Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson should return stronger following an injury-ridden season
Jordan Henderson hasn’t exactly had the best start to his captaincy at Liverpool, and that’s largely down to the several injuries he suffered last season.
He became vice-captain in support of Steven Gerrard, and Brendan Rodgers seemed to believe that Henderson would be the player to take over that leading role on the field. Last season, Jordan Henderson started in promising fashion but clearly lacked the same effect as the legend before him.
I like Henderson, but on the pitch he seemed to do more needless moaning and screaming than leading by example and really giving 100%. He started last season playing at a similar level as he did in earlier seasons, being a useful player capable of making quality passes and driving play forward.
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Early into the season he picked up his first injury, which sidelined the captain and effected his play when he returned to the side. He started to make silly wayward passes, look vulnerable in possession, and seem far less confident on the ball. Now this, alongside his moaning and occasional attempts at Steven Gerrard screamers (which mostly fail), lead to Henderson receiving incredible stick from the Liverpool fans.
One injury-ridden season and several bad performances and he’s suddenly hated by certain supporters. All his contributions in the previous seasons have been erased, and now many want him gone or his captaincy stripped.
I however, believe he’s going to come back stronger. He spoke to Liverpoolfc.com saying;
"“I’ve come in and I feel very good – I feel probably the best I’ve felt in a long time. So hopefully that can continue and I can have a good pre-season and get even fitter.”When asked whether last season was the toughest of his career, Henderson replied: “For me personally, definitely, purely for injuries.”“The type of injuries I had were injuries where I was trying to get through it, even when I was playing I was trying to just play and maybe sometimes I shouldn’t have.”“Overall, it was a very disappointing season for me personally and a tough one.”“I was injured for quite a lot of the season, I was out for a lot, so I felt as if I didn’t really need a rest,” “I tried to do a little bit and just build up to make sure that when I came back I was feeling good, and so far that’s working well.”"
He seems to be improving, and will hopefully be fully fit when the new season starts. If he can find the passing, calmness and quality of previous seasons, then Henderson can be a useful midfielder for Liverpool.
He can work alongside the likes of Emre Can to maintain possession and get attacks started, and I feel he’ll have little-to-no problems finding his form again. He showed glimpses of his previous form against Borussia Dortmund last season, but just as he started to impress again he suffered yet another injury.
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Hopefully Jordan Henderson is past that now, because if he doesn’t show the improvements I expect then he could well see himself pushed out of Jurgen Klopp’s competitive side.