Author Topic: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season  (Read 16837 times)

Offline lachesis

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Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« on: May 10, 2012, 11:35:16 am »
Quote
‘There are players who, when you first see them play, make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.  Jordan was one of them.

'I was doing a bit of scouting the first time I saw Jordan play, and you just knew straight away he had something. 

'As soon as we saw him play it was clear he had that special talent. He has the right attitude, too. He has been back to present prizes for us and he never changes.
      
      - Alan Millward, of the South Tyneside Football Trust.



It's been a strange season for Jordan Henderson and there has been a bit of an ebb and a flow with regards to his performances. You could argue that the inconsistency shown in patches can simply be put down to a higher level of expectation and immaturity of development.

After an unspectacular debut he turned in a performance bubbling with energy and drive against Arsenal which was followed up by his first Liverpool goal against Bolton. After that the team had a disappointing result against Stoke in which the game passed Henderson by. In truth when you play Stoke the game often passes by the whole of the midfield. It is your responsibility to get the ball down and start playing through them which we failed to do with an end result. And that really epitomises Hendersons contributions this season. One minute looking like he might start to repay the faith in his potential, the next looking like he is struggling to make the step up.

As always the truth probably lies somewhere in between. What we need to decide is where he is best utilised for the club and how we can play to his strengths. He has played too many games this season, that much is clear. Unless you are a prodigy you really wouldn't be expecting to walk into the Liverpool first XI at the age of 21 and play pretty much a full league season - with a portion of it clearly out of position.

I think we can say that the experiment to play him on the right certainly doesn't work at Liverpool. It may have bore some fruit at Sunderland but the requirements are vastly different here. His crossing statistics backs this up by placing him almost bottom of the pile with only 16% accuracy. However you can look beyond the accuracy stat to see his actual number of attempted crosses is somewhat low (given his position and minutes played). Suarez and Carroll as strikers are obviously below him and Johnson has produced less crosses partially due to missing 16 league games. Kuyt has produced less crosses due to only playing 20 games himself. Yet look at how high he (Kuyt) appears in the crossing accuracy chart. This vindicates those fans who have said we should have persisted with Kuyt on the wing (especially after the way he finished last season with Maxi).



For me this illustrates that Jordan is not a short term or long term option on the right of midfield.

So where do Hendersons strengths lie? Well believe it or not, recently he became our most consistent tackler with 84% of all tackles successful. The full breakdown of the top 5 is shown below. Lucas still being fourth does not make great reading after being absent for so long. Spearing has only started 15 games himself. It's clear the midfield lacks bite, given Hendersons statistics (buoyed by more consistent midfield appearances recently), it's also apparent that he offers a bit of steel needed for that centre position.



The obvious comparisons here are going to be drawn with the maligned Charlie Adam. Playing poorly but having end product does slacken the chains of mounting pressure but from an actual end product point of view what do you measure - what do you lose in order to gain?

After his goal against Chelsea, Jordan drew level with Adam on goals. Now one argument nullifies another. Adam has been injured and Henderson has been out of position. Both players returning 2 league goals. Adams assists look much more impressive though, but again put them under scrutiny as follows:



And we can see that most of his assists are actually from set plays. Something Henderson has not really been involved in as much. Adam was for a few months in Gerrards absence the sole set piece taker for everything, which gave him a chance to add a few more chalk marks in the assist column. Now don't get me wrong there is still skill in providing a set piece that is accurate and is of sufficient quality but in open play he has one more assist than Henderson. What do we lose? What do we gain?

In the meantime the ugly arguments have reared their head about sideways and backwards passing as well. So here's a graphic displaying his passing stats. His passes forward are almost double that of backward and he has a clear tendency to look right for an outlet (again, almost double). When playing on the right he doesn't have that outlet (there was a period of about 5-8 games where the understanding of Henderson and Johnson did work, especially on the overlap though and did give him an easy ball to prod forward into Glens path).



He's pretty consistent with his goal threat from outside the box and inside the box. Blocked and off target increases from outside the box would be expected to rise with the added difficulty.




