It’s over. Jordan Henderson’s time at Liverpool FC has come to an end. The club announced today that Henderson has completed a move to Saudi Arabia side Al-Ettifaq where he will be reunited with former Liverpool captain, teammate and legend Steven Gerrard.
The more I think about it, the harder it is to believe.
Henderson has been at the club for 12 years and has captained the side for eight of them. Through my ten years of supporting the club he’s been there every step of the way and I can remember watching Steven Gerrard give him the armband whenever he’d come off the pitch. Gerrard then officially passed the armband over to Henderson at the end of the 2014/15 season and I don’t think anyone was prepared for what was to happen next.
Over the next five to six years Liverpool would appoint Jurgen Klopp as manager, win every major trophy possible, conquer all of Europe and cement themselves in the history books all while captained by Jordan Henderson.
Looking back at the first two seasons Henderson wore the armband, things were pretty abysmal compared to what was to come. In his first season as captain Liverpool finished eighth place in the Premier League but did manage to make the UEFA Europa League Final. They would go on to fall to Sevilla.
In his second season as captain, 2016/17, there were major improvements as Klopp brought in Sadio Mane along with Georginio Wijnaldum. Mane paired with Roberto Firmino and Phillipe Coutinho formed an exciting attacking trio which made rival teams pay a bit more attention to Liverpool.
Fast forward to the most notable signings of Virgil Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Allison Becker, Liverpool created a team that would go and win the lot.
Henderson was the heart of this squad.
Many like to criticize Henderson for his lack of technical ability or the fact he’s not a goal scoring midfielder etc. but I think what those people fail to realize is just how integral he is to the squad. Being Gerrard’s successor is no easy task, yet he faced it head on and did everything in his power to uplift his team and ensure their performances met the standards of Liverpool Football Club.
While he would have a howler here and there, every footballer does. You can make a fail compilation out of nearly every player on the planet, you can find clips of players doing the stupidest thing possible on the pitch. All of that really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things when you have reached the heights of Henderson.
Henderson has won the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FA Cup, Community Shield, Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup and the League Cup twice. He is Liverpool’s most winningest captain in history and also boasts 492 total appearances for the Reds with 33 goals and 58 assists in all competitions.
A statistic that I found very interesting was that Henderson leaves the Premier League with 54 assists to his name. That number is on par with PL legends Mesut Ozil and Eden Hazard, both thoroughly appreciated for their playmaking and passing abilities during their primes.
I love this stat because it gives me more ammunition when I’m defending captain Hendo against my friends who support Manchester United, Arona Sow and Christian Doweidt. Check the statistics fam.
Along with his passing ability this man was just a pure leader. You will not find a better captain in the Premier League over the last five to six years. Henderson’s heart, mindset, drive, determination and motor are second to none. It’s no surprise this team has won literally everything during his tenure as captain.
He’s a mentality monster plain and simple. The passion and intelligence he plays with cannot be found in another Premier League footballer and I put that on Jack Emerson.
It’s really a shame seeing him go because I personally wanted him to stay this season. I feel like with the new signings, the shape Henderson came back to training in and the way last season ended, Liverpool could have turned things around with Hendo wearing the armband.
Everything was shaping up for Liverpool to have an amazing season with Henderson as captain, but I guess when Gerrard calls with Saudi money you have take it. I’m not upset at him for leaving or anything, it’s just disappointing he’s actually gone now.
To be fair he is 33 years-old now, has won everything imaginable and his cycle with the squad has simply come to an end. Straight like that. Although I would have loved for him to stay, I’m sure he would have taken minutes away from the new guys like Alexis MacAllister or Dominik Szoboszlai.
With those things in mind, I think it’s the perfect time for him to leave. While it may hurt at the moment, I know Liverpool is in a transition stage right now with the squad and things look very exciting. I feel that may be one of the reasons Henderson decided to leave as well.
New signings, more players coming through the academy and an ever changing transfer market probably meant now was the right time for Henderson to pass the torch to someone else–likely Virgil Van Dijk.
From making his Liverpool debut in 2011 and almost being sold to Fulham in exchange for Clint Demspey, to taking on one of the hardest responsibilities in world football–captaining Liverpool FC–winning the lot and becoming a Liverpool legend, Jordan Henderson has done very, very well for himself and I want to say thank you for everything.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Liverpool FC
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