Topic: Player focus: Jordan Hendersons first season

[B0151?]

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.

I mean obviously Bruce is no expert at all, but I recall that when Jordan made his England debut he got a fair amount of criticism because the game seemed to pass him by and he was being played deep and Bruce said that he was an attacking midfielder. That was a while ago and obviously we can still mould Henderson into the role we think he's best suited to

I don't think he's a DM as such, in fact I really don't think we need to be playing someone who just plays in that specific role when Lucas isn't here. He is box-to-box in my opinion Jordan. He's got the athleticism. Put him alongside Lucas and they'll both dominate the midfield, in terms of possession and actual work-rate. Add Shelvey in front of them and you've got your forward-thinking player willing to make that crucial through-ball or burst into the box.

Gareth Barry comparison is probably accurate. I hope we'd agree that he has so much more to offer than him though? I mean Barry's been good this season from what I've seen, but Jordan is far more well-rounded in my opinion.

[۩ Imperator ۩]

Problem he's had is that his £20m+ price tag demanded that he start games straight away. In an ideal world, he would have cost about £7m and played in about 10 games this year, and everyone would probably be pretty happy with the contributions he's made. Like it or not, £20m players come with a lot of expectation. Have to feel a bit sorry for Henderson, as he didn't set the price. Exactly the same scenario with Carroll really, whom people would be delighted with had he cost £12m.

[HighSix]

As well as Barry some aspects of Hendersons game can be compared to Ramsey. They both have the high work rate, effective box to box when on form &  comfortable with the short passing game. At stages of the season both have been highly criticised by their own fans. They are the same age will be interesting how they both develop at big clubs.

[Fluke]

Have to say that Jordan really gives a good account of himself in the interviews.  Just saw his post-Chelsea interview and am quite impressed at how he presents himself in it.

As far as the football is concerned, looking forward to seeing a lot more from him, probably more centrally.

[OperationIvy]

Jordan must be played in the middle if he is to progress, its not useful to play him on the wing, because it does not suit his strengths.

Also, I think to get the best out of Jordan, we have to play 4-4-2. When you have players with a good engine, like Jordan and Lucas (as well as Jonjo as backup), you can afford to have one less midfielder and one more attacker. We have a lack of creative players in the squad so need that extra forward player. I think 4-5-1 only works better if you have more creative players and less workers, so doesnt suit us.

[helmboy_nige]

Great OP.  Henderson has been unfortunate to be played in so many positions.  I feel we are settling on him being far better in the centre and I really hope to see him there next season alongside Lucas.

[Regi]

Was IMO held back badly by his baffling overuse at right midfield when we had a ready-made man in Maxi to play there.
To me, Hendo's confidence could be seen ebbing away as he continuously found it difficult on the right and heard the frustration of the fans.
How many times was he subbed playing on the right...subbed early on in games too?
But fair play to him because he didn't let it get the better of him and when he moved back into the middle he gradually grew into the role...he displayed plenty of positional awareness and passing ability, and towards the end of the season, he also showed a bit of aggression, which was great to see.
As he makes a position on the team his own, hopefully he'll feel more confident about striding forward with the ball and dictating the play in an attacking sense, because I honestly think he has it in him to become a very fine all round midfielder.
A few more goals would also help... he has shown that he can finish so with the increased confidence will hopefully come a few more attempts on goal from distance.
Plenty to look forward to from Hendo I hope.
A quick start next season could give him enormous momentum 

[DangerScouse]

Problem he's had is that his £20m+ price tag demanded that he start games straight away. In an ideal world, he would have cost about £7m and played in about 10 games this year, and everyone would probably be pretty happy with the contributions he's made. Like it or not, £20m players come with a lot of expectation. Have to feel a bit sorry for Henderson, as he didn't set the price. Exactly the same scenario with Carroll really, whom people would be delighted with had he cost £12m.

Pretty sure it was £16m but your point is spot on.

[rafathegaffa83]

Great OP

Has been overplayed due to injuries/inbalances in the squad. You can see the talent is there though.

Definitely. I think at times his confidence has ebbed away, as fans got on his back. The Chelsea game showed how insightful and intelligent he can be when going forward and with the self-belief to do so.

[Caffeine]

Great OP, thanks. Look forward to the others.

[liverpooll]

I am not sure what was achieved. It is just stats, and really stats does not tell us quality. We already experienced that with Comolli. And here we are today justifying a player based on some random stats.