Overall, I think he has had a mixed season but one you would expect. There has been little continuity to his development or the players around him. His strengths and attributes are clearly suited to a central midfield and like a lot of players has suffered from the chop and changing of the second part of the season. However, this recent run of good form has come on the back of 6/7 games being played in the same position (arguably his favoured). He does have something to offer us and would be an excellent foil for a more experienced midfield partner. Unfortunately to do that would require a lot more quality on the wings and a lot more clinical finishing from the attacking quartet we are aiming for. With this in place he can go about his business and not feel pressured into stepping up and spanking 30 yard goals in every other game to make up for our toothless attacking play.




 Credit for player render

Stats taken from eplindex.com
« Last Edit: May 12, 2012, 08:06:01 am by lachesis »

Offline Hazell

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2012, 11:42:57 am »
Good post, thanks.
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Offline brad147690

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2012, 12:57:58 pm »
I think with Henderson if the players are putting a few of the chances he creates away and playing well then he will be useful. But he doesn't seem like the sort of player that will produce a wonderful performance out of nowhere but then again not loads of people are. If we start playing well and scoring then he should do better.

Offline Lucas DuoFlush

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2012, 01:03:44 pm »
He's just very Busquets-esque to me. I see him trying to play that role but often I don't think the other players "get" it. Certainly noticed it multiple times against Chelsea. He's constantly finding a good 5-7 yards of space around him with forward passes on but I fear that a few of our players don't think the pass to him looks like an attacking enough bit of play. He's a clever lad. Its how I like to try to attempt to slightly play against people much worse and still fail, so its nice to see someone my age do it easily at that level.. :no
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Offline bathoz

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #4 on: May 10, 2012, 03:15:07 pm »
The think for me, with Henderson, as with Lucas before him, is that you can see he has the talented. He might not have been as effective as you want, but - you know - that's most young players.

After two and half seasons United were talking about selling one of their obviously talented, but not yet effective players - C Ronaldo. The same thoughts were expressed about many other players throughout the history of the game. Lampard was a talented but unimpressive midfielder until his second season with Chelsea. Arsenal are busy bollocking the obviously talented Ramsey - who, maybe not with them, is pretty damn likely to come good.

It doesn't always work (because there seem to be no absolute rules in football, thank Fowler) - but a combination of talent, physicality and mentality result in good players most of the time. Jordan definitely has at least two of those brackets, and mountains of evidence that he does have a strong mentality - so I'm not worried.
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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #5 on: May 12, 2012, 09:38:04 am »
Bump - thanks dude this is great! :)

Offline Ben86

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #6 on: May 12, 2012, 09:45:31 am »
Excellent original post.

I think the point with Henderson is that he's an intelligent player who needs intelligent players around him. It's why I'm so convinced he will work very well alongside Lucas. Fast thinking players work well together (compare Lucas->Maxi->Suarez) and they are the ones who create gaps to open up play, but with a few exceptions they can't do it on their own. It's a team game after all.

I'm really looking forward to next season and just hope that Lucas will return as strong as ever. I think he's the foundation that Henderson needs for his game.

Offline hollger

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #7 on: May 12, 2012, 09:47:04 am »
Excellent work compiling that. Thanks, good read  :thumbup

Offline Sangria

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #8 on: May 12, 2012, 09:56:43 am »
Why do I get the feeling that this is more insightful than Comolli's thoughts on players?
"i just dont think (Lucas is) that type of player that Kenny wants"
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http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=267148.msg8032258#msg8032258

Offline Nuschj

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #9 on: May 12, 2012, 09:58:30 am »
I liked that. I think he might have been slightly over-played due to the sale of Meireles, but he obviously needs to play in the middle. I really like the idea of a pre-injury Lucas with Shelvey and Henderson playing in front of him, especially if they play as they did against Chelsea, but whether that would work in reality has yet to be seen. The latter two probably need a year or two more of development.

Offline blago

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #10 on: May 12, 2012, 10:08:40 am »
Overall, a very good well researched article.     Jordan is clearly a good player and he does indeed look far more effective playing in the middle.

