KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Player & Flop of the Year

Poulsen is no worse than henderson and was considerably cheaper. And whilst Konchesky wasn't great, value for money wise did he give us less contribution than downing, henderson or carroll.....?
The reason I mentioned Hodgson is because the majority of those defending JH are kenny fans who defend any old crap that he does or says, therefore their opinions should be taken with a huge pinch of salt. Deny it if you wish but if Roy had spent the money that kenny has and finished lower in the league than the previous season he'd probably be dead by now - whereas some people still think kenny 'deserves' another year!

i am a kenny fan and no fan of hendo .. i also think we sacked roy way too soon aswell.

You expect anyone to take your argument seriously with a statement like that!

You sound like your throwing your dolls out the pram to me. There's obviously some previous animosity between yourself and the king

Henderson is tragically poor. Infact, he's so bad I've stopped being angry and started feeling sorry for him.

There was one point in the first half of the cup final. I was sat in block 106 and I was watching from directly behind him as he ran 10 yards whilst never being in control of the ball and ran straight into Lampard who had never moved. Normally I would groan/shout/swear but I just sighed and sat down. Henderson has been so bad in so many games that it's actually a decent achievement that we are so high up in the league. Johnson should be player of the year for carrying him every time he's played down the right.

I still think Hendersen is the flop of the year. This poll is a scandal!

oh dear!

some thing has been on my mind about henderson and the criticism he has recieved. its identical to lucas's in the sense that lucas use to get berated for two things, the five yard backward sideways pass, and for not getting stuck in. just thought id throw it into the mix. i know they play slightly different positions, but i wonder is their some players that take time to come round to what is being asked of them.

i cant put my finger on it with hendo but i just get the feeling we havent seen the best of him, even though i dont have much to base that on.

I think it depends on what you've been taught, and that there are some things that need to be unlearned. In some ways it's a bit like trying to teach a striker to get into a position to run at a cross in order to head it rather than getting there early and trying to win the standing leap against the defender without the run. It all makes so much sense when its explained to you but trying to do it when your whole life you've tried to get to the six yard area before the ball is very difficult.

I've felt for some time that Henderson simply isn't sure what exactly is expected of him, and so he tends to dither when he gets the ball. In games where the opposition press a lot that small hesitation is fatal to the attack he should be initiating. The times when he's acted immediately have taken him away from the threat of dispossession, and in those situations his decision-making has been much better.

The other reason we've not seen the best of him, flames, is because he's 20. People see his transfer fee, forget that it's ramped up by the home grown quota "English tax", and think he's suddenly a 25 year old player with a wealth of EPL experience. He's just a kid, and he will make mistakes - he would probably have made far fewer errors percentage-wise had Kenny not pressed him into action all the time. Sometimes you need to spend time watching the way its done rather than muddling along on your own. And more often than not, the best example of right wing play in the squad (Bellamy) was often deployed on the other flank. Henderson can't cut inside like Downing can because he's not left footed.

i think the fees players came in for had a very negative effect on their psych. carroll might just be shaking his off now, and hopefully hendo can move his on too.

I agree with that too. I think that if Carroll was affected by the money, then he has dealt with it by concentrating on his football. Someone else said it was like he's come of age, and I agree with that. He's at the races now, and I doubt the transfer fee weighs on him at all.

For a younger player like Henderson, I think the fee is still a burden, and he hasn't adjusted to the need to take responsibility oneself rather than relying on others as much as he does - and I believe it is that state of mind that creates the short, sideways pass. Until Lucas was forcibly separated from Mascherano due to suspension of the latter he lived in the Argentine's shadow and was a poor player. 6 months later when Mascherano quit Liverpool, Lucas really stepped up because he knew it all came down to him. I'm not saying Henderson will have the same transformation, but that I feel he has to go through the same mental process of accepting that his decisions are critical. It creates pressure, but when you are there in your own right and are therefore denied the option of passing responsibility to the guy 5 yards away, somehow it's easier to make the right decision.