Liverpool's new captain Jordan Henderson ready to step into the shoes of Steven Gerrard

Jordan Henderson is the successor of Steven Gerrard

Steven Gerrard’s official unveiling as an L.A. Galaxy player was barely ten days ago, yet the whole thing felt like a bizzare, convoluted cut scene in a video game; an oddly grotesque occurrence that was given an especially surreal bend by a shirt that did, in fact, bear “Gerrard” on the back but which was, for the first time in seventeen years, not red.

Steven Gerrard has moved on with his career and his life to the point of “going native” – he did, after all, use the word “guys” in his address. Liverpool Football Club, however, seemed incapable of managing the Raheem Sterling situation, a saga which has dominated their summer, but ahead of their pre-season tour to South East Asia and Australia, they have received a shot in the arm with the appointment of vice-captain Jordan Henderson to permanent captain.

Henderson’s is a story that has been widely repeated for four years, and one that probably will be repeated in years to come, but one which is certainly worth going over again. Arriving from Sunderland as a part of an extravagant (and ultimately ill-fated) spending spree by Liverpool over two transfer windows in 2011, a 21-year-old Henderson was mostly deployed on the right side of midfield and like several of his teammates, struggled to consistently perform to the best of his abilities.

Kenny Dalglish led Liverpool to two Cup finals (winning one), but continued underperformance in the League led to his sacking in 2012. Brendan Rodgers took over that same summer, and what ensued was a catastophic transfer window which almost saw Henderson packed off to London as a makeweight in a deal for Clint Dempsey. That move came to nothing, and it’s fair to say Liverpool benefited.

The breakthough moment

It wasn’t all easy in the 2012/13 season. Liverpool struggled in the early part of the season and Henderson mostly featured in poorly conceived rotational midfield for half a season. The turning point came in a 5-0 thrashing of Norwich, with Henderson netting a superb volley from outside the box. He never looked back.

Liverpool’s form for the calendar year of 2013 was superb, although it was the 2013/14 season where Henderson’s importance to the team really became evident. The reasons were obvious: in a midfield where regulars included Steven Gerrard and Lucas, Henderson utilised his work rate and fitness to offset a lack of mobility in the centre of the pack.

He developed a degree of consistency that was perhaps only matched by the superlative Luis Suarez as Liverpool made a mesmerising, breathtaking but unsuccessful title bid in 2014. Henderson was given a straight red card (and a subsequent three-match ban) for an ill-advised and dangerous tackle on Manchester City’s Samir Nasri in April.

A see-saw, dramatic, emotional encounter played against the backdrop of the 25th anniversary of the Hillsbrough disaster, which Liverpool eventually won 3-2, and more than one observer, this scribe included, felt his absence was what irreparably damaged Liverpool’s title challenge, as they crashed to a 0-2 defeat to Chelsea in a game where the tension at Anfield was palpable.

Yet, Liverpool had to pick themselves up and forge ahead into the following season. 2014/15 saw Henderson demonstrate a different dimension to his game – the ability to perfectly place long, looped crosses and passes, not unlike David Beckham, which resulted in more productive ‘assists’ column.

This despite the fact that Henderson’s general short-and-long passing game, goal scoring and centre-of-the-park intelligence has displayed no hugely noticeable improvement. That’s right. He can still get better.

Chosen over others

And now, the captaincy. Other possible candidates for this role include club seniors Martin Skrtel and Lucas Leiva, though their claims do not hold much weight against those of the Wearside native. This is certainly not out of lack of respect for two dedicated club servants; it is simply an indication of the trust in this determined young man.

Henderson, though, may be the keenest of all to make this work. He would ordinarily defer to Gerrard on the pitch and, tellingly, his on field assertiveness was particularly prominent in the former captain’s absence.

Now, with the spectre of Steven Gerrard formally departed from Merseyside, it may turn out to be a blessing in disguise as it allows Henderson to shed his inhibitions and take his chance with both hands. He probably will.