If I was to make one small critisism I would have to say it's pointless mentioning the percentage of tackles won unless you also show the number of tackles attempted.   There have been a number of times when Jordan has bottled it in this regard and shirked out of tackles.    If he improves in this area he could be some player and may well prove to be a good partner for Lucas (assuming Lucas returns at the same level he played at before).

I think Henderson has the potential to be a really good box to box midfielder.     He's not the finished article yet but people forget how young he is.

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #11 on: May 12, 2012, 10:25:17 am »
Why do I get the feeling that this is more insightful than Comolli's thoughts on players?

Because the OP is still here.
Comolli is not.
The latter never seemed comfortable in his role at the Club
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Offline Fordy

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #12 on: May 12, 2012, 10:26:01 am »
Great post.

A very fair review.

Said it before I fully believe his best position is DM.

Don't mean to drag another player in to this thread but Downings stats are totally poor -186 crosses but only 22% accuracy.

In general not enough crosses have come in for a player like Carroll to benefit from and it's not shock real he has look a fish out of water most of the times.

Going back to Henderson though I expect him to step up now as he is lucky to play as many games for Liverpool at 21.

Offline LiamG

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #13 on: May 12, 2012, 10:37:24 am »
I dont think his best position is DM, i prefer him just as a CM, he has that energy to get forward but his tackling is improving


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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #14 on: May 12, 2012, 10:45:02 am »
Henderson is a lot of things but a DM he is not.  At least not in the usual sense of the word.  He has played well as the deepest midfielder in the centre , doesn't mean he is a DM. We looked good because there was good balance in our midfield and responsibilities were shared.

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Offline Fordy

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #15 on: May 12, 2012, 10:45:38 am »
I dont think his best position is DM, i prefer him just as a CM, he has that energy to get forward but his tackling is improving



His best games for the Under 21's have been at DM and also when he has played there for us.

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #16 on: May 12, 2012, 10:49:00 am »
Great post, cheers. Superb against Chelsea the other night. I think he's a top player. He'll do well given more time next season, if played in the deep-lying central role alongside Lucas, who I feel would have further improved Henderson's game.
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Offline Renato

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #17 on: May 12, 2012, 10:49:39 am »
I dont think his best position is DM, i prefer him just as a CM, he has that energy to get forward but his tackling is improving

Yeah I agree, don't know where Fordy is getting this idea of him being a DM.

Offline Fordy

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #18 on: May 12, 2012, 10:54:01 am »
Yeah I agree, don't know where Fordy is getting this idea of him being a DM.

I've explained. Read above.

As soon as Lucas got his injury Henderson should of replaced Lucas but we went for Mr Pointer instead.

Offline BobbyDavro

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #19 on: May 12, 2012, 10:55:58 am »
He and Lucas as our anchors and Gerrard...then Shelvey...in front could be a very good midfield.
Just need the wide players sorting out.
Next season depends a lot on two or three key purchases, Gerrard staying fit, Carroll continuing to batter defences, and how Lucas comes back from injury.

Henderson will inevitably only get better and batter.

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #20 on: May 12, 2012, 10:59:25 am »
Very impressive post and looking forward to your next one on Shelvey

Midfield 3 of Lucas Shev and Henderson could be great if given a chance ?

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #21 on: May 12, 2012, 11:12:16 am »
I'm confused?

On the tackling stats Henderson has completed 84% of tackles successfully, more than Enrique and Johnson.

Does it take into account the overall attempted number by each player?
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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #22 on: May 12, 2012, 11:15:52 am »
Excellent Op.
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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #23 on: May 12, 2012, 11:15:59 am »
I'm confused?

On the tackling stats Henderson has completed 84% of tackles successfully, more than Enrique and Johnson.

Does it take into account the overall attempted number by each player?


I'd say so.Wouldn't it have to if you want a %.

Offline MassDriver

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #24 on: May 12, 2012, 11:16:44 am »
I'm confused?

On the tackling stats Henderson has completed 84% of tackles successfully, more than Enrique and Johnson.

