The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsWith Steven Gerrard leaving for LA Galaxy this summer after another trophy-less season for The Reds, will Jordan Henderson step up to the mark and prove to be a suitable replacement as Liverpool captain?
The 24 year old central midfielder has been a consistent feature for Liverpool since arriving in 2011. Henderson has started all but one Barclays Premier League game this season, compared to Gerrard’s 29 appearances. However, Gerrard has proven to be more prolific in front of goal with 9 goals to Henderson’s 6.
Henderson is also yet to provide the Liverpool fans with the game changing moment that they have become so accustom to with Gerrard in his 17 year senior career. We all remember Gerrard’s 53rd minuted header which inspired the comeback against AC Milan in that famous 2005 UEFA Champions League Final, as well as that injury time goal in the 2006 Fa Cup Final against West Ham United. It’s perhaps this ability to inspire and reverse the flow of a game that Liverpool will miss most.
Liverpool’s recent season will also place Henderson directly into the public eye; 6th place for a club as big as Liverpool simply isn’t good enough. A club with such a rich history flooded with numerous world class players should be qualifying for Champions League football consistently. Perhaps pressure such as that may prove to be too much for Henderson who is often criticised to be erratic when it comes to his passing ability.
Henderson has huge boots to fill it seems; is he the right man for the captaincy? Only time will tell. He’s still a young player with plenty of time to grow, however the pressure of being Liverpool captain comes with certain expectations, and with only scoring 17 goals in 139 appearances it seems as though he still has a huge mountain to climb.
