towards the captain would paint a very different picture of how he is perceived by the fans.
It is an ongoing agenda that has seemed to go on ever since Henderson came to the club in 2011, but has now come to more prominence over the past couple of years since he took over the captaincy.
So just why is Liverpool’s captain such a hit-and-miss with fans in the stands, and social media?
Steven Gerrard
Whoever was going to take the captaincy off Steven Gerrard was facing a near impossible task – he is arguably the greatest player ever to play for Liverpool.
I grew up going to the match week in week out, watching Gerrard pull Liverpool sides full of mediocrity out of trouble by himself. He personified what a captain and leadersh was all about.
So credit where its due to Henderson taking the role, having almost played the apprenticeship to Gerrard in his last few years at the club before the legendary former skipper moved to LA Galaxy.
Unfortunately, unless Henderson was to single-handedly win the Reds trophy after trophy all by himself, there is nothing he can do to live up to the level of Gerrard – something that the next captain after Henderson won’t find just as hard.
The Midfield
Henderson’s position, naturally as a box-to box-midfielder, has been altered over the years.
A combination of new personnel, issues with injuries and the fact he is getting older has never seen Henderson stake a legitimate claim as one of Liverpool’s first-choice midfielders.
It is also the area of the pitch that acts as Klopp’s room for experiment.
Liverpool are very much over-employed in the middle of the park, and dependent on what sort of game Liverpool will play, whether it be defensive or attacking, you could feasibly see a different midfield nine times out of 10.
Henderson does not really fit into either, which is the problem with some supporters and why there are question marks over the captain.
The defence and attack, no injuries provided, picks itself every week, but with much room for competition in the middle of the park, as well as high levels of recruitment with lots spent, Henderson finds himself in a midfield of change and inconsistent selection.
Henderson’s Liverpool Career
Henderson is still seen by many as the overpriced young signing by Dalglish, rushed into a Liverpool side on the right-hand side of midfield, clearly out of his depth. That sort of legacy has since lived on with many fans.
Throughout the 29-year-old’s Liverpool career, before Klopp, a 2013/14 Premier League title challenge season and a League Cup winners’ medal was all he had to show for his efforts.
Many believe that Henderson is one of the old guard of an era of Liverpool that we all want to quickly forget about.
The Reds have moved on from that, with a transformed team creating this dynasty under Klopp.
Henderson being the only survivor makes him the scapegoat of this Liverpool side, however, and his reputation from his early days at the club has sadly never gone away in the eyes of some, and they never will.
This ultimately makes this a bizarre case of the Reds’ European Cup-winning captain being nowhere near a fans’ favourite, but at the same time embodying the journey we as fans have all gone through over the past decade or so.
