Liverpool’s Livewire: Why Jordan Henderson’s PFA snub represents a huge oversight

Jordan Henderson has been instrumental to Liverpool’s success this season

Nominees for the PFA Awards were announced yesterday and the list of candidates took on a distinctly English flavour. There were few notable omissions across the shortlists, though, alongside one particular name in the Young Player of the Year Award category: Jordan Henderson.

Henderson has been instrumental in Liverpool’s inexorable surge to head of the table, having scored four and assisted seven goals in 34 appearances.The much-maligned midfielder has silenced critics that ridiculed his £16 million transfer fee, having become an inextricable component in Brendan Rogers’ well-oiled machine this campaign.

Cast an eye over the players selected in lieu of Henderson – Ross Barkley, Eden Hazard, Aaron Ramsey, Luke Shaw, Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge – and you’d concede that five of those six players deserve to be nominated. The only contentious pick, notwithstanding his scintillating start to the season, is Arsenal’s midfield architect Aaron Ramsey.

Aaron Ramsey started the season like a man possessed and found the back of the net eight times while having assisted 7 before limping off after 60 minutes during Arsenal’s Boxing Day victory of West Ham. That injury kept Ramsey out of action until early April – a 3-month hiatus in which Arsenal played 14 league games.

Jordan Henderson has only missed 22 league minutes of Liverpool’s league season up until last gameweek

Conversely, Jordan Henderson has only missed 22 league minutes of Liverpool’s league season, illustrating not only the 23-year-old’s ability to stay healthy but how integral he is to this Liverpool side.

Had Ramsey not succumbed to injury and sustained that initial momentum, it’s not preposterous to suggest that he’d be challenging Luis Suarez for the PFA Player of the Year accolade right now. As it stands, he’s currently missed 41% of the season.

Clearly there are no rules of eligibility that demand a minimum number of appearances, but it’s surprising that Ramsey’s achievements this season have been deemed superior to Henderson’s.

Liverpool sans Jordan Henderson is an entirely different proposition and it will be intriguing to see how they fare without him in light of his three-match suspension.

In a team that boasts an embarrassing wealth of attacking riches, Henderson’s tireless tracking back, intelligent passing and dogged spirit provides some much-needed balance. Without him, Liverpool lack industry and bite in midfield – Lucas is half the athlete and has flattered to deceive on occasion this season.

Chelsea will be well aware of the threat that Liverpool pose when they travel to Anfield next week, but they’ll draw great encouragement from Henderson’s absence. Mourinho’s men will be afforded greater freedom in midfield to dictate the tempo without the ex-Sunderland man hounding them at every opportunity.

In the same way Ramires empowers the likes of Eden Hazard, Willian and Oscar to maraud forward and relinquish their defensive duties, so too does Henderson in this Liverpool outfit.

Jordan Henderson has created 60 goalscoring opportunities for Liverpool this season.

But that’s not all there is to his game. What’s most surprising – and exciting from an English standpoint – about Henderson’s development is his cultured passing game. The benefits of playing alongside pass master Steven Gerrard are clear to see in the seven assists he’s contributed thus far and the composed nature in which he distributes to all corners of the pitch.

In truth, there’s no need to get irate over Ramsey’s inclusion on the shortlist – after all, he was excellent for Arsenal last year – but it’s a shame that Henderson hasn’t received the recognition that his stellar season deserves. Come the 11th May, however, Henderson may well have a League Winner’s medal draped round his neck – the PFA Awards a distant and irrelevant memory.