11 Dec 2011

LFC LEGEND: "That was his best performance for Liverpool..."

Jordan Henderson's opportunities to play in central midfield have been limited so far this season, but he got his chance against QPR yesterday, and former Liverpool stars Gary Gillespie and Gary McAllister were very impressed with his performance.

Gillespie, who was commentating on the game for LFC TV alongside McAllister, enthused:

"That's probably Henderson's best performance so far in a red shirt.

"I thought he looked comfortable, and he did the right thing at the right time. All credit to him, I thought he played really well".


McAllister was pleased to see Liverpool dominate the play but acknowledged that things got a bit dicey in the final third of the game:

"The result flattered QPR. People will look at the result and think it was tight, nervous game but it wasn't until the last five or ten minutes.

"Liverpool were streets ahead, and the game should've ben dead and buried at half time. Failure to take chances, and having 4 home draws just made for a nervy ending".


McAllister was also impressed with a few of the individual performances:

"The pick for me in the first half was Downing; against Traore, he created a lot of chances. I thought Maxi had a good game as well; Suarez was always involved in all the play, and I think Henderson and Adam got the mix quite well. They controlled the whole game really".

It's great get the three points, but in one particularly nervy spell in the second half, QPR had 88% of the possession, and a better team would've capitalised on that and punished Liverpool.

Thankfully, that didn't happen, and hopefully this victory signals the end of the club's poor home form, and the beginning of a goal glut for Luis Suarez, who got on the scoresheet for only the third time in twelve Premier League games.

Jaimie Kanwar


19 comments:

  1. Again, quite a negative summary from your own perspective (and an assumption a 'better' team would have punished us - but how can you be sure?).  I notice you flagged up the 88% possession stat, which to be realistic only showed QPR had a couple of minutes a decent possession without creating anything (the ball wasn't in play for the whole 5 mins).

    And I notice you also have a negative outlook with Suarez too.  Which is a shame as he is there to create as well as score. 

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  2. Watched the highlights and it was another good footballing performance Henderson looked far more comfortable in the middle and and was trying to play his natural game early balls long and short in a Gerrard style and getting the play moving forward quicker in the end again the players not taking chances but some of the chances were more clear cut like Maxis 3 chances which brought good saves linking up with Suarez.
     Suarez should of buried Downings cross with a header in the first half the defence played well with hardly any scares.
    Suarez looked the most focused on a game for sometime the FA need to sort their S#*T OUT and get these charges against him sorted out. 

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  3. If you don't like my views, there are plenty of other LFC sites to visit. I'm entitled to my opinion; deal with it.
    Sent from iPhone

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  4. This site on the whole is largely negative.

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  5. i don't find this site negative.
    i like the fact that someone has the balls to point out the facts and flaws in the current lfc side.
    it's the only lfc site i visit now because normally you can have a proper debate with other fans who know their football.it's a refreshing change from alot of the facebook groups where you can tell people don't even watch the games.

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  6. This site should be removed from newsnow.com, always full of negative, grammatically incorrect articles. Does this Kenwar guy write all of them? If so, I think I may have found the problem.

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  7. humpty is right tho i'm afraid jaimie...the 88% possession stat is a bit daft because it was only for a small period of time in the match AND qpr didnt create a single chance during that period...perhaps what your saying is right, maybe a "better" team could have punished us BUT perhaps it also shows that we're a decent defensive unit as well....what humpty was trying to say is that your always negative and i think he has a point...you should try to be more impartial...

    also luis suarez "got on the scoresheet for only the 3rd time in 12 premier league appearances" - that comment (sly dig) was a bit unnecessary...you actually make suarez sound like a crap player so i thought i'd mention this - 8 goals in 19 appearances in all competitions this season (1 sub appearance) and 5 assists - doesnt sound too bad now does he...give the lad a break!!!

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  8. How many times? I'm not interested in your views on whether I'm positive or negative. if you can't handle my approach then go elsewhere. Like you, I am entitled to my opinion, and you're wasting your time moaning about my alleged 'negativity'. I'm not going to change; this is how I see things, so like it or lump it. Sorry to be blunt, but people *still* just don't get it.

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  9. Reelists, What do you expect from the author of "10 reasons why LFC shouldn't sign Suarez"? He walked away from blogging after LFC signed him for over six months. I consider it a miracle that he even acknowledges Suarez's goals for LFC.

    http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2010/12/luis-suarez-10-reasons-why-lfc-should.html

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  10. Common knowledge that Jaimie K is not a fan of Luis Suarez.

