In June 2011, Kenny Dalglish bought one of the so called biggest English talents from Sunderland – Jordan Henderson. Dalglish paid a staggering 20m for the youngster and everyone in Liverpool FC was excited about new young signing and looked forward to the bright future.
Now, almost year and a half later, majority of the Liverpool fans are happy when he is not in the first team. England U-21 captain was in miserable form last season and didn’t produce anything good for the club. He only managed to score 2 goals in 63 games and his assists were lacking too.
With Dalglish at the helm, he was starter ahead of Dirk Kuyt and other sernior players but showed no signs of a 20 million player. It can be said that Dalglish forced him to his less favorable position on the right wing when he does not have the traits of a natural winger. Eventually, he failed to impress and his form from Sunderland was probably the best he has ever had in his career.
Understandably, it’s difficult for young players to settle in big club like Liverpool but he had his opportunities and didn’t make them. In came Brendan Rodgers who then gave every one chance and Henderson has made 15 appearances this season, even started last two league games for Liverpool as well.
However, it is quite evident his performances have been average yet again, especially if you compare it with other liverpool center midfielders. The club have numerous better options in the center with Jonjo Shelvey, Lucas Leiva, loanee Nuri Sahin and even Joe Allen (who by the way didn’t impress much for now).
Good question now is should Rodgers sell Jordan Henderson in January to at least recoup some of 20m pounds the club wasted last summer. Several mid-table teams have already expressed interest in Hendo and also for him perhaps the better option is to continue his career at Fulham, Villa or even go back home to Stadium of Light.
He got his chance at Liverpool, blew it up big time and not there is no place for him, so it’s time now to move on like many before him who could not impress the reds faithfull and didn’t justify their value.
In your Opinion, do you think Liverpool should sell Henderson?
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No Place For Jordan Henderson at Liverpool
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It is simple isnt it YES YES
No, don’t sell! Hendo’s got talent. He just needs to be played in the center mid. And comparing him to Shelvey who’s more a attacking mid, Lucas that’s a defensive mid and two holding mid’s in Allen and Sahin is poor judgement mate! Hendo is more a old fashioned center mid like Molby. His work rate is tremendous, and his shot is getting better (not against Spurs though).
I say, loan him out for the rest of the season, give him some confidence, and he’ll become a great player.
I do remember similar words used to describe one Liverpool player just about 2 years ago. He came from Brazil and had to struggle to fit into the Liverpool set up. He had to compete against the likes of Gerard, Alonso, Mascherano, etc. He was mostly on the bench or out of the squad; he flunked the few chances he was given. When Alonso and Mascherano departed and Gerard got injured the mantel fell on our young Brazilian to cover the center mid for Liverpool. Of course he struggled, what with the little confidence from his previous performances. Fans railed against him, calling him names not dissimilar to the descriptions being given to Henderson now. Yet the coaches stuck with him and he worked harder and harder. Last year he became Liverpool’s footballer of the year and when he got injured and could not play for almost a season, fans could not wait for him to come back. Now he is back and fans are falling over each other to sing his praises. From Liverpool villain to Liverpool savior. Yes, you guessed right, it is Lucas Leiva. Can you see any similarities between his development at Liverpool and that of Henderson? I can see one: HARD WORK! That is what we should be looking for in our young players. Not all of them can achieve instant success but if they are working hard and have the right attitude, then let’s be patient with them. The young players are working hard, what we the fans can do is encourage them and be patient for their time to come. If the coaches had listened to some fans Lucas would have been shinning for one of our opponents by now. It pays to be patient with our young players!