The case for Jordan Henderson to win Liverpool’s player of the year
By Minh Nguyen
Jordan Henderson has been a victim of endless criticism and ridicule from fans in the past couple of years. He has had many, many skeptics and his technical ability has often described as “limited”. Amazingly, the 29-year-old has managed to turn all of that around this season and has emerged as one of Liverpool’s most important players. Who would’ve expected this at the start of the season?
A key part of Henderson’s turnaround has been his improvement in the passing and playmaking department. A regular complaint about the Liverpool skipper in the past has been his habit of passing sideways and backward, but that is all in the past.
Now, Jordan Henderson is considered by many to be an elite passer after his move to the deep-lying playmaker role. In this position, the Englishman has taken huge jumps in chances created and key passes while also maintaining his pressing and defensive efficiency.
Though, his most astounding jump has to be in xA which has increased by 250% compared to last season despite playing seven fewer games.
However, Henderson’s best quality is arguably his leadership and his mentality of always wanting more. A perfect example was when the skipper was visibly upset at the Reds’ performance against Spurs despite the 1-0 victory.
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Henderson’s mindset is infectious and has rubbed off on the rest of the team. This has been one of the main reasons why Liverpool have been so ruthless this season. The captain’s impact has even led to former skipper Steven Gerrard saying: “He is someone who is an incredible role model.”
Many other players have spoken out about Henderson’s importance as well. Virgil Van Dijk has said: “He has been fantastic, in and out of the pitch he is very important for us whether he plays or not. We all respect him on that level.”
Fellow midfielder Gini Wijnaldum has been full of praise for the skipper: “The way he speaks with the players and helps the players is the way you want your captain to be.”
Andrew Robertson has even gone to say that the captain is the ‘leading candidate’ in the player of the year race.
It’s clear how important Henderson is to this Liverpool side. In his recent absence due to a hamstring injury, the Reds’ unbeaten run came to an end as well as their FA Cup run after losses to Watford and Chelsea.
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Liverpool have had to deal with many injuries this season like Sadio Mane, Alisson, Naby Keita, Joel Matip, and Fabinho, but none of them had the impact of Henderson’s.
This goes to show how pivotal the Englishman has been in this historic season and how he deserves to be Player of the Year for Liverpool Football Club.