Football News: Is Jordan Henderson a victim of his own simplicity?

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With Steven Gerrard announcing he is leaving, the other midfielders in Liverpool's squad will need to step up. Virtually everybody is assuming that none of the current crop are up to that task though. My question is why?

Even people who concede that Jordan Henderson would be a good captain in terms of leadership qualities, still follow up with the argument that he just doesn't have the quality to replace him. I emphatically disagree. It is hard to compare players from different generations but this isn't about making a direct comparison anyway. It'd be completely ridiculous to suggest that Henderson will be a similar player to Gerrard. He doesn't have the sheer pace and power that Gerrard had, neither does he have the ability to score goals out of nothing in a moment of individual brilliance. Let's be honest though, how many players do? In the last decade I can think of about 4 midfielders who could; Gerrard, Zidane, Ronaldinho and Nedved. The likes of Lampard, Iniesta, Kaka, Scholes, Viera etc were all world class players, but they largely relied on having good players around them. They are not the kind of players who could pick up the ball, beat 3 or 4 men and then score from an almost impossible position on a regular basis. The conclusion here is that Henderson does not need to replace the dynamo that was Gerrard. He just needs to focus on improving his natural game and in time he could be one of the next great midfield generals to come out of England.

Let's compare Henderson to Gerrard at the same age in terms of how regularly they contributed towards goals though.

Henderson's first season as a regular for Sunderland was the 09/10 season at the start of which he was 19 years old. In that season he made an impressive 38 appearances scoring 2 goals and assisting 6. He also picked up 4 yellow cards.
In Gerrard's first season as a regular for Liverpool (99/00) he was also 19 years old when the first ball was kicked. He made 29 appearances scoring just the 1 goal and assisting none. He also picked up 5 yellow cards and 1 red card.

In the 10/11 season at 20 years old, Henderson played in 39 games for Sunderland scoring 3 and assisting 5 goals. This time around he only picked up 2 yellow cards.
In the 00/01 season at 20 years old, Gerrard played in 43 games for Liverpool scoring 9 times, assisting 2 goals, and picking up 4 yellow cards and 1 red card.

Henderson transferred to Liverpool for his next season (11/12) and there is no doubt that the then 21 year old initially struggled to cope. In the 48 games he appeared in, he scored 2 goals and only assisted 4 making it his worst season offensively since becoming a regular at the top flight. He also picked up 6 yellow cards making it his worst season of his career at the time in terms of discipline as well.
In the 01/02 season Gerrard (also 21 years old) made 45 appearances but scored just 3 goals and claiming no assists. He also picked up 7 yellow cards and 1 red card which means that like Henderson this was also Gerrard's worst season both in terms of offensive efficiency and discipline. It could therefore be argued that this is the age at which both players either got complacent or the opposition had found them out to some degree. There is no shame in this, it is how players respond to poor form that determines their true class.

In Henderson's second season at Liverpool (12/13) he began it aged 22. In 44 appearances he scored 6 goals and created 5 whilst only getting booked 4 times. It is fair to say that Henderson responded well to his poor form and silenced a lot of critics in this season.
In the 02/03 season Gerrard was also 22 years old. Like Henderson, he seemed to respond well to his worst season as a regular scoring 5 goals. However he again failed to create a single goal and was booked 4 times, and sent off once. It's hard to believe that the Kop Hero was seemingly lagging behind Henderson at this stage of his career. Try to remember though that Gerrard had started winning games on his own at this point of his career though, despite his lesser goal return.

In Henderson's best season to date (13/14) he started off as a resurgent 23 year old who suddenly found himself lauded by the Red's supporters for his incredible work rate. After brushing off some ridiculous comments made by Alex Ferguson about how he ran (of all things!) he went on to score 5 and assist 7 goals. He did pick up 5 yellow cards though and the first red card of his career.
In the 03/04 season, Gerrard at the tender age of 23 was made captain of Liverpool. He responded to the additional expectation incredibly well scoring 6 goals and assisting 1 whilst only being booked on 2 occasions and for the first time in his career as a regular, not being sent off!

