- Yes , he has a lot more experience. But ask yourself whether Shelvey and Spearing would have made into the first team there in Sunderland or not , considering their dearth of good players in Central midfield. Also ask yourself how many games would Henderson have got if he had been a Liverpool/Chelsea youngster. Someone like McEachran who is MILES ahead in natural ability could hardly get a full game at Chelsea and I have seen the lad play and he CAN pass the ball. Just because you were a regular in a mediocre side doesn't prove your suitability for a club like Liverpool.
- 20 Million is the figure most major media outlets are reporting. I understand the English media is no bastion of truth but I have no reason to think that figure is not somewhere close to the actual fee paid.
- I have already acknowledged that he can play both in CM and RM. 'Play' doesn't equate to being good at it. I don't know how much credibility you assign to views expressed by supporters on messageboards , but a visit to SMB will tell you that he was mostly average to poor in CM and average to decent in RM. And these are not your fans from Norway , US , India or wherever else , most are locals who tend to go to matches. I tend to think they know their stuff as far as a player who has come up through their ranks is concerned.
And Shelvey isn't there yet because he was signed by a club of Liverpool's stature and found it hard to get games. I am sure he would have had 50 plus appearances under his belt had he been playing for a Sunderland or a Blackburn team. You are never going to see players develop unless they are thrust into the big time and get 'on the job training' to use a corporate term.
- Well sorry to add to your frustration mate but I am just expressing my views like everyone else. Fat Scouser and AL555 have said pretty much similar things in another thread. I am a Liverpool fan just like you and others and want the best for the club. 
I felt the same frustration when the same people who are attacking anyone and everyone(under 5K posts that is) expressing doubts over our recruitment policy were writing off Shelvey and SPearing as not being 'good enough' after a handful of games. I also felt it when many of the same people were making claims about Dann and Cahill being better than Carra and Skrtel for our team.
And thank you for presenting your arguments in a logical and ordered manner as opposed to randomly picking out a few lines and getting into 'attack mode'. 
- Fair point about a player being in an average team and I'm sure Spearing and Shelvey would stand a better chance. My only point here though would be that Henderson has been scouted out and in the past season was high in the charts for assists. Now, there's a fair argument to say that the risk is that this is a one season wonder moment, but that is were the higher class of coaching at LFC should come in. Of course there are risks with any transfer.
- With transfer fees I'll reserve judgement. I've heard figures varying from 11-20 plus or minus N'Gog. I would be very surprised if we have paid a straight £20m. More likely to be possibly up to £20m depending on appearances and success.
- I think if RAWK can tell us anything it's that the opinion of fans on a message board can vary wildly. There are still threads on this board with fans still not rating Lucas at all. A "foreigner" coming to this board and reading some of the comments might get a similar impression about our opnions. Just imagine them reading some peoples views of Carroll (and player who was injured and not match fit for most of his time with us so far). I've definitely read opinions of Henderson that rate him very highly during his time at Sunderland. It's natural with fan boards.
- Fair point about Shelvey, but again, there is no guarantee he would have broken into Sunderlands side. Henderson broke in, put in a few good performances and it went from there. Careers can stagnate at any club. Nonetheless, I rate Shelvey, but I still feel it's "safer" putting a proven player from a mid-table club into our first team rather than putting all the pressure on a player from our youth system (unless they really show something exceptional - Michael Owen in 1997)
- I know a lot of people have expressed well thought out concerns, but reading through some of these threads it's easy to get sidetracked by negativity. I guess I'm just surprised given the state of the club only 12 months ago.
- And your not wrong about the frustration over people attacking our own players with little evidence. Carroll, Shelvey, Spearing have all come in for stick without really giving them a chance.
In the end if we sign players in for the left side and maybe backups for some other positions I'll be very happy. I think a lot of people are reacting both to the cost and also to the fact that our first signing doesn;t address our weakest area. Nonetheless, I was saying we needed further strength in the centre a few months back, if only because Gerrard is beginning to show signs of the injuries taking their toll.