Henderson did not have a good season. I will definitely not say once more like this for next season. Clearly, he has to improve, and the question is in order to show his improvement, will we not again not play some players who are definitely better? (Just like Maxi this season.....)

[impz]

I think he's been much better than most make out..

Obvious talent there could learn alot from Lucas.. I'd imagine that they could be a formidable midfield pair.

[Gitsy606]

At 21 he has played over a 100 Premier League games, not too bad that.

Had a tough season and struggled with consistency like most.

Signs are there he can be a very good player for us, time on his side and hopefully he fulfills his obvious potential.

[Z e u s]

Just a shame for 3/4s of the season we played Henderson out of position on the right and he got slated by many fans and press as a result.

Since he has gone into centre midfield he has looked a real talent and is finally getting some due praise and appreciation.

[Strummer77]

In an ideal world he would have been eased in behind Meireles. He wasn't though but its been a character building season for the lad. That golden samba best have pleased him too! Over the next couple of years we're gonna have a boss player on our hands.

[۩ Imperator ۩]

Pretty sure it was £16m but your point is spot on.

Think it was one of those £16m rising to £20m depending on appearances etc deals. Mirror and Guardian both reported £20m, certainly.

[B0151?]

Think it was one of those £16m rising to £20m depending on appearances etc deals. Mirror and Guardian both reported £20m, certainly.

who knows really

when you look at it, there's a good chance the selling club is always likely to leak higher fees than they actually were because it's of a benefit to them in terms of "couldn't refuse that deal". don't want to be seen as a selling team by their fans.

i'd prefer to take what kenny says over any bullshit media source every day even if it consensus. it makes a much better story for them if they cost lots.

[Reds and Revs]

I thought he looked a better player the last few games.

I agree with the comments before that 84% successful tackling doesn't take into effect amount of tackles attempted. One of my knocks on this kid earlier this season was he never got close enough to a ball carrier to get his focus down. I thought he harried his opponent much better as the season progressed. Hardly Nobby Stiles, but improvement, so I'm feeling better about him in this respect.

My other concern was the lack of positive passing. His passing statistics surprised me, and I'd like to see some additional stats (avg yds passed forward; defenders beaten with passes forward, etc). He is a young kid, who has shown capacity to improve on a big stage, but I saw a lot of passing the responsibility in the final third.
 All told, I'm glad to have him on the team, but this remains a big hurdle for him.

[Vizrahen]

Twice in the Chelsea game he picked the pockets of an attacker from behind.  just put his foot in and pulled the ball out.  I could see him being the more forward of a lucas/henderson DM partnership.  Definitely has the skill set to play for Liverpool, now lets see if he can put in consistent performances.

[Sinos]

Think it was one of those £16m rising to £20m depending on appearances etc deals. Mirror and Guardian both reported £20m, certainly.

It's £13 rising to £16. The reason £20 mil is thrown around is because Sunderland were adding the value of N'gog to the deal

[MassDriver]

It's £13 rising to £16. The reason £20 mil is thrown around is because Sunderland were adding the value of Ngog to the deal

Sauce?

[Sinos]

Sauce?

Alan Kayall

[MassDriver]

Am i imagining it or did one of my posts here just get deleted? Ok its Saturday and I am semi blazed but..

[grahamlfc]

Very poor to average.

[swordfishtrombone]

Very poor to average.

Very poor to shite comment.

[jooneyisdagod]

Very poor to average.

You could have said what you did and added a few lines to say why you thought he was very poor to average.  Maybe you should read the ''What is RAWK'' thread ?  People actually care about this site and one liners of that sort do no one any favours whatsoever. 

[KirkVanHouten]

Very poor to average.

How insightful.

[andspecks]

Good post.

Very excited to see Jordan grow as a player. Have high hopes for him

[Lenin.]

Alan Kayall

 

[GrkStav]

Jordan must be played in the middle if he is to progress, its not useful to play him on the wing, because it does not suit his strengths.

Also, I think to get the best out of Jordan, we have to play 4-4-2. When you have players with a good engine, like Jordan and Lucas (as well as Jonjo as backup), you can afford to have one less midfielder and one more attacker. We have a lack of creative players in the squad so need that extra forward player. I think 4-5-1 only works better if you have more creative players and less workers, so doesn't suit us.

