Klopp: Henderson has the most difficult job in 500 years of Football

[tlw content]

Following the lead of one of the most legendary figures in the history of Liverpool football club is certainly not a easy mantle to take on,  just ask Jordan Henderson.

While it is human nature to compare what has come immediately before, in the case of taking over the armband from Steven Gerrard  it is certainly a unfair comparison to make.

Gerrard was the man for the moment, the true talismanic figure, the heart and soul of the club.

He was one of us, and knew the ups and downs of what a Liverpool fan goes through and we lived all the memorable moments and disapointments through him.

Henderson was by and large a outsider who had questions attached from the moment he joined the club from Sunderland in 2011.

Be it the transfer fee, his unique running style, his frequent injuries or his overall impact in games, it is fair to say that the 28 year-old has had his critics over the journey.

However one man that has had his back though all the difficult moments is Jurgen Klopp.

He saw fit to keep Henderson in the role of captain after taking over from Brendan Rodgers, and despite there being calls before every season for another player to be given the role, Klopp has kept the faith.

The manager is widely recognised in having a unwavering belief in his players.

He is also someone who knows how the footballing landscape lies, and he is well aware of the criticism that his leader has taken over the journey.

Just like a protective father, he was more than willing to fight the cause of his midfielder.

The Telegraph reported Klopp as saying:

"Hendo, from my point of view, is a brilliant player. He's our skipper, he's a fantastic character. 

"If I had to write a book about Hendo, it would be 500 page, so I'm very positive. 

"The most difficult job in the last 500 years of football was to replace Steven Gerrard.

 

"In the mind of the people it was like if it's not Stevie, then it's not good enough. 

"And he has dealt with that outstandingly well so he can be really proud. Now we have to think of the future and he is a very important part of our team.” 

Henderson isn't widely seen as a playmaker, but on Friday night he produced arguably his most telling creative impact in quite a while where he set up a goal for Mo Salah and scored one himself coming off the bench.

His reaction to his first goal of the season against the Saints showed that it certainly meant a lot to him.

Over the last few years, Klopp has transformed Henderson from a roaming midfielder into a holding one who thrives on the big games which calls for seasoned campaigners with level heads.

However, Klopp believes that his leader has the versatility to play any role if asked.

 

 

"I've seen him a lot like that. That's Jordan.

"When I came in and thought first about the team, Hendo was a box to box player. 

"We made him a number 6 and that's good. I think it's helped him a lot to play in different positions. 

" I told him already that that doesn't mean he will never play as a six again. He thinks it makes sense, and that's absolutely true. 

"We play different systems. Milly (James Milner) and Hendo were both really pumped up. It helped us a lot.”

He may not be everyone's cup of tea, but as someone who was there in 2014, he knows the pain of a failed title challenge all too well well and doesn't want to relive that anytime soon.

He may not be Stevie in terms of presence and playing ability, but in a few weeks time he may well be a title-winning captain.

And that is a pretty special thing to have on your playing CV.

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[Pureblood]

Well said, Klopp.  Hendo has never been accepted as Gerrard's replacement and too many fans have been overcritical of him.  Nice show of support from the manager.

[sir roger]

Ive told Jurgen a million times to stop exaggerating 

[Babb'sBurstNad]

Reckon the fella who had to clean the loo after Darren Fletcher disagrees.

[Numero Veinticinco]

2 hours ago, TK421 said:

too many fans have been overcritical of him.  

And a few think he can do no wrong. 

[Pureblood]

16 minutes ago, Numero Veinticinco said:

And a few think he can do no wrong. 

I don't know anyone on the forum who thinks that.  LFD, for instance, is a big Hendo fan but says he shouldn't play every game.  

 

Personally, I acknowledge his limitations but think he gets far too much stick from people on here who don't really know what they're talking about.

[Numero Veinticinco]

3 minutes ago, TK421 said:

I don't know anyone on the forum who thinks that.  LFD, for instance, is a big Hendo fan but says he shouldn't play every game.  

 

Personally, I acknowledge his limitations but think he gets far too much stick from people on here who don't really know what they're talking about.

Yeah, I think both you and LFD do exactly that. You both get incredibly defensive when people rightly point out his limitation, you neg people who say anything negative about him - repeatedly - just like you did with Lucas. It's a weird fetish you have for certain players. I've pretty much taken the middle road with Henderson, that he is a solid professional, rarely controls a game but when he does he looks brilliant. He shouldn't, in my opinion, be Captain (for reason such as: he doesn't play all the time, doesn't lead by example very often on the pitch, and there are better candidates). There are as many people who do nothing but slate him as there are nothing but defend him. Most people are in the middle ground. It's nothing to do with people not knowing what they're talking about, they just disagree with you. 

