2 years ago Henderson was shunned as a player not fit to wear the liver bird on his shirt. Now he’s becoming a fans favourite due to his fantastic work ethic. So what’s changed for Henderson and how has he won over the majority of the Liverpool fans?
If there’s one man on the pitch you can rely on to give 100% and more every single match then look no further than Liverpool’s number 14. Whether he’s chasing down a loose ball, pressing the opposition or surging forward with the ball, Henderson’s energy is astounding. Indeed almost every time I look up at a Liverpool match I see a familiar sight: Henderson running. His fitness is second to none and it has to be as he fulfils every sense of the phrase, Box-to-Box midfielder. But Henderson doesn’t just run between boxes, he covers every blade of grass, harassing the opposition and winning tackles.
This unbelievable non-stop running is born from Henderson’s incredible attitude towards football and his determination to improve and succeed. We’ve already seen this perseverance in Henderson’s rocky start to life at Anfield. It would have been very easy for a 21 year old who had a £16 million tag forced upon him to buckle under the pressures of playing on the big stage at Liverpool. Even when he was played at fullback by Brendan Rodgers at the start of last season Henderson never gave up. He fought for his place and won it back. His performances after this uneasy start are testament to his ever-present hard work and professionalism.
In fact by the end of last season Henderson had scored 3 times the amount of goals than in the previous season. He also provided double the assists and all of this after being told to play at right-back for the start of the season. His recent record is even more impressive. In his last 14 games Henderson has scored 4 goals and 1 assist in his preferred central midfield position. If we compare this to his shaky overall Liverpool career stats (98 apps, 9 goals, 9 assists) its increasingly obvious how much Henderson has improved over the last four years. This improvement has seen Henderson start all 5 of Liverpool’s opening matches of the Barclays Premier League alongside Gerrard and Lucas in the midfield and it’s getting harder every game to imagine a Liverpool side without Henderson in it.
However he still isn’t looked upon so greatly by rival fans. Whenever I hear about Henderson from my friends they always talk about either his price tag or his underperformance. This not only shows my friends are ignorant but it makes Henderson one of the most underrated players in the Premier League. In my eyes Henderson is an important first team player and yet others still see him as a flop. It just goes to show that first impressions are incredibly important and also shows how resilient Henderson has been to claim his place in the team and a place in the heart of Kopites.
‘Henderson never stops running’ is of course over-exaggeration but if you look at some of Henderson’s recent goals you begin to realise it isn’t far from the truth. His last competitive goal came against Notts County is a perfect example of this. 45 minutes after coming on as a substitute he started his sprint from before the half-way line, before he’d even received the ball, he then proceeded to gather the ball, run some more, and then nutmeg an opposition defender to go on to coolly finish past Bartosz Białkowski. All this without breaking his stride.
But that wasn’t just a one-off wonder goal. Henderson has shown time and again he can threaten defences from starting his runs behind the half-way line. Goals against Olympiakos, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Chelsea have all been trademark Henderson goals with three key features: Run from half-way line or further back, never breaking stride and a calm composed finish. All of these features personify Henderson’s character and it’s not just goals that set him apart from other midfielders.
Pressing the opponents has become a significant of his game and has been fruitful on more than one occasion. His pressure against Newcastle led to a Daniel Sturridge goal and more recently his pressing of Ashley Young this season led to the corner in which Sturridge, once again, scored the winner. This pressing inevitably leads to, yes, more running. There are however two points were Henderson has produced moments of magic whilst standing on the spot.
Henderson’s first goal for Liverpool will be one that he will remember for a long time. I don’t think I’ll forget it in a hurry either but unfortunately rivals seem to either forget or ignore it when talking about him. He picks up the ball just inside the penalty area and after having a shot blocked goes onto his weaker side and curls a fabulous shot into the top left hand corner of the goal. He went one better last season against Norwich with a stunning volley just outside of the area proving his tenacity and shot power.
