Liverpool Captain Henderson Will Have a Tough Job (PART II)

The Liverpool captain’s armband is a relic for the Reds’ supporters.

The Liverpool captain is one of the most prestigious positions an English footballer can fill. Legendary players wore the armband that belonged to Steven Gerrard, Liverpool’s longest serving skipper in the last twelve years. With Gerrard having been departed to the United States to join Los Angeles Galaxy, his previous deputy, Jordan Henderson was promoted to Liverpool captain.

• Liverpool had many Scottish captains
• Legends wore the armband
• Henderson has a huge legacy to deal with

Henderson is an important player for Liverpool. Being an exemplary footballer, he can do a great job for his team through his hard-working attitude. He is also capable of deciding games on his own sometimes. However, he has a lot to learn before mobile betting players start to mention him together with Liverpool’s greatest captains.

Liverpool captains of the past

When we start to look back at Liverpool captains of the clubs early decades, Alex Raisbeck’s name is the first one, who could be familiar for online betting players. He was the club’s first superstar in the very first decade of the 20th century. He captained Liverpool for nine years, and that makes him, after Steven Gerrard, the second longest serving captain in club history together with, Ron Yeats, another Scotsman. Playing as a halfback, he won the league twice, and 30 years after he retired from football, he was still a fan favourite.

That time Matt Busby, the next familiar name in the list, captained the side. Though he became famous from managing Manchester United for 24 years, through the hardest part of United’s history including the Munich disaster and the clubs first European Cup victory, he spent his playing career at the Red Devil’s two biggest rivals, Manchester City and Liverpool. Though the Scotsman won nothing during the five years he spent at Anfield Road, he became a club legend at Liverpool, being part of maybe the best halfback-line Liverpool ever had. He captained the Reds for one season only, as his playing days were cut short by the World War II.

Billy Liddell, another Scottish player is not just one of Liverpool’s most famous captains, but he is also a club icon. He was a natural left winger, but he played all along the forward line and spent his whole career at Anfield Road. He captained the side for three seasons, and though the Red’s didn’t win anything in that period, the league winning forward remains one of the biggest players in club history.

Liverpool captains of the dynasty period

While the potential was clearly there, Liverpool were no more than a provincial side until the sixties, when Bill Shankly started to build one of the best sides in the country on Merseyside. At the start of the process he signed his fellow Scotsman Ron Yeats as a centre-back, and made him skipper. As many of those, who bet on sports in the UK might know, Yeats captained the team to promotion, two first division titles and an FA Cup victory in the first half of the sixties.

After Shankly was retired, Bob Paisley took over the team and he named Emlyn Hughes as team captain. Hughes is the first Englishman on our list, which is not a surprise, knowing the Scottish footballing culture’s influence on Liverpool Football Club from the beginnings. Hughes was originally a midfielder but after a while he was fielded in defense to help possession football.

He captained the side for six years, and Liverpool won three league titles, an FA Cup, two European Cups and a UEFA Cup during that time. After he left Liverpool for Wolverhampton in 1979, the captaincy went to his partner in the heart of the defence, Phil Thompson, another Englishman. Liverpool won the League than the European Cup against Real Madrid, but after two years, Bob Paisley handed the captaincy to another Scotsman, Graeme Souness.

Sounness, a dominant midfield force, led Liverpool to two league titles and a European Cup victory against AS Roma, before he left for Sampdoria. Phil Neal wore the armband during the Heysel disaster and after he left, Scottish central defender Alan Hansen became skipper. He led Liverpool to three championship titles and one FA Cup, but no European Cup since Liverpool and the other English sides were banished from European competition after Heysel.

Hansen was the last Liverpool captain to date, who won the league with the Reds in 1990. He was followed in the position by players like Ian Rush, John Barnes and Paul Ince, but none of them were able to deliver the title. Even Steven Gerrard finished his 12-year-long spell as Liverpool captain without a league trophy, though he came very close twice. At least he had the opportunity to lift the European Cup/Champions League trophy in Istanbul in 2005, after a game that is hard to forget for many of those who ever placed a wager at online sportsbooks in the EU.

So, this is the legacy that Jordan Henderson has to deal with. He is far from any of the names mentioned above at the moment. Possibly he won’t ever have such a status as any of those. However, he can be a successful skipper, if he will be able to step up and lead the team by example. His hard-working attitude and determination could inspire a young Liverpool team, and he might also have some guidance from Anfield legends on the go. It will be tough for him, but the assignment might also boost his career and Liverpool might be able to capitalize on that.