17 Jul 2012

'I'm still confused by him' - Lawro slams LFC star's lack of quality. Harsh...?

Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson recently admitted that he was unhappy with his first 'up-and-down season' at Anfield, and the youngster came in for regular criticism due to his indifferent form and repeated failure to take the initiative during games. Reds manager Brendan Rodgers believes he can 'remodel' Henderson, and make him into a 'really good player', but Anfield legend Mark Lawrenson is far from convinced.

In his column for the Liverpool Daily Post recently, Lawro insisted that 'Liverpool have it all to do to finish in the top six next season', and called on the the club's players to improve after last season's debacle, adding:

"The onus will be on the majority of last season’s squad to improve, and they must, particularly England’s Euro 2012 contingent".

On the subject of Henderson, Lawro argued that outside of stamina and enthusiasm, the youngster lacks real quality:

"Jordan Henderson played in the quarter-final against Italy, but I’m still nonplussed by him.

"I can’t see what he has besides a good engine which, as a fit and young player, he should have anyway".


I agree with Lawro to an extent: what exactly does Henderson bring to the team? What particular need does he fill? He's a very nondescript presence, and his fear on the ball is evident from his 'safety-first' approach when in possession.

However, unlike fellow debut-season flops Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll, Henderson arguably has the potential to improve, and under Rodgers - who seems determined to turn Henderson into a player - I think he will improve.

With time, Henderson could conceivably become Liverpool's Joe Allen. Of course, if the Reds actually sign Joe Allen from Swansea (which I personally hope happens) then all bets are off (!)

Jaimie Kanwar


76 comments:

  1. mark lawrenson,overated, unfunny, twat,fuck off and stick to match of the day.dick head,sick of listening to your negative bollocks.  

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  2. Ask any Sunderland fan. Why do we love to chastise almost every player we sign for more than a couple of million pounds? Lucas was apparently not up to it and that changed dramatically. Stop the negativeness.

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  3. If he can replicate the form that he showed at Sunderland, then in a few years I am sure that we will have a real player on our hands. Possibly someone with a mould like Gerrard. 

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  4. Carroll at the age of 23 doesn't have the potential to improve ? I don't get it .

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  5. moe egativity, jamie ?

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  6. it's called bias, Carroll will clearly improve. I don't think it's possible to have as bad a season as he did for 3/4 of last season.

    But it seems like he'll go now, which is a shame since I think given the proper guidance under Rodgers he might improve and become a better all around player instead of just a spearhead.

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  7. This is not about Carroll mate! Read the article again...

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  8. That's the way a lot of Liverpool fans are these days unfortunately If a new player doesn't hit the ground running then he's written off in a flash . Modern day football fans for you I'm afraid .

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  9. What Lawro didin`t say was, Henderson didin`t play in the position he excelled in at sunderland? so the blame for his poor performances were not his entirely, ok he did play to safe for my liking, but if he was to be encouraged to play the more attacking roll, we could well see a totally different player this season. So give the lad a break, lets support our team no more pulling them too bits like some. RedMan4Ever.

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  10. Too true, I think it's gone hand in hand with a decline in footy journalism so the fans just parrot what they hear and we get a vicious circle

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  11. Septimus_severus7:52 pm, July 17, 2012

    No it's about MOBILITY, TECHNICAL ABILITY & ATTITUDE.
     Henderson has the right attitude always tries ...that can't be said of Carroll.
    Only when he realised that he's in serious trouble of not being at Anfield next season did he start to play for 4 games and in the Euros.
    Henderson has been played out of his position so I'm prepared to give him another season.
    Carroll was BOUGHT to SCORE GOALS he hasn't done that it's that simple.

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  12. The trouble is the young supporters, who require the instant gratification of Facebook, smart-phones and dare I say it without upsetting Jaimie Kanwar this site and it's ilk.  They can't wait and are in many cases downright insulting to the players and managers if they don't perform to their personal expectations. This buzz word respect only seems to apply to themselves and not their elders.

