Rooney Dropped
The most annoying thing about Wayne Rooney getting dropped is that once again, the spectacle is all about Wayne Rooney. A player who doesn't belong in England's best starting line-up got dropped, it happens all the damn time. Get over it. So despite the super-clickbait of saying this post is all about the England captain, I'm not going to mention him by name again until the end of the passage. I want to talk instead about Jordan Henderson.
Because Jordan Henderson is a player who exhibits a certain kind of reaction from certain footballing circles who know the sum total of very little about him. Or at the very least, haven't watched him play football this season.
The idea that Jordan Henderson isn't fit to be England captain, let alone the suggestion that he's not the best candidate is patently false. Henderson has been proving his doubters wrong year on year, and thoroughly deserves this captaincy. Despite nearly being sold by Liverpool in 2012, since then he has found his form, earned the captaincy at his club, and the fact that he's been Liverpool's captain for over twelve months now means that he is the perfect successor to the man that he's replacing in the starting eleven for England.
Henderson may not ever be a prolific midfield goalscorer, but that's the only feather that he doesn't have in his cap. He's otherwise one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, with his passing and tackling games unsurpassed at the moment. This season, Henderson has played more successful passes than anyone in the Premier League or La Liga, and has played more forward passes than anyone else in the Prem. Moreover, his passing accuracy is nigh on 90%, making him the 13th most accurate passer in the division. In terms of passing game, only Santi Cazorla, N'golo Kante and Mesut Ozil are in his calibre so far this season.
And in terms of tackling, only Idrissa Gueye and Danny Drinkwater have made more tackles than Henderson this season at 29, and he's covered more distance and taken more touches than anyone else in the division. His stats at defensive midfield are almost unmatched, and this for a player who has been effectively playing out of position so far this season, or at the least playing in a position that he hasn't looked comfortable in in the past. Henderson's deeper role this season means that he has less opportunity to directly influence Liverpool's play, yet he still plays 1.4 key passes per game, and his tally of 43 successful long balls is bettered by only one outfield player: Toby Alderweireld.
But to say that Henderson has only been good in seven games for Liverpool at the start of this season is pure folly. Henderson was a crucial cog in Liverpool's 13/14 season, linking up brilliantly with Phillipe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling, and although he only recorded four goals that season he also recorded seven assists, and was integral to big games for Liverpool, such as the decimation of Spurs 5-0 in December of 2013.
After a phenomenal 2013/14, Henderson was named vice-captain of Liverpool, but often ended up as captain in 2014/15, as it became increasingly clear that Steven Gerrard was not the player he once was, and Henderson was thrust into a leadership position, a position that embraced, having arguably his best season for the club, notching up six goals and nine assists that year. Indeed in both of those years he was incredibly influential for Liverpool, notching up 1.8 key passes per game. which to put into context, is more than Phillipe Coutinho in 2014/15 and more than Adam Lallana at any stage of his Liverpool career.
So where did this perception of Henderson as useless come from? Well a significant part of the problem derives from constant comparisons to the man that he replaced as Liverpool captain, who was debatably the best player that the club ever produced. To live up to Steven Gerrard's legacy was almost going to prove impossible for Henderson, and despite a good season in 2014/15, the fact that he didn't score 10/15 goals and single-handedly win Liverpool matches was held against him. Moreover, it didn't help that Gerrard's last year at Liverpool, and then Henderson's first year of captaincy were mired in poor team performances, as Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool imploded and Henderson was blamed.
And then of course there's last season, where Henderson carried an injury for all but the entire season, meaning that at almost no point in the season was he ever fully fit, and as a result had limited game time and equally limited performances. Despite the fact that even injured, Henderson rarely turned in a bad performance, and always did a job for the team, and the fact that Liverpool didn't lose a single game when he partnered Emre Can in defensive midfield, he was once again seen as a failure, a reputation that once again, was wholly undeserved.
So much of Henderson's negative reputation is all about hype, over-expectation and that ill-fated 2016 FIFA cover. Henderson was expected to replace Steven Gerrard for club and country, and last season and arguably the season before were the seasons that he was supposed to explode into life as a leader and as Liverpool's best player. Of course, Henderson was not Liverpool's best player, or even close, last season, nor was he in 2014/15. I mean, statistically speaking, Whoscored has him as Liverpool's fourth best player in both of these seasons but then stats don't tell you the whole story.
It's hard to even argue Hendo has been close to Liverpool's best player this season, with Firmino, Mane, Lallana and Coutinho all playing out of their skins. But what can be said is that Jordan Henderson has, for at least the last three years of his Liverpool career, been significantly better than he gets credit for, has been an asset to his club and performed solidly and consistently over the last couple of seasons, despite being seriously hindered by injuries. And this season, he's been one of Liverpool's biggest performers, turning in at least two man of the match performances, against Chelsea and Swansea.
So the idea that Jordan Henderson - England captain, should fill people with ridicule only ridicules them. Henderson may not be England's best player, but he is a consummate professional, a leader on the field, the only candidate with captaincy experience and, above all else, he is a very, very good player who has consistently, and will hopefully continue to consistently, prove his doubters wrong. Having remade himself as a central defensive midfielder, we may see him pushed further up the pitch against Man United.
Hopefully in that game, as against Malta on Saturday night, Henderson proves his doubters wrong again. And again. And again.
The Hard and Fast Section
- Dropped points for Wales and Scotland. Blunder.
- Huge test for NI tonight against Germany.
- Jo Konta breaking the top 10. Magic.
- England's collapse against Bangladesh? Beyond embarrassing. Again.
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