Legend Of The Kop: Articles: Jordan Henderson: I Will Succeed

Jordan Henderson is a player that has divided opinion like no other. He was bought from Sunderland almost a year ago for a fee in the region of 16 million pounds. Henderson's statistics this season make pretty reading for all his critics with 2 goals and 4 assists in all competitions over 47 appearances is nothing special. Despite all the criticism he receives Henderson had been awarded our young player of the season award and I believe that he will go on to become an integral player in our team over the next few seasons and here is why.

Jordan Henderson with his Young Player of the Season Award

I Have What It Takes

Henderson is blessed with all the attributes, skills and the haircut to become a very good central midfielder. He has an exceptional first touch that is very rare among British players which makes him very good in tight situations at retaining the ball. He has a great range of passing both short and long and has the vision to make his passing effective. Unique in his passing game is his ability to play one touch passes with relative ease, be it short or long passes, which is an area that he even exceeds Gerrard in. Like our captain in his younger years Henderson is blessed with a decent turn of speed and a fantastic engine as exhibited against Blackburn where he effectively played right back and right midfield by himself. His work rate is so high that he has even surpassed Dirk Kuyt as the teams work horse and can be seen displaying his high energy levels throughout the games he plays. With his high work rate comes his ability to constantly close down opponents often running from player to player in an attempt to win the ball or close them down. Although it is often frustrating when he doesn't put a foot in to attempt a tackle it is an area of his game that has been steadily improving as the season has gone on, this was evident on Saturday against Chelsea where he won the majority of the tackles he attempted.

Henderson Celebrating His Goal Against Chelsea

Henderson's game is characterised by a high pass percentage and has often played the midfield distributor role in recent times. He controls the game in the centre of the park by playing short or long balls to teammates and keeping our attacks flowing. Henderson has attempted more passes than any other midfielder this season with 1449 passes at a pass accuracy of 83% (via Liverpoolfc.tv). This is an exceptionally high pass accuracy over a campaign especially when the nature of playing out wide generally means that the players accuracy will drop when trying to force a pass. Since his move into the centre he has consistently had passing accuracies of around 90%, against Chelsea he finished with an accuracy of 93% with an astonishing 40% of those going forwards (via @Anfield Index). The great thing about him is that he can play both a deep lying playmaker role as well as a box-to-box midfielder depending on what the team needs. Against Chelsea he generally sat deep and sprayed passes yet when the opportunity presents himself like with his goal he bombed forward to aid his forwards. I feel that we are yet to see which role suits him best yet I feel a combiantion of the deep lying "Alonso" role mixed with a box to box "Gerrard" style when appropriate would suit him best. With all these raw attributes that he posses and the fact that he is a hard worker both during and after training he certainly has the potential to develop into a fine player.

I Will Not Be Denied

Passion Overflowing After His Goal Against Chelsea

Now I am in no way saying that Henderson is the finished article and much of the criticism he has received has been deserved. He often lacks the ability to impose himself on a game, so as a result often goes missing in games. He is relatively weak on defence and in physical strength and looks like he is reluctant to make a tackle when the opportunity presents itself. He seems to lack confidence in his ability at critical moments such as when a goalscoring opportunity presents itself. Jordan should score more goals with a player blessed with such a sweet right foot and certainly should have more assists with his passing ability. Yet we must remember he is only twenty-one, has moved to a new city and a club with great pressure to perform and has a large price tag hanging over him. Henderson constantly receives unfair criticism due to a number of factors that are out of his control, i will discuss these factors now.

Played Out of Position

Henderson has been employed mainly as a right midfielder this season to very limited success. The problem with him playing out wide is that many fans who had never seen him play before presumed that he was a winger at the start of the season and unbelievably still do, so when Henderson didn't express bursting speed and tricks to beat his man then whip in a dangerous cross many fans became frustrated with him. With the exception of the Bolton and Arsenal games he has largely run around on the periphery of games unable to make a telling contribution. His job on the right was to recycle possession and when in the right position put in a decent cross which he did with relative efficiency yet this is not what the Anfield faithful want to see. Being out on the right also effects his ability to score goals, Henderson is a player whose biggest goal threat comes when he is shooting with his right foot and curling it into the far corner as shown by his goal against Chelsea and his goals with England's U21s so by coming in from the right he effectively loses his best goal scoring weapon. Since Henderson has been moved into the centre of the pitch it is clear to see what he can bring to the team. His first time and great overall range of passing has began to be expressed on the field and he is growing in confidence with each passing game. He has been the cog in our team of late, making us tick with well executed distribution and high energy levels. The signs have been really encouraging for those open to seeing them.