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  13. I reckon there is something there with Hendo for Rodgers to work with in relation to the team style but I also agree somewhat that there is nothing great about him, something that really stands about his game. He may never be a great first XI material but I reckon he could be a fine squad player for a top club at least. I know its not what one expect for the free but alas, better than nothing.

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  14. With all due respect to Sunderland, the standards are different. 

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  15. I cant understand the negativity about Henderson. He's only 21/22, coming from his home town to a world wide club and was obviously worried about getting things wrong so much he just played the safe choice. He has the desire to better himself so much that HE WILL become a world beater but people have to give him time to let him grow, just like lucas!!! It's exactly the same for Carroll too. Its people these days that argue because they are not of Ronaldo/Messi pedigree that they say they are terrible players that sometimes make me ashamed that LFC are associated with these supporters. LFC is a family and we should stick behind our players and manager in the belief that we can watch them progress to become the best they can possibly be right through to the end, no matter what.

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  16. True, the media hyped Carroll as the next big British thing, now the fans think he has some sort of messiah-like potential and must stay.

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  17. Lawro needs to give the team as a whole a break. We lost our leader for most of the season coupled with losing the player of the season Lucas and we just didn't have anyone capable of filling the boots of one let alone two, then we had the Old Red Nose demolition of Suarez's season. nobody could have foreseen that.  Henderson playing out of position and Downing just not turning up. We were lucky to finish were we did and with 2 finals and a trophy.

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  18. So Andy Carroll hasn't, even arguably, the potential to improve. Interesting!!

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  19. Shahrill Sharwani8:09 pm, July 17, 2012

    Please do not compare Hendo with Lucas. Hendo costs us millions just for him to be running around like a headless chicken

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  20. its only the way of most fans who contribute here.they seem to lack patience for some reason

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  21. chan i still think he will be a fine player just not for us

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  22. yep mate nonsense isnt it JK just doesnt like AC I think he will improve and become a fine player just not for us unfortunately 

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  23. I think Carroll will be a good player for a non-top 4 quality side. I haven't lost hope on us being a top 4 side again within the next 2/3 years, hence why I am not fussed about Carroll leaving.

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  24. hmmm.... Henderson is a passenger.He payed in u-21's England vs Spain. Mata was quality , Henderson was funny. He is a passenger. Whar he brings to the game I won't know.  Good about Henderson is at the end of any game, he will be the cleanest player left on the pitch and end of every season he will be the player with the least or zero injury.  He can run a lot.... to do what? Skillfull with the ball. Mainly juggling it .... so he would do well in a circus. They are skillfull, those circus guys. Hendo has no football brain. Period !

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  25. Henderson and Downing WILL BE SOLD SOON   - RUBBISH PLAYERS

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  26. Henderson ? Dude It's football. n Don't insult Stevie like that !

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  27. Yes sir ! Carroll is mentioned in the article though ... Christ

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  28. I can see Carroll improving. Henderson iis the one that should go. Wished KK took him along.

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  29. the bloke is still young. 
    he was phased into the right because he wasnt trusted to play center. but from what ive seen in glimpses is his ability to create chances in those situations where he plays the pass with his first touch and for me its clear he has the skills. whether he has the mental character in the face of pool supporters discontent is uncertain.i think he will be a threat goal wise and he has been shit unlucky too with the woodwork. but i see him and shelvey to be different in the sense that shelvey is greedy for attempts on target and if hendo can take that on, we will have some player on our hands. 

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  30. come on!! he was on Fifa's top talents to watch for no reason..and he is not a winger..where he mostly played..
    In the final home game vs Chelsea..he played central midfield..his passing and his movement off the ball was terrific..I believe in him! :)

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  31. Brian -Ormskirk9:15 pm, July 17, 2012

    ' Lawro slams LFC star's lack of quality '. I must have missed something !
    Exactly when did Henderson become a star ???

