Liam Henderson

By Clarence Rode
January 15 2009

Hartlepool have signed striker Liam Henderson on loan from Watford for three months, but club officials will hopefully forgive the fans if they don't start getting over-excited just yet. Henderson is widely regarded as a top prospect at the age of 19, but will he be able to add enough to the Pools squad to help the team out of their current League One mess?

To make matters even more puzzling, Henderson - born in Gateshead - was at the Pools Academy before being poached by Watford, where he has been developing well as a regular member of the reserve team.
Hopefully his development will continue at the Vic, but at 19 he's not going to add much experience to the squad and haven't Pools got some good teenage talent on their books already?
Perhaps caretaker manager Chris Turner can see something in Henderson which can help the squad, and in the current situation just adding a body will be something.
Turner says he is hopeful more signings will be on the way, and fans will hope that he's right. The Pools squad is down to the bare bones at present, but what they really need is a bit of experience both up front and in midfield.
A teenage striker with six appearance as sunb for Watford and three goals in three games for Wealdstone (who?) while on loan hasnlt got the fans dancing in the streets. Hopefully, the lad will grab his chance and prove he is worth the gamble by Turner.
If he does, hopefully he'll start againt Northampton at the Vic on Friday night, when anything less thna win will be regarded as a major setback for the team's survival fight. They are not in the relegation zone yet, but despite the good run in the FA Cup, they are slowly heading that way.
The rot has got to stop - now. Asking a player like Henderson to do it might be a bit much, but we live in hope.