Henderson is definitely better in the middle of the park - always has been actually. But we've mostly played 4-4-2 under Kenny, with Lucas and Adam in the middle, and that leaves no room for the "in-the-hole" attacking mid, eg Meireles, Aquilani, Henderson, and therefore something had to break. Obviously Kuyt isn't a great RM either.
But in 4-5-1 the whole dynamic changes. Suddenly Kuyt is a useful option, even if he is wasteful in front of goal. Suddenly Henderson is at home. Suddenly Carroll can actually be a target man with players running off him rather than having people divided as to whether to play a long ball to him or into space for Suarez. Suddenly Spearing can harry their midfield the way Adam usually can't, and can provide powerful shots on target which is something we generally lack. I'm not Spearing's wildest supporter, but I think this is his kind of game. And in such a defensive game Kelly must get the nod ahead of Johnson.
The only problem is whether we are capable of putting the ball in their net without a dead-ball specialist, but if we're not prepared to give Carroll his chance to lead the line and make it count then he'll never grow into his role.
As for your botch with the table order, well, everyone makes mistakes.