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  32. One of the best games I saw of him for Sunderland was funnily enough against Chelsea at the Bridge....he was playing on the right wing. He can play well on the right wing, as he played well there for Sunderland in quite a few games. 

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  33. Probably based on all the hype he was getting before we signed him, as he was a young British player playing regular PL football, which the media love. Yep, that is all it takes to be a 'star' :(

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  34. Henderson has been rubbish since before we signed him... all anyone had to do was to look at Sunderland's own fans forum to see that they were far from convinced with him too. How he got that England call-up under Capello is anyones guess but he certainly wasn't a great player for them just as he's been far from anything special for Liverpool.

    Once again there are excuses. People harp on about age and all what not... I've got no problem with young players finding their feet BUT when someone goes out and spends £16-20m on a player then surely they should be good at something. Just to put things into perspective, I'm not sure Arsenal have ever spent £16m on a player in their history (Arshahin was £15m) and they're a top 4 side. £16m is a great deal of money and so far he's been outplayed by both Shelvey (easily) and Spearing (amazingly!)

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  35. Aree. To spend £16m on a player wth 'potential' was criminal. For that money you expect the finished product.

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  36. What does he bring to the team. NOTHING.

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  37. Tactically we were not good last season..maybe we dint use our players better..they are not as average as ppl make them to be!! lets hope we take the premier league by storm..enough jokes about our club has been around..lets fight back

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  38. Lolz, Well Said

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  39. Andy might have a lot of potential. But the way I see it, he just wouldn't fit our system at all. If we are going to play the tiki taka, we will need pacy strikers with good feet. 

    He might be a great player in the future, but hey I could be a billionaire in the future.

    But the point is that he won't be fitting our system. And that in itself will be wasting his time and ours.

    But I am not the manager so I can't know

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  40. Seems like its all about the money for fans. Had we signed these guys for less then it wouldn't be an issue, but put a price tag against someone and suddenly they are expected to magically produce the goods on demand. It's not really logical. The price we paid was about convincing those clubs to let those players go. It wasn't a reflection of their worth and everyone knew that from day 1. Why are we now turning around and holding these players to standards that they were never expected to meet in the first place? When was Carroll really worth 35 million pounds? We knew we overpaid for Downing and Henderson, it was obvious to everyone. So why is everyone still desperately hanging on to those numbers like they mean something? We overpaid and it's done, finished. Henderson wasn't worth 16 million when we bought him and he's not worth that now. If you continue to expect him to meet that standard then you're going to be continually disappointed. That just sounds like setting yourself up for more pain.  

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  41. Henderson for me looks as if he plays with anxiety. He has some demons thats for sure because physically he can do anything. He just needs some proper coaching, maybe try meditating and have the audacity to stamp his presence in the game. Gerrard in his first season had all the nerves playing against him when he started out as 18 year old. At 21 I don't think people should be quick to judge on a player like Henderson. Carroll on the other hand, could surprise but so far he isn't looking very good. Took him the whole season to get into any decent form. And now going into the new season he might be back where he started. People say his ball retention is good, but I just don't see that all. There is no fluidity in the way he controls the ball. 

    But selling him to fund a move for another player would be stupid unless he is a proven goal scorer with quality and under the 15 million mark we would probably get for selling Carroll. There arn't many strikers in that range because they are being snapped up by Champions League teams. Carroll can be a good plan B IMO if it Rodgers plan doesn't work out

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  42. To add to your comments, I think many young supporters don't  have an in-depth understanding of the game. They don't understand that managers and  their advocated playing styles have a direct impact on the performances of players.

    For Example, Carroll was fantastic for Newcastle but not for Liverpool because the playing strategies were different and not because he was bad. I am not familiar with Henderson's skills but if Kenny bought him, he must have seen something in him. Kenny is not stupid to buy foolishly and he has been in the game long enough to spot talents. And Henderson plays for England in U-21. Surely, the managers in England are not an ignorant and foolish bunch. They must have seen something in him. 