[Pureblood]

3 minutes ago, Numero Veinticinco said:

Yeah, I think both you and LFD do exactly that. You both get incredibly defensive when people rightly point out his limitation, you neg people who say anything negative about him - repeatedly - just like you did with Lucas. It's a weird fetish you have for certain players. I've pretty much taken the middle road with Henderson, that he is a solid professional, rarely controls a game but when he does he looks brilliant. He shouldn't, in my opinion, be Captain (for reason such as: he doesn't play all the time, doesn't lead by example very often on the pitch, and there are better candidates). There are as many people who do nothing but slate him as there are nothing but defend him. Most people are in the middle ground. It's nothing to do with people not knowing what they're talking about, they just disagree with you. 

"Solid professional" is patronising guff reserved for players you don't like.  You don't like the guy, you've repeatedly called for him to be stripped of the captaincy, you call him stuff like "brutal" on the match thread three minutes after kick off.  You're about as middle of the road as Hitler on this topic. 

[Dr Nowt]

Hahaha.

[Captain Turdseye]

BEIGE 

[El Rojo]

He’ll pulverise the Porto midfield on Tuesday. Business as usual. Big European nights - it’s what this cat was made for. 

[Babb'sBurstNad]

Never knew Hitler hated Hendo. Huge if true.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

On the plus side, I can think of a Proclaimers song that'd now make a good chant for him.

[magicrat]

I get pissed off with all this hyperbole. Klopp makes some good points but a great 30 min cameo on Friday doesn't suddenly make him the best midfielder or even the best skipper for next season at the club. On the other hand I've never thought he was anywhere near as bad as many painted him. Skilful but not the brightest spark and best when surging forward not pratting about passing to our CB's to play out of defence . With over 300 games under his belt he has a wealth of experience and I wouldn't want to see him moved on in summer but that seems unlikely given the manager's glowing testimonial.

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

500 miles, on fields of fire!

[aRdja]

I’ve said it before. He’s a decent player who consistently produces decent performances; sixes and sevens. About five games a season he’d give you a 8 or 9, five games he’d give you a 4 or 5.

[s(k)aturation]

54 minutes ago, magicrat said:

I get pissed off with all this hyperbole. Klopp makes some good points but a great 30 min cameo on Friday doesn't suddenly make him the best midfielder or even the best skipper for next season at the club. On the other hand I've never thought he was anywhere near as bad as many painted him. Skilful but not the brightest spark and best when surging forward not pratting about passing to our CB's to play out of defence . With over 300 games under his belt he has a wealth of experience and I wouldn't want to see him moved on in summer but that seems unlikely given the manager's glowing testimonial.

 

No, no.

 

Klopp's only said this because he knows a whole bunch of our internet supporters hate Henderson.

 

Cynical bit of fan forum propaganda from Herr Klopp.

 

 

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

7 minutes ago, viRdjil said:

I’ve said it before. He’s a decent player who consistently produces decent performances; sixes and sevens. About five games a season he’d give you a 8 or 9, five games he’d give you a 4 or 5.

So a squad player then.

[aRdja]

4 minutes ago, VERBAL DIARRHEA said:

So a squad player then.

All of our midfielders are squad players.

[Numero Veinticinco]

1 hour ago, TK421 said:

"Solid professional" is patronising guff reserved for players you don't like.  You don't like the guy, you've repeatedly called for him to be stripped of the captaincy, you call him stuff like "brutal" on the match thread three minutes after kick off.  You're about as middle of the road as Hitler on this topic. 

QED

 

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

Just now, viRdjil said:

All of our midfielders are squad players.

Even the Ox?

[Numero Veinticinco]

15 minutes ago, viRdjil said:

I’ve said it before. He’s a decent player who consistently produces decent performances; sixes and sevens. About five games a season he’d give you a 8 or 9, five games he’d give you a 4 or 5.

A solid professional. Rarely shite. Rarely great. Occasionally both. I praise him when he’s great, I said he is brutal one time when he was brutal.

 

Hendo extremism is pretty beige.  

[Pureblood]

2 minutes ago, Numero Veinticinco said:

QED

 

Panorama

[Pureblood]

Just now, Numero Veinticinco said:

A solid professional. Rarely shite. Rarely great. Occasionally both. I praise him when he’s great, I said he is brutal one time when he was brutal.

 

Hendo extremism is pretty beige.  

One time, hah.

[Numero Veinticinco]

Just now, TK421 said:

One time, hah.

Very easy to search so you can show you’re not making it up and being a dramatic weirdo.