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  11. He is a cheat. So what's your point? I don't discriminate when it comes to highlighting cheating, and the 'football cheats' series proves that. Suarez cheated at the World Cup. End of story. I wrote an article saying that Liverpool shouldn't sign him because he's a cheat. So what? I stand by what I wrote, and if it was down to me, Liverpool wouldn't have signed him, or indeed any other player that blatantly and unapologetically cheats.

    I can still, however, acknowledge that Suarez is a good player, just like I can say that Maradona was a good player, despite his cheating. Doesn't mean I condone it though.

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  12. fair enough pal, your 100% spot on, your entitled to your views....HOWEVER, so are we, and with your permission with the addition of the comments section on your website, so you shouldnt go ranting when someone expresses theirs. if your not prepared to reconsider your approach then you should at least be prepared to accept criticism...either that or remove the comments section...simple...(not tryna fall out with you just a difference of opinion...i actually quite like your site...makes a refreshing change from most other liverpool sites).

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  13. I appreciate your views, but there is something that needs to be clarified here: I accept criticism without problem when its related to the views expressed on the site. People can be as vociferous as they like when tearing my arguments apart (as a long as it's civil), and I welcome that.

    However, there is a difference between attacking the argument and attacking the person. People who moan about me being negative are attacking the person, not the argument, and those type of comments are pointless, and just clog up the discussion thread.

    Whether people I'm negative or not is irrelevant, and has nothing to do with the substance of the points I raise. I don't want people to have to trawl through pointless posts of people bitching about my style, which is why posts complaining about me or the site are deleted.

    If you think I'm wrong, argue against the points I raise.

    The comment policy is quite clear on this. Additionally, the whole point of this site is - and always has been - critical realism about LFC. That's the site's tagline, and if people can't handle that, then that's not my issue.

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  14. Getting a bit fed up with your negativity. Get behind the team in a positive way. Call yourself a supporter...my arse.

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  15. I thought that was the best performance by Maxi in a Red shirt even though he didn't score involved in just about anything good that was happening linking up time after time with Suarez hopefully we will more of him in the coming weeks showing the player he was at Athletico and Argentina.

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  16. Henderson needs to play more games to get the best out of him. In the past Lucas got the preference over him.

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  17. Then Liverpool should never have signed Steven Gerrard either. The way he dove to earn that penalty in the CL final of 2005 was just as bad (probably worse) as what Suarez did in the WC. Suarez paid for his crime, Gerrard was rewarded for it.

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  18. Maybe I was watching a different game, one where Henderson was playing against a smaller team in Anfield and still don't have the guts to run forward, pass upfield, or, ffs, find his place on the field! Do you know how many times he asked for the ball from players that should not be passing it to him because of his horrible positioning? He looks lost most of the time and Charlie Adam had to play for 2 today. I was praying for Shelvey in his place, that's how desperate I was. Coady would be more adventurous, swear to God. Someone give this lad some scouserblood  transfusion from Gerrard or Carra because the only thing he might be missing right now is some guts and heart. Hate see him playing right now, and I'm really sorry to say that. I hope he proves me wrong. And if McCallister thinks that's a good game, I hope he never gets involved with our coaching.  

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  19. Of course Henderson looked more comfortable in the middle! The ball would HAVE had to fall to him. He was played on the wings because he's got pace and tricks. Anyone would HAVE wanted a player with such qualities, but Henderson has issues reading where the ball would be played to from the middle, so he wouldn't know where to be and consequently went missing in games. In central midfield, there was no question how and where the ball was going to fall to him, which did wonders for his confidence, how many touches of the ball he got, and his overall contribution to the game. However, his ability to cross, spot gaps to run into and his pace definitely make him a more suitable winger.

    I will maintain however, that Jonjo makes a more similar contribution to Gerrard in that he will play all over the pitch to try to make something happen and will make himself available for the ball as best as he can. Someone else pointed out the team raised their game when Shelvey came on and that's probably because he oozes desire to win in the way he plays - something we don't see from Henderson, who does it more through his ability. In that sense, Henderson is more similar to Lampard, who similarly disappears in matches, but instead of great finishes, Henderson provides intelligent passes and fancy dribbles.

    Beyond the tricks and the pace however, Henderson's greatest strength has to be how he uses his head with the ball at his feet. Where Shelvey is more instinctive and daring, Henderson is more likely to take safer options and make the so-called smarter choices, so they actually balance off nicely. With a little more experience, Hendo will probably be making the kind of passes Aquilani, Lucas or Carrick would make, although the tradeoff is we won't have his pace at our disposal.

    Indeed Henderson does play better in the middle for now, but I believe it is all about how he sees the pitch and understands the game, but at the same time, I also believe he is a player capable of seeing the game in more ways and is possibly our most technically gifted first team player. By the 2013 season, it is possible Henderson could be our own CR7, except he'd be JH14.

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