    Not every player can walk into a team bring results instantly. I believe Brendan will bring the best out of his players with his playing philosophy this coming season. We may see Adam and Aquilani flourishing under his management.

    If Liverpool gets results, then we would see all these same critical supporters singing praises for all these players just like Carroll's case. 

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  43. joseph costello3:23 am, July 18, 2012

    Well said Bill.....the LFC forum seems to be all
    school kids.

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  44. joseph costello3:42 am, July 18, 2012

    I still maintain the main fault for the last 18 mths has been Dalglish.
    He was a disaster, we will see a huge improvement with BR in charge.
    Nathan Eccleston scores hattrick in practise game yesterday,I reckon
    some of these reserve lads are going to be a revelation.

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  45. anythinggoeshere4:00 am, July 18, 2012

    Sunderland have a better academy than Liverpool, they have one of the better academies in English football. Lawrenson is completely clueless, anyone who has watched Henderson at Sunderland will know he is a class act, technically he is very gifted. He looked poor for Liverpool because under Dalgleish they were playing garbage football, it did not suite him

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  46. This is in large part to Fernando Torres who did hit the ground running and now we judge every new signing on Torres and believe every new player should, when Torres is actually an exception to the rule and not the rule itself

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  47. A lot of the young supporters look at the likes of Chelsea and Man City and see instant success and want that, without realising that most teams don't and can't do that. Man Utd didn't even buy the title, whether you love them or hate them, you have to respect what they did, the reason why they had sustained success is because their successful youth side was brought up pretty much intact, so they knew each other's game and could gel straight off the bat, add in a couple of experienced signings and you have the makings of a top side. By the way, I am a lifelong Liverpool supporter and this includes their last successful period in the 80s, just in case there are those "fans" on here who say to stfu and go back to the Manc sites

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  48. You are exactly the type of fan that the previous posts were talking about. The way of Liverpool fans in the past has been to support the players and manager, however bad they think they are, for instance, during Souness's reign, we all supported him, it was only afterwards when he was sacked that we said how crap he was. When they are part of Liverpool, they get 100% support, however these days, it's almost the complete opposite. That was what made Liverpool fans the best fans in the world, now people like you make us just like the fans of any other club. You should be ashamed of yourself

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  49. Shelvey is class, he is very much in the vein of Gerrard, Henderson has potential, but I agree, it's whether he can deal with the disrespect he is getting from the "boo boys". Lucas has shown he has and has turned into a world class player and the best defensive midfielder in the league, now we need Henderson to show the same type of metal

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  50. Shelvey is more in the mould of Gerrard and is being groomed to be the "next" Gerrard when Stevie retires.

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  51. No, this is about not supporting our players like they should be. The boo boys are out over Henderson, Adam, Carroll, Downing and to a lesser extent Enrique. We need to get behind our players and support them.

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  52. He hasn't been played on a regular basis, the one time he was given a run of games, at the end of the season, he started coming good and guess what, he started scoring goals. What a coincidence

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  53. Mata is also young. He is a class act. Hendo will do well with his skill in a circus.  He will be the injury free player of all time not to mention the player who keeps his jersey clean by end of game.

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  54. You're missing the point.

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  55. Henderson has the best one touch game out of anyone in the squad, and he WILL come good. The negativity around this club these days is unbelievable

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  56. Henderson is still Sam Beckett from Quantum Leap IMO - he just looks like a scared little kid completely out of his depth. I agree with the above. We have so many midfielders either already at the club or who are coming through the youth ranks. To use Lucus as the example of why we should wait is poor - how long has it taken him to become a good player and how far has our stock slipped since then? By the time he become competant at the heart of our mid we could be playing in the championship...