Henderson On The Day He Signed For Liverpool

Let Down by Fellow Signings

Another factor that has contributed to the excessive criticism of Henderson is the inability of fellow signings to perform their jobs effectively. Andy Carroll for all his recent form still doesn't put the ball in the back of the net on regular occasions, a return of 4 league goals in 34 matches from you big money striker puts a lot of pressure on other players to come up with the goals. Henderson who is a central midfielder by trade cannot be expected to score many goals in a season. Luka Modric who is highly sought after by many teams has scored 4 goals this season in the league (via Transfermarket.co.uk), that's 2 more than Henderson, and although he should score a few more goals he cannot have been expected to score the many goals that our side has lacked. I believe that with a regular goal scorer fans would have been able to appreciate him more for what he does do well.

Stewart Downing has been another culprit, his inability to provide a constant goal threat with 0 goals so far in the league has put more pressure on others to compensate for his poor performances. When Henderson is played on the right Downing is supposed to be the attacking winger of the two which is balanced out on the other side by Henderson who plays the recycler role. With Downing offering no attacking threat with his reluctance or inability to run at a man, the team effectively has no go forward drive on the wings. This makes Henderson look out of his depth and pointless when in fact he is performing the job given to him quite efficiently.

Charlie Adam is another who has had a negative effect on Henderson. He was purchased after Henderson and due to the fact that they play in the same position it seemed odd that he was in fact needed. Adam occupied the central midfield for the majority of the season which has deprived Henderson of many games of development in the centre. Adam's substandard performances and weaknesses were an easy area for opponents to expose especially when Lucas got injured and could no longer compensate for him.The thing that has hurt him most is his price tag and the overall association with these three players who have largely been major flops. Fans constantly group them together when analysing goal returns and price tags. The truth is that Henderson was not bought the finished article, we paid for the potential player he can become so he cannot not be solely judged at the present, he should be seen as a great prospect rather than a big money flop like compatriots Downing and Adam.

Steven Gerrard

Now this might sound odd but Henderson seems to play a lot better when Gerrard is not on the pitch. His best performances against Bolton (H), Aresenal (H), Blackburn (A) and Chelsea (H) have all come while Gerrard has been injured or rested. I have a few reasons as to why this has happened. Gerrard whether he plays in the centre or further forward has a tendency to drop back and receive possession, often demanding the ball and then playing a pass or going on a run. Although Gerrard is a great player his tendency to always come and get possession limits the effectiveness of our other midfielders. Instead of playing the killer ball or a long cross field diagonal all Henderson ends up doing is playing a short ball to Gerrard time and time again. Another reason is that when Gerrard doesn't play we lack a leader in the centre of the park, it is this responsibility that I feel Henderson thrives on and he begins to control the game very effectively. Agree or disagree I think Henderson has good leadership skills, he is captain of the England U21s, is always encouraging players, well liked by his teammates, is in the referees ear after every decision and always first to congratulate a player who does something right. He may not be a take the game by the scruff of the neck type leader like Gerrard yet he is a leader in his own right. So i feel that what Henderson needs is for Gerrard to play further forward and to trust him to control the game without interference.

* For more stats visit http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/team/first-team/statistics

Henderson In The Famous Boot Room

So what must Henderson do to improve? Firstly he must continue to work on the defensive side of his game as well as spend some time in the gym over the summer to improve his upper body strength. The good thing is that with Lucas returning next season it will take some of the defensive pressures off him and allow him to express himself more in attack. Secondly he must learn to impose himself on the game more and improve the consistency of his performances. I feel this area of his game will improve as he becomes more settled at Liverpool and as he spends more time playing next to players of the calibre Gerrard and Lucas. With all the hard work he puts in I expect the other stronger aspects of his game to improve further as well which makes me very excited as to what he can become.

I Will Succeed

Jordan Henderson possess the potential to become a world class player for Liverpool, he has his faults and areas that need improving like all young players yet he has a terrific work ethic and desire to improve every aspect of his game. It is this determination to succeed coupled with his raw ability that makes me confident the he will become one of the main players in our team and eventually become a contender for club captain. He has recently been deservedly awarded our young player of the season award. You can see how much succeeding at Liverpool means to him just be observing the passion on his face after he scored against Chelsea. Hendo has one cap for the England national side and I expect him to add to that greatly over his career. It is important that the fans are patient with him and let him develop into the player that they will one day worship. He must be viewed as a prospect because afterall we paid a large fee for his potential and not the player he is now. This should excite fans as if you look past his few shortcommings you will see what he can become. One thing is for sure though, Henderson will stop at nothing and give it his all to prove his doubters wrong and convince them that he does belong, I have no doubts that he will succeed.