Jeg har stadig meget stor tiltro til, at Henderson bliver en succes for os, og her er hvorfor:
http://www.footyplace.com/features/hend ... gers-reds/
Henderson perfect for Rodgers’ Reds
Michael Graham | 06/07/2012 | Comments (1)
Michael Graham believes the arrival of Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool could ignite Jordan Henderson’s career at Anfield.
Like many, I found immense enjoyment in Andrea Pirlo’s midfield performances at Euro 2012. What was especially interesting, however, was that media attention focused entirely on what the player could do rather than what he couldn’t. There was no mention at all about his general lack of mobility, pace, aerial prowess or relish for a physical contest. Brilliant. That is exactly how it should be.
You have to wonder, therefore, why our own players tend to be singularly defined by what they can’t do.
To best illustrate this you need look no further than Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson, whose reward for a late call-up to the England squad (only due to more established players refusing to make themselves available, I might add) that travelled to Poland and Ukraine was a relentless wall of criticism and mockery from the national media and wider footballing community for having the temerity to not be the complete footballer.
Obviously, Henderson has deficiencies as a footballer. They all do. He is unlikely to openly court many 50/50 challenges, attack defenders with an unplayable combination of trickery and pace, or ever see himself figure prominently in the first goalscorer better markets.
But it is Henderson’s strengths that will likely have new Anfield boss Brendan Rodgers purring, because the patient and slow possession game upon which Rodgers’ reputation has been built appears to be tailor-made to allow the former Sunderland man to thrive.
Unquestionably, Henderson’s tall frame and strong running helped his breakthrough from the Sunderland academy to the first team at the Stadium of Light. As a young player, however, it was his technical abilities, his natural ability to easily collect a pass and quickly and accurately move it on whilst playing with his head up that saw him flourish.
He isn’t flash or eye catching and it’s doubtful he’ll go on to influence games to the extent that Pirlo did last month. That does not mean, though, that he can not be an effective and important cog in a system for Liverpool, and even England. The reality is, for any team looking to play patient possession two-touch passing football, Henderson will be a big, albeit perhaps understated, asset. Make no mistake about that.
Comparisons can perhaps be drawn with the more modest talents of Leon Britton, who had an excellent season under Rodgers at Swansea last season. Britton is not an especially versatile player who you could envisage excelling in any role that was asked of him. You’re not going to build a team around him. He doesn’t have the natural talent for that. But in Rodgers’ system and footballing philosophy he was able to find a role that uniquely appealed to his strengths.
Similarly, next season in a Rodgers system, Henderson may just find himself in a position in which the regular criticisms of him – too many sideways and backwards passes and an apparent unwillingness to try and force the play further up the pitch – fade away into insignificance whilst his strengths become accentuated.
Henderson endured an inconsistent and at times difficult first season at Anfield. The same can be said of most of Liverpool’s recent acquisitions. But Rodgers’ arrival may just give the young midfielder the platform he needs to showcase what his game is really all about, and in the unforgiving world of modern football, he may never get a better chance to silence his critics.