Does it take into account the overall attempted number by each player?

How can a percentage figure take into account the total? Elementary maths , dear Watson.  :P
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Offline Il Nina

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #25 on: May 12, 2012, 11:21:09 am »
I think he improved as the season went on, as was probably expected. He certainly has talent and will keep improving, a bit like Lucas was. I am pleased with his attitude in games and I think he will have a big part to play at the club in years to come.
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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #26 on: May 12, 2012, 11:24:06 am »
Henderson is a lot of things but a DM he is not.  At least not in the usual sense of the word.  He has played well as the deepest midfielder in the centre , doesn't mean he is a DM. We looked good because there was good balance in our midfield and responsibilities were shared.



It would be interesting to know how many  tackles he does make in a game compared to Lucas , if only making half the amount of tackles we would have a hole in the centre of midfield , but I've been impressed with his tackles that he has made .
Don't see Henderson as a true DM either but more so than  Shev , can see Henderson playing along side Lucas and Shev as 3 man midfield with a more defensive role than Shev , with both the freedom to get forward with Lucas behind them .
« Last Edit: May 12, 2012, 11:30:12 am by rocco »

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #27 on: May 12, 2012, 11:26:28 am »
There have been some games that have passed him by but he has also looked really impressive in others, and like the op has said, these have come when he's been played central. I think he could develop an excellent partnership in the centre of the midfield with Lucas, they both have almost limitless energy and Henderson will be able to improve his game massively by learning fro Lucas.

Having Lucas alongside him would also give him the opportunity to make more of his attacking runs which he times really well and quite often manages to find a few yards of space in the attacking third. With these two as a base and either Gerrard or Shelvey in front of them it's a strong midfield.

Offline MassDriver

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #28 on: May 12, 2012, 11:29:47 am »
It would be interesting to know how many  tackles he does make in a game compared to Lucas , if only making half the amount of tackles we would have a hole in the centre of midfield , but I've been impressed with his tackles that he has made .

In any cass not just the number of tackles that makes a good DM is it? Its the players willingness to go for a tackle that is 50-50 or even more. Its the defensive positioning , ability to read the game defensively by anticipating angles of passes, ability to know when to aggressively close down an opponent and when to hold your position , ability to cover for your center-half who has gone marauding up the pitch , ability to cover your fullbacks and also the ability to instigate attacks and counterattacks through intelligent passing.

Things that Lucas has in abundance. Not sure Henderson will ever be able to gain those skills and attributes.

That doesn't mean he cannot go on and become a very good all round Central Midfielder , just that I don't really see him as a traditional shielding midfielder in the way Lucas is.
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Offline AlexL

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #29 on: May 12, 2012, 11:31:34 am »
Great post mate
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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #30 on: May 12, 2012, 11:33:07 am »
Crossing statistics are surely a misnomer. A ball can be put in, and in to a place where it's impossible to defend if the correct run is made. However, our movement in the box is pedestrian.

People have stuck the blame on Carroll here, but that's not completely fair. We lump the ball into the box, and to compound this, we don't flood the box. A bad cross with one body in the box could be a good one if we have three or four in the 18-yard box.

On Henderson, I think it's plain to see that he is a good footballer, and if used correctly, could grow to be a very good footballer for Liverpool. He's neat, tidy, keeps possession and doesn't panic. As he grows and matures, his confidence will increase and he'll come to the fore.

Not concerned by him at all this season.
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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #31 on: May 12, 2012, 11:35:49 am »
I'd say so.Wouldn't it have to if you want a %.

I'll try and explain myself better.

Are the tackling stats a bit misleading, eg player x has a 100 % success rate while plater y has an 80% success rate.

Thing is player x has only made 5 tackles while player y has attempted 50.

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #32 on: May 12, 2012, 11:47:00 am »
He reminds me of a right footed Gareth Barry. He doesn't excel at any individual aspect of the midfield game, but he doesn't have any glaring weaknesses either, and at such a young age he is ripe for moulding into a quality player by a manager who will work with him on the training ground.

