Javier Hernández: The gift that just keeps on giving
Posted on October 16th, 2011 | by Written Offside in Anfield,Ferguson,Hernandez
Theamazing story of Javier Hernandez continues to amaze and shock in equalmeasure, the latest page of this particularly riveting novel involved a lateequaliser against Liverpool at Anfield in front of the joyous (albeit depleted)section of United’s travelling support. The young Mexican’s star continues torise.
Hernandezmade the telling difference yet again on Saturday afternoon, not just with hisall-important equaliser but in the way United adapted to suit his capabilities.A telling factor that shows how highly Hernandez’s ability are looked upon isthat Ferguson opted to drop Rooney into centre midfield to accommodateHernandez and Welbeck up front when he could have easily shifted Welbeck to awide position and put Rooney up top.
Adoptingthis 4-4-1-1 formation allowed Hernandez to do what he does best play right onthe shoulder of the last defender, suddenly for the first time in the gameLiverpool’s central-defensive partnership of Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtelsuddenly looked concerned. Their previous ability to deal with the young andrelatively inexperienced lone striker Danny Welbeck was a thing of the past asWelbeck could now drop off causing a lack of cohesion within their back four.Carragher and Skrtel were unwilling to go with Welbeck knowing the other willhave been utterly outpaced should United put the ball into the subsequent gapfor Hernandez to chase. It was no coincidence that United suddenly stepped itup a gear when Hernandez entered the fray, the Reds entered the game with amind-set of stifling Liverpool, giving them little whilst quietening the crowdand hopefully nicking a goal in the process.
As itwas all of the above worked apart from the ‘goal bit’, in fact for most of the game United seemed tohave forgotten the ‘attacking bit’ as surges forward were few and far between.In the immediate aftermath of Liverpool’s opening goal Ferguson threw on Rooneyand Nani which of cause made an instant change to proceedings however on apersonal note it was the introduction of the sprightly Mexican which proved thesignificant interjection.
It hasbeen said before and it will be said again but hallmarks with Ole GunnarSolskjaer continue to carry more and more credence. As good an all-round goalscorer the Norwegian was he was the archetypal ‘super-sub’, from listening toOle in countless interviews over the year I got the impression that Solskjaerwasn’t overly keen with that tag but it should not be belittled. Being animpact substitute is an art in itself, being able to emerge on to field of playwith minutes remaining whilst you are still trying to get up to speed with theother twenty-one players on the pitch. You have to adapt quickly to the pace ofthe game and then make a telling impact, not an easy role to thrive in. Manystrikers have been given the ‘super-sub’ role including Carlos Tevez and in hisfirst season Alan Smith however nobody has ever done it quite like Ole, untilnow. Solskjaer was a master of over analysing the game he was watching,thinking of how he would integrate into proceedings or take advantage of acertain weak point in the oppositions rank. Hernandez clearly has the sameaptitude for attention to detail as the man revered as a legend throughout theUnited supporting world, indeed Hernandez has now surpassed Solskjaer in termsof impact from the bench as his goal against Liverpool was his ninth in twentyone substitutes appearances giving him a scoring record of 42.9% . Of coursemuch like Solskjaer Hernandez also has much more in his locker than just beingan impact player, he is equally as effective playing from the start.
In hisfledgling United career some questioned whether or not the young Mexican couldcut it over ninety minutes, would the physical aspect of the Premier League getthe better of him? Herein lies another impressive aspect of Hernandez’spersona, that he is willing to put the hard yards in behind the scenes to bulkhimself up and get better and better, he scored twenty goals last season andyou would have to be a brave man to bet against him doing it again. It’s easyto forget that Hernandez only really became a regular starter as of March withBerbatov occupying the second striking position for the bulk of the campaign.However now that the Mexican has well and truly put Dimitar Berbatov andMichael Owen in the shade he has only Danny Welbeck to contest for the slotalongside Rooney.
Hiscomparison to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have been present ever since the earlystages of last season however recently Stoke manager Tony Pulis took this astep further in suggesting that Hernandez could even possess the legendaryDenis Law, this takes things up another level and Chicharito does have a longway to go before achieving the dizzy heights achieved by the King of theStretford End however he has started off his United career in the perfect vain.He has endeared himself to the Old Trafford faithful with his likeablepersonality and his insatiable appetite for victory, the way he bounded withsheer delight toward the United faithful after notching his second goal in twoappearances at Anfield was enough to delight any Red.
Like anyother position at the club comparisons are always made with previous players ofby-gone eras, Valencia and Coppell, Vidic and Bruce and dare I say it Jones andEdwards. As I have already mentioned Chicharito has had his fair share of comparisons in his short time at the club, namely Solskjaer,a young Michael Owen and Denis Law. However as he gets better and better thecalibre of comparison also increases in standing and talent but I ask you asforwards go who could be better than Denis Law, of course Hernandez has only beenat United for just over a season and has much to do before firmly cementingthese comparisons but his ability and desire to improve have ensured that thesky is the limit for Hernandez, if he really wants to get there!
ByNathan Thomas (Follow me on Twitter)
With thanks to @OSullivanMUFC forthe Hernandez stats.
How does Hernández compare to Solskjaer in your opinion? Please leave your thoughts below?