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  57. No. It coincided with him getting booed off the pitch at St. James' park. After that game, he started scoring and started making a real effort. His attitude simply sucked before that game, and I believe the "poor movement" we saw from him before that game was largely due to his heart still being with the Geordies.

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  58. Totally agree but you wont get it on this site. 90% of comments on our players are negative. I genuinely wonder if JK supports liverpool or just uses controversial negative comments to get a reaction and therefore greater traffic for his site. At least if that was the case i would begin to understand the stuff he writes.

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  59. To you two above it isn't just school kids that have become impatient, as for your comments, these players you highly value have played in the EPL for at least a season or more so as for hiting the ground running yes we do expect more, not so much as the tittle but FFS what did they do exactly for the whole season, not to mention you guys so easily blame the media for building up the hipe, yes they can but that is no excuse for poor performance.
    It's people like you that baby these imitaters, im sorry but if you have a bad day or week, than that's fine but a bad year come on that's ability any way you look at it.
    Hey AJAY you say that Hendo plays for England so the managers must have some idea, well why have England been so unsuccessful when it plays in these tornaments, they EPL is the best league in the world but that isn't because of the English players, so in reponse id say that Hendo wouldn't even make the bench anywhere else in the world.
    By the way i have finished school 25 years ago and yes i have run out of patients, as i am intittled to do so. 

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  60. and where was lawro and company last season to make such comments? they were lauding everything dalglish was doing...such hyped former stars!!!

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  61. There is no young bloke, Rooney was young what has he brought to the table for the manchs?  Hendo is the most 'useless' signing ever, one for the future? let him go to the reserves then, he carries no justification KD was cheated with all his signings except Enrique.

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  62. TRUE TRUE TRUE AGAIN YOU KNOW YOUR COMMENTS ARE THE BEST SUITED FOR THIS ARTICLE ALONG WITH LOWRO [for the first time said som'thing sensible] the boy is crap!

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  63. We always judge our players

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  64. Jonjo has a chance at replicating Stevie G than that over-rated, uniform model, hide-and-seek champ, back passer, no idea-where-I-am Henderson

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  65. True mate its Hendo not Carroll that should go

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  66. We were cheated in signing Hendo, he is not worthy of an LFC jersey, but he does some good modelling for us

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  67. Have you watched our reserve team at all? We have players that are ten times better, why should he get a huge pay and more playing time?

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  68. That felt gooouud

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  69. Seems that you are missing the point mate, we had Spearo covering his behind all the time and Gerro always point to him where he should be, useless flop for all I care

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  70. What are you on about mate, for example almost all the goals came from the right with Glen sticking out for him with two opponents to take care of, the 'ones' for the future? Suso, Jonjo Texteria and Cordy can tear him apart so easy. Why are we shying away from our own academy, how much did we pay for these academy players? Hendo was a professional and we paid a hefty amaount for unproven talent, watched the Euros? Seemed to be doing a 'training drill as always' 

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  71. The lad is 'useless' that all, thanks JK for the good focus on this article.

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  72. Yes he may improve, but at another club. Doesn't fit LFC.

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  73. Hendo needs to show a bit more courage than he showed last season. He  just does what manager asks him to do. Good players do much more than that.

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  74. Henderson is only a young boy, he has spent his life at Sunderland, to expect him to come here in a different team, different city, different style of play and have an excellent first season when playing out of his favourite position is crazy. Lawro you should know better and you're not helping the lad, i hope he makes you eat humble pie!

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  75. Christopher Beasley4:49 pm, July 18, 2012

    Lucas is a great player but YAYA T can play in that position and when he does hes extremely good, which would throw him in the mix for best in the EPL. For me, if Henderson can find his mojo he'll be a cut above....but, only certain players can zone in: Zidane, Gerrard, Viera, Henry, Giggs etc so for me he's average with flashes of potential, unfortunately just like lots of players in the league and will probably have 2/3 great seasons in his career at best. 

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  76. plus, the guy writing the piece is an idiot.

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