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #33 on: May 12, 2012, 11:47:00 am »
In any cass not just the number of tackles that makes a good DM is it? Its the players willingness to go for a tackle that is 50-50 or even more. Its the defensive positioning , ability to read the game defensively by anticipating angles of passes, ability to know when to aggressively close down an opponent and when to hold your position , ability to cover for your center-half who has gone marauding up the pitch , ability to cover your fullbacks and also the ability to instigate attacks and counterattacks through intelligent passing.

Things that Lucas has in abundance. Not sure Henderson will ever be able to gain those skills and attributes.

That doesn't mean he cannot go on and become a very good all round Central Midfielder , just that I don't really see him as a traditional shielding midfielder in the way Lucas is.

Not all DM's have to be a shielding midfielder. I wouldn't class Song as a shielding DM.

Also as a DM you don't have to make 100 tackles a game.

Henderson is no Lucas that is clear but Lucas is no Alonso. Not all players can be the say. Yes you're using Lucas as a benchmark as he is the best DM we have at the club.

All I am saying is that for me I would of played him at DM instead of Spearing while Lucas was out. Henderson's best games has been at DM.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2012, 11:50:13 am by Fordy »

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #34 on: May 12, 2012, 11:57:02 am »
Bit hard who to compare him with, his one touch passing reminds me of Aquilani.
He's got that ability where he doesn't need any time on the ball, if you watch him closely he gets it passes it and moves straight away.

Think his link up play with Lucas could be something special once he's back.
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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #35 on: May 12, 2012, 12:12:44 pm »
In any cass not just the number of tackles that makes a good DM is it? Its the players willingness to go for a tackle that is 50-50 or even more. Its the defensive positioning , ability to read the game defensively by anticipating angles of passes, ability to know when to aggressively close down an opponent and when to hold your position , ability to cover for your center-half who has gone marauding up the pitch , ability to cover your fullbacks and also the ability to instigate attacks and counterattacks through intelligent passing.

Things that Lucas has in abundance. Not sure Henderson will ever be able to gain those skills and attributes.

That doesn't mean he cannot go on and become a very good all round Central Midfielder , just that I don't really see him as a traditional shielding midfielder in the way Lucas is.

Agree Henderson  could become a very good all round midfielder than just a pure DM

Offline Andy

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #36 on: May 12, 2012, 12:12:49 pm »
All I am saying is that for me I would of played him at DM instead of Spearing while Lucas was out. Henderson's best games has been at DM.

i agree - i think playing him in the 2 of a 4-2-3-1 gets the best of him.

he can dictate play from deep and keep the ball moving with his passing; has the pace and energy to pressurise the opposition when they are attacking; reads the game well enough to make interceptions as well as fill in at RB if johnston/kelly get caught up field; and can use his pace and passing to counter-attack quickly, which is always a tactic the best teams exploit even when their main tactic/strength is sustained pressure.

having said that, i do think he and lucas would play well in the centre of a 4-4-2 as they both have the discipline to sit deep when the other player breaks forward.

Offline sinnermichael

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #37 on: May 12, 2012, 12:13:20 pm »
Has been overplayed due to injuries/inbalances in the squad. You can see the talent is there though.

Offline mart356

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #38 on: May 12, 2012, 12:18:52 pm »
To me,. the lad is central midfielder. Not a defensive one, not an attacking one, just a centre mid. Got a great engine on him, and i think to get the best out of him he needs to be able to have the freedom to get about the pitch, support his team mates offensively and defensively, come short, recieve the ball, and play a pass to move the ball forward. A ball recycler if you will. Think thats his best position and tactics, as we saw against Chelsea.

Offline HighSix

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Re: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season
« Reply #39 on: May 12, 2012, 12:30:46 pm »
He reminds me of a right footed Gareth Barry. He doesn't excel at any individual aspect of the midfield game, but he doesn't have any glaring weaknesses either, and at such a young age he is ripe for moulding into a quality player by a manager who will work with him on the training ground.

thats a good shout was thinking who he was similar to.