It was in Gerrard's next season (04/05) though as a 24 year old, that he truly elevated himself to a world class talent. He scored 11 goals and set up 2 in 41 games and led Liverpool to their first Champions League trophy since the golden years. He was booked 6 times but again escaped being sent off.
Jordan Henderson is currently 24 years old and so far in the 14/15 season he has scored 3 goals and assisted 7 in just 26 games. Considering there is still approximately half of the season to go he is well on course to score around 6 goals and create roughly 14; a feat that is even more impressive when you consider the fact he has played in holding midfield and right wing back for over half of those games he's played in so far.

So my argument naturally has to be, does Henderson really lack quality? Or does he just get overlooked by the media hype and fan furore because of his simplicity? Whilst he still manages to consistently score and create goals every season, he is not as individually brilliant as Gerrard was. For example, you couldn't just put Henderson in an average side and expect him to win the game on his own. He needs good players around him; like Scholes and Lampard both did. That doesn't necessarily make him a worse player though. It just makes him less entertaining to watch and makes his highlight reels a bit less impressive.

Liverpool should not be looking for one player who can win a game alone though. Whilst that is great to watch on occasions, it regularly causes the players around the star to become lazy and laid back; "Never mind, Gerrard will do something in a minute". It means that when the star man has a bad game or suffers an injury, everybody just looks around at each other waiting for something to happen. Henderson might not be capable of regularly turning it on and scoring a 'worldy', but his attitude to the game rubs off on others and drives the team on in a similar way to Gerrard did when he was a younger player. Whilst Henderson might not have Gerrard's passing range or finishing ability, he does appear to be far more consistent. Lampard is living proof that being consistently good can be just as impressive as being occasionally great. Why else would people still argue over whether he was better than Gerrard?

In conclusion, Henderson will never be Steven Gerrard. If you're looking for a player who will pick up the ball in his own half and do something magical every 3 or 4 games regardless of the average players around him, you want Ross Barkley. If you want somebody who will consistently do the simple things very well and be an important part of a well oiled machine, you want Jordan Henderson. Henderson just isn't the sort of player to do something that makes you think "wow", but he is an incredibly hard worker who leads by example, drives his team on and does have the quality to score and create goals. It isn't about finding somebody to be the next Gerrard, it is about finding somebody with the quality and leadership required to be a Liverpool captain. Henderson has different qualities to what Gerrard had at that age, but to deny his quality is to deny the blatant truth. Many Liverpool fans still refuse to accept that Gerrard, for all his screamers and moments of magic, was still out scored by the less talented, hard working and freakishly consistent Frank Lampard over the course of his career. Sure, Lampard couldn't consistently win a game on his own, but with good players around him he still scored and created his fair share of vital goals. There will only ever be a handful of players on the planet good enough to win a game by themselves at any given time. Gerrard was certainly one of them, and maybe even the best there was in terms of midfielders.

Liverpool will likely never have a player exactly like him again, but that does not mean they won't have good players. Gerrard for me, is undoubtedly one of the best players, and arguably the best player in Liverpool history. He made an average team great for a decade. Very few players can do that, and Henderson will admittedly never be able to do that. Liverpool's aim should be building a hard working and cohesive team with quality spread throughout the side so that when one man has a bad day, they still pull through as a unit. For all of Gerrard's brilliance, his lack of quality team mates is the sole reason he will retire without winning the league with Liverpool, and it is also the reason Liverpool should not rely on finding the next Gerrard. They need to create the next great Liverpool team. Great players win you games. Great teams win you titles. It'd be nice to have both, but very few teams can legitimately boast that. Had Liverpool put a good team around Gerrard in the last decade, I think we'd be looking at the most decorated player in the clubs history. In the last 25 years United have probably only had 2 players on Gerrard's level in terms in winning games alone; Cantona and Ronaldo. They had the best team though and that is what counts in the long run.

Never write off a player who will work tirelessly for the team and consistently deliver good performances, no matter how unspectacular; never write off Jordan Henderson.

Written by Adam Jones January 05 2015 19:33:06