The http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 and Liverpool midfielder has come under heavy criticism following his big money move at the start of the 2011/12 Barclays Premier League season but not all of it has been justified.
Much and more was expected from Sunderland’s Young Player of the Year as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jordan-Henderson-c19102 was signed by Liverpool in a move that cost the Merseyside club over 16-million British Pounds. However, the player has yet to make the kind of impact that would warrant such a heavy amount being spent on acquiring his services.
The http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Frank-Lampard-c14097 in the final squad for the Euros. That did not lighten the intensity of the scrutiny the player was under, instead it amplified it.
Henderson himself acknowledged there was plenty of criticism and also went on to state that his form at the start of the previous Premier League season could have been better. He also acknowledged that with criticism comes the opportunity to “prove them wrong”.
Yet, if one was to look at Henderson’s season for Liverpool, the keener spectators would have noticed that the player spent a majority of the season playing on the right side of midfield.
‘Why is that worth noticing?’ one may ask, well its simple, because Henderson is a central midfielder and has thrived in that position when playing for Liverpool. Both the goals he scored for the club came from when he played in the centre.
At the same time if one learnt anything from the previous season it is that Henderson is an average winger – lacking the pace to burst forward and unable to track the opposing side’s wingers back.
However, when it comes to centre midfield Henderson can prove to be a nifty player, closing space down and creating goal scoring opportunities as well. That is not to say that he is an ideal replacement for Frank Lampard, however if things work out he may not be a bad back up to have in the side.
Euro 2012 will be a major tournament for Henderson and it will be interesting to see if the player can prove his critics wrong.
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