I echo Scotia's view on Henderson. He was fantastic two years ago. He seemed to take an initiative and a precision to his game that he otherwise did not have for much of his first two years at the club but with the wealth of attacking options he had ahead of him we really got to see what he was capable of. Case in point - through ball to Suarez against Cardiff City in December 2013 (just before Christmas) was superb in it's accuracy, pace and the way it just sliced the whole Cardiff defence to shreds. That came just days after an imperious performance in midfield against Tottenham at White Hart Lane. The win over Man City in April 2014 that set us up for the title was fantastic but it was severely tempered by the fact we missed Hendo for three matches for a desperate challenge that resulted in a straight red. That cost us and anyone who says they weren't cursing the fact he was out of the squad are, well, lying.
Henderson (and indeed the whole team), hasn't been helped by the almost constant disruption to our front line attack from season to season. In two of those seasons he's had to play and serve towards immobile, almost feckless cranes like Benteke, Balotelli and Carroll which offers him and the whole team little to work with on the ground. Sturridge has spent a good chunk of his time at Liverpool on the treatment table and we've seen the sales of pivotal forwards like Suarez and Sterling.
He really does thrive off a front three who roam, pull opposition defences from side to side and make themselves available at all stages. Providing Sturridge can stay fit, Origi hits the form he found in April and Mane utilises the pace he has in abundance I think he can fly as a midfielder once more. He's got things to work on. Last season was poor and he seemed to have difficulty in positioning himself for the press, too often finding himself in no mans land between the press point and staying back to the point that when he did advance forward the opposition player could easily navigate round him. As we need to reclaim the ball in advanced situations, Henderson's starting positions therefore will be crucial and have to be perfect going forward. Undoubtedly a massive season ahead for Jordan but one he certainly deserves the chance for!
« Last Edit: Jul 29, 2016 11:29:52 pm by Frankly, Mr Shankly »
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