Henderson will be our Kuyt - stamina, work horse, great ethic and will chip in with goals and assists. I don't think he will be anything more than that however that is not a criticism - we need players like this in the squad, players who we can rely on. Important part of the team in that respect. His performances look a lot better because he's currently carrying Lucas and Gerrard. As I say, he's nothing special but still a great squad player to have.
I think he is technically better as well. If I'm very optimistic, then he would be our Muller. Not particularly gifted technically, but his work ethic combined with fantastic game intelligence and positioning makes him such a good player.
so heres the thing. Muller is a good example but muller has a handy knack of scoring for fun.... I think had henderson socred v stoke rather than seen it saved and if he took that confidence and kept more on target people would be raving... which for me would be a bit strong. I think he's ok box to box worker but thats never a longevity play. I think he's shown me a real understanding of a true midfielders positioning and would benefit frankly from gerard retiring so he and luca sould play and someone truely box to box... ala gerrard for yore could play in a two touch game he looks far far more comfortable facing goal coming from behind the play and moving it on as a support player and then make his run than a player with his back to goal or trying to play wide and beat a man. The pressing and closing down he can do is of benefit but once he does win it back for us he's in that advanced role that something creative needs to happen... confidence? maybe but i think he's going to be a very good CM in that holding role (NOT DM, holding means dropping deep to play with CBs)
It depends on what the "end" is. If we are talking about the league title and CL glory then I'd agree, squad player at best. If we are talking about regular top four then he still needs to improve but I'd consider him an important but not automatic first team player. anything less, first teamer as he is now Same applies to Lucas too IMO
There are signs of the old Lucas there and after such a long injury we should be more patient. I'm noticing many more forward creative passes from him in recent games, he was back to sideways for a while but I think the improvement is coming with match fitness. An essential player for us this season imo. Someone made a comment about dropping Gerrard for Hendo, crazy imo Henderson does not have enough quality on the ball and we would lose a lot of possesion without Gerrard and a lot of creativity I know he has his critics at the moment but dropping him for Hendo?
depends on the game. arsenal blew us away. west brom didn't even press us and fulham were a joke too. the test of our midfield is when we are being pressed.
West Brom had the midfield to cause us real problems but bottled it. But I agree - teams that press us will cause us problems. Swansea, Southampton, Newcastle, Arsenal - 4 examples of us struggling to grab a hold of the game.
I don't disagree, hence me putting "he still needs to improve" in my Henderson analysis which I likened Lucas to. I've maintained for a long time that i am a fan of both Lucas and Henderson but at the same time, neither of them are of top quality team standard IMO. I don't want to see either of them leave but I do want to see them as automatic picks either.
Solid, hard working, reliable and dependable - these two are very good players to have in our squad. As you say, they will only take us to a certain level.