I am genuinely confused. How is 4-4-2 better than a 4-3-3- or a 4-2-3-1 in terms of controlling the midfield? Properly deployed the idea is to have between 4 and 6 players as attacking players in either of those formations.

We only play well in a 4-4-2 with Stevie on the flank, either right or left.

[KirkVanHouten]

I am genuinely confused. How is 4-4-2 better than a 4-3-3- or a 4-2-3-1 in terms of controlling the midfield? Properly deployed the idea is to have between 4 and 6 players as attacking players in either of those formations.

We only play well in a 4-4-2 with Stevie on the flank, either right or left.

Agree with what you're saying, controlling Midfield is far more important IMO. It allows us to build pressure and keep the ball in their half, I think we should be trying to play a 4-2-3-1 because Henderson and Lucas as the 2 will probably see the best from them. On top of that depending on who we play up top we have a number of players who can play in a variety of the 3 supporting positions, and hopefully we'll add to that in the summer.

[eLToRo]

Very similar to Lucas's first year.

Different style of player,but....


Lucas played a good bit ,scored once and people complained because he didnt look ''unbelievable'' .People said he was shite yet he didnt do anything wrong.He just didnt do a whole lot of extraordinary stuff.

Same with henderson.A lot of football ,2 goals,1 assist,not impressive but we all know he is young and hasnt done anything wrong.Plays the game the right way.All he needs i confidence and experience and he will be a boss.

[Island-Red]

I really like Henderson, I think he's one of our most intelligent and talented players. Reminds me of Shankly's quote about a football team being like a piano, Henderson is definitely one of the 8 you need to move it!

Excellent opening post

[Hyderabad Red]

I hope to see Lucas-Henderson  match the likes of Mascherano-Xabi (08/09 season).

[cptrios]

Great post lachesis! That passing diagram was particularly interesting. I'm a supporter of Hendo and even I thought that a larger percentage of his passes were going backward (though certainly not most as some people claim). Very interesting in particular to see how often he looks to his right rather than his left.

[Gandalf]

Agree with what you're saying, controlling Midfield is far more important IMO. It allows us to build pressure and keep the ball in their half, I think we should be trying to play a 4-2-3-1 because Henderson and Lucas as the 2 will probably see the best from them. On top of that depending on who we play up top we have a number of players who can play in a variety of the 3 supporting positions, and hopefully we'll add to that in the summer.

I totally agree with you about Lucas and Henderson in a 4-2-3-1.  Both do a great job as DM but neither are afraid to push up the pitch.  A higher line held by the entire team can allow players such as Suarez and Gerrard, in the 3, to run riot.

Hopefully, we'll get a more experienced midfielder so that Henderson can be broken in more gently. When he does play though, it should be as above.

[just Riggins?]

Just had a look on the official and he's played 47 games this season, which is a lot for a 21 year old who, at least I don't think, was bought to be a starting regular straight away.  With injuries to Gerrard, Lucas, Adam, the departure of Meireles I think he was very much thrown in at the deep end.  Considering he's played most of the season out of position I think he's done just fine.

Very bright future ahead of him and I think he'll be class for us, especially given the attitude he appears to have.

[Red number seven]

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.

I think that's about right and, at his age, its a good start.

I do believe to be top drawer there needs to be more to his game - either a stronger anchor or more productive going forward (both would be really nice). Lucas was in the same position 2-3 years ago and developed his body and positional awareness to become a top class holding midfielder with good positional sense, ball winning (both on the deck and in the air) and possession retention. Henderson does seem technically good enough and calm enough to go this way, but also probably has more mobility than Lucas and could potentially develop into a more positive player.

I could see him becoming a good centre midfield partner for Lucas with more of a "support the attack" remit whilst having sufficient technique and nous to know when to sit a bit deeper and keep the ball. Early days for him though, and not sure we can go into next season trusting him to be both the partner and the cover for Lucas.

[fowlermagic]

He does look like a fine young prospect as came out of his shell near the end there ...do we build on that or do we invest again in CM this summer? A definite question on the aging SG, Adam, Lucas, Henderson, Spearing and Shelvey being good enough now to get us in the CL as dont see Kenny lasting another season without CL qualification (or getting damn close). Im guessing there will be a CM purchase this summer that may bump Henderson back a little where he will spend another year learning his trade as he does need some schooling to man the trenches in a top 4 side.

[rocco]

Pretty sure it was £16m but your point is spot on.

I'm sure it was £13m with £3m add ons