Henderson has some other useful qualities as a midfielder (including his pass accuracy) but what makes him an outstanding footballer is his determination, pressing, finishing and, of course, his never-ending running. You could say easily make the argument that Henderson is an over-priced player and has never lived up to his price-tag but really this isn’t Henderson’s fault at all and in fact this price tag has made it even harder for him to succeed. The pressure he has overcome is a great demonstration of his hard working ethic that is becoming a dying trait in football. Henderson is the perfect example of how footballers should behave on and off the pitch and however many rivals criticise him I will always be there to defend him.
This unbelievable non-stop running is born from Henderson’s incredible attitude towards football and his determination to improve and succeed. We’ve already seen this perseverance in Henderson’s rocky start to life at Anfield. It would have been very easy for a 21 year old who had a £16 million tag forced upon him to buckle under the pressures of playing on the big stage at Liverpool. Even when he was played at fullback by Brendan Rodgers at the start of last season Henderson never gave up. He fought for his place and won it back. His performances after this uneasy start are testament to his ever-present hard work and professionalism.
In fact by the end of last season Henderson had scored 3 times the amount of goals than in the previous season. He also provided double the assists and all of this after being told to play at right-back for the start of the season. His recent record is even more impressive. In his last 14 games Henderson has scored 4 goals and 1 assist in his preferred central midfield position. If we compare this to his shaky overall Liverpool career stats (98 apps, 9 goals, 9 assists) its increasingly obvious how much Henderson has improved over the last four years. This improvement has seen Henderson start all 5 of Liverpool’s opening matches of the Barclays Premier League alongside Gerrard and Lucas in the midfield and it’s getting harder every game to imagine a Liverpool side without Henderson in it.
However he still isn’t looked upon so greatly by rival fans. Whenever I hear about Henderson from my friends they always talk about either his price tag or his underperformance. This not only shows my friends are ignorant but it makes Henderson one of the most underrated players in the Premier League. In my eyes Henderson is an important first team player and yet others still see him as a flop. It just goes to show that first impressions are incredibly important and also shows how resilient Henderson has been to claim his place in the team and a place in the heart of Kopites.
‘Henderson never stops running’ is of course over-exaggeration but if you look at some of Henderson’s recent goals you begin to realise it isn’t far from the truth. His last competitive goal came against Notts County is a perfect example of this. 45 minutes after coming on as a substitute he started his sprint from before the half-way line, before he’d even received the ball, he then proceeded to gather the ball, run some more, and then nutmeg an opposition defender to go on to coolly finish past Bartosz Białkowski. All this without breaking his stride.
But that wasn’t just a one-off wonder goal. Henderson has shown time and again he can threaten defences from starting his runs behind the half-way line. Goals against Olympiakos, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Chelsea have all been trademark Henderson goals with three key features: Run from half-way line or further back, never breaking stride and a calm composed finish. All of these features personify Henderson’s character and it’s not just goals that set him apart from other midfielders.
Pressing the opponents has become a significant of his game and has been fruitful on more than one occasion. His pressure against Newcastle led to a Daniel Sturridge goal and more recently his pressing of Ashley Young this season led to the corner in which Sturridge, once again, scored the winner. This pressing inevitably leads to, yes, more running. There are however two points were Henderson has produced moments of magic whilst standing on the spot.
Henderson’s first goal for Liverpool will be one that he will remember for a long time. I don’t think I’ll forget it in a hurry either but unfortunately rivals seem to either forget or ignore it when talking about him. He picks up the ball just inside the penalty area and after having a shot blocked goes onto his weaker side and curls a fabulous shot into the top left hand corner of the goal. He went one better last season against Norwich with a stunning volley just outside of the area proving his tenacity and shot power.
Henderson has some other useful qualities as a midfielder (including his pass accuracy) but what makes him an outstanding footballer is his determination, pressing, finishing and, of course, his never-ending running. You could say easily make the argument that Henderson is an over-priced player and has never lived up to his price-tag but really this isn’t Henderson’s fault at all and in fact this price tag has made it even harder for him to succeed. The pressure he has overcome is a great demonstration of his hard working ethic that is becoming a dying trait in football. Henderson is the perfect example of how footballers should behave on and off the pitch and however many rivals criticise him I will always be there to defend him.