Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are currently enjoying an almost perfect season. Yes, there’s the chink in their remarkable points tally at this stage of the season, the draw at Old Trafford back in October is the only game they’ve dropped points. 24 wins from 25 league games in simply extraordinary. Considering everything falls their way over the next couple weeks, they could be crowned champions by March, the earliest a Premier League side have ever been confirmed champions.
It’s incredibly difficult to tone down on the remarkable feats that Jurgen Klopp is achieving with this group. This is simply no fluke. The former Borussia Dortmund coach has built a side worthy of becoming the best team in the world as they have so rightly achieved over the past year winning the Champions League last season and the world club championship in the process.
From the unbelievable talents of their Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson and their defensive powerhouse in Virgil Van Dijk down to the incredible Mo Salah, this is arguably Liverpool’s greatest team in the Premier League era. Every single one of them has undergone a significant amount of refining, a process where each of their abilities are unearthed to fully complement Klopp’s thrilling style both in attack and defence, with the ball and without it. Every single player is tailor to perform at the levels Jurgen Klopp requires. A true testament to the quality of planning, recruitment and coaching behind the scenes at the club.
One man who’s become the epitome of everything good during Jurgen Klopp’s tenure, an icon and a symbol of Liverpool’s success over the past year is club captain Jordan Henderson. The England international is unlikely to be heralded as one of the best midfielders in the world, but the impact and influence he’s had on Klopp’s squad cannot go unnoticed. A player who many doubted would become Steven Gerrard’s ideal successor when the club icon left Anfield in 2015.
Considered not good enough to even wear the Liverpool shirt let alone succeed Steven Gerrard as Liverpool captain. 5 years on, Henderson is on course to achieve the unthinkable. Something Gerrard himself could never do. Lift the clubs first Barclays Premier League trophy since its introduction in 1992.
The player’s growth, leadership qualities and influence both on and off the pitch is an example for many. But’s his tactical understanding and game management under Jurgen Klopp is equally emphatic. For much of Henderson’s career, many have questioned what his best role in the middle is. Is he your typical defensive-midfielder, a box-to-box player or one who is most effective in the final third?
When Brendan Rodgers took over the club in 2014, Henderson was one of the players he viewed as dispensable, struggling to fully implement him into his new side. It didn’t take long for Henderson to win Rodgers over though, playing a key role in their extraordinary title charge in 2013/14 only to fall – Steven Gerrard pun intended – at the last hurdle. That experience has served Henderson well though, now he is earmarked to be crowned the PFA Player of the Year or Footballer of the Year.
All of which is unearthing a backlash amongst fans.
Previous winners, Virgil Van Dijk, Eden Hazard and Mo Salah were well worth their weight in gold, though many aren’t agreeing with Henderson’s potential nomination. Fair enough, he isn’t the best footballer in the country. He’s not even best footballer at the club. These awards however, aren’t just about quality or individual talent but about criteria, consistency over a defined period of time, and not just a more abstract observation, but about the timing and prominence of performances. About influence and momentum.
Jordan Henderson ticks all of these boxes.
You’d be wrong to judge the player just on face value. Yes, Henderson isn’t a Kevin De Bruyne, a David Silva or even a Mohammed Salah, but comparing him to such players isn’t fair to his own unique characteristics. Henderson’s willingness to learn, improve, perform, never shying away from his responsibilities are what sets him apart, and its why he’s about to achieve the unthinkable as club captain.
That willingness and expert understanding to perform different roles in Jurgen Klopp’s system is one reason why he must be considered for the PFA gong. Henderson’s performed a variety of roles this season, as an emergency centre-back, at defensive midfield in the absence of Fabinho, as a box-to-box midfielder and even an advanced playmaker alongside Gigi Wijnaldum or Oxlade-Chamberlain. Whatever role Henderson is tasked with, he never shirks away from it, whether foreign to him or not.
In their 4-0 win over Southampton, Henderson put in a man of the match performance. His constant running and pressing just wasn’t enough for him as he scored one and assisted another.
Henderson is almost given the license to roam in the attacking third as well as performing duties in halting opponent attacks and counter pressing. His goal against Southampton, a true indication as to the kind of impact he’s having in the final third. Henderson wonderfully took Firmino’s pass in his stride before hitting an unstoppable drive past Alex McCarthy in the Southampton goal.
His assist for Liverpool’s third goal was unerring, drifting into the half-space, he picked up Alisson’s long punt up the field before caressing a lovely angled pass from the right hand side into Salah’s path for the Egyptian to finish expertly. There was nothing Jan Bednarek could do to intercept Henderson’s wonderfully weighted pass.
It’s those fractional improvements in his technical acumen, his huge positional understanding and the ability to find pockets of space in order to disrupt the opponents shape, along with his heart-on-sleeve attitude transforming the former Sunderland man from an admirable nonentity to a formidable force.
Patience truly rewards in football, and Jordan Henderson is a testament to that fact. In an age where fans expect things instantly without considering the bigger picture, you will have to fully analyse the growth and maturity of this current Liverpool side. It’s taken 5 years for Jurgen Klopp to build a dynasty. It’s taken Jordan Henderson 5 years to become the player he’s always been primed to be.
Henderson doesn’t score or assist much as fans would want from him, but he’s contributed to 7 goals in the Premier League this season (3 goals, 4 assists). It’s those marginal improvements in his game, the evolution of his role in such a well-balanced and decorated Liverpool side. Those training ground hours that have turned narrowly missed headers into converted ones, long distances shots over the bar turned into scorchers, those hopeful punts up field that’s turned into killer long and through balls. It’s these improvements that have fine-tuned Henderson into an incredibly effective and decorated midfielder.
Now, can Henderson lead England to Euro glory this summer?
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