Phil Thompson moved to defend Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson from his critics after being impressed by the 28-year-old’s display against Southampton.
Henderson came off the bench to feature and score in the 3-1 win over the Saints on Friday and Thompson shared he thought the player was often an easy target for people to criticise.
Thompson acknowledged that Henderson was no Steven Gerrard or Philippe Coutinho but that the 28-year-old was good in his own right and showed he could be relied upon against Southampton.
“He is an easy target Jordan,” said Thompson on Soccer Saturday (Sky Sports News, Saturday April 6th, 12:12).
“I don’t know why, maybe because he’s been there so long, and you’re right he’s not Steven Gerrard, he’s not Philippe Coutinho, but he is good at what he does, which is getting about the pitch.
“He brings great energy and what he did last night, he’s not sulking cause he didn’t start, ‘You can rely upon me boss’, same with Milner, y’know the characters in these guys.
“He brought them on for a reason not just for fresh legs but to bring energy, to get about people, to make things happen.”
OPINION
Henderson has often been Marmite among pundits and supporters, so it was nice to see him steal the spotlight to some degree against Southampton. The midfielder came off the bench and made his presence known. Henderson injected a fresh enthusiasm into the team, hassled the Saints whenever they were in possession and drove his side forward by making powerful runs into the box. The 28-year-old had his efforts rewarded by getting on the scoresheet and it’s the least he deserved. However while Henderson has some singing his praises, including Thompson, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the midfielder is back getting criticism within the next few weeks. This will not be due to the midfielder’s form dropping but you feel that his label of being an easy target isn’t going to just go away over night. As soon as Henderson puts in a performance, perhaps even an average one, it won’t be long before people question how good he is again. Luckily for the Reds, the 28-year-old doesn’t seem affected by vocal criticism or having his ability question, he just gets his head down and strives to do his best.
