Jordan Henderson: LFC's EPL Opener Vs. Stoke City Chance To Right Past Wrongs

Jordan Henderson can appreciate the fact life doesn’t always grant chances to put things right.

Henderson has called on Liverpool to deliver a strong performance in its 2015-16 Premier League opener at Stoke City on Saturday, LiverpoolFC.com reported Monday. The Potters inflicted a heavy defeat on the Reds on the final day of the 2014-15 campaign, and Henderson said a return to the Brittania Stadium presents a rare chance to exact a measure of revenge for the 6-1 drubbing.

“There couldn’t be a better place for us to start and put what happened there last season to bed once and for all,” Henderson told Liverpool’s website. “The lads who were playing that day will remember it for quite some time. It was a horrible day for everyone involved.

Liverpool has undergone wholesale changes in the intervening 11 weeks, including Henderson’s elevation to the role of club captain, following Steven Gerrard’s departure. Henderson said Liverpool’s new signings will help the remaining Reds show their new quality and atone for the letdown on that fateful day in May.

“We will be stronger with the new players that we have got,” Henderson said. “We are a young team but we have brought in quality. I think the quality we have added will make a big difference.

“We have got a lot of character in the team. What happened there last year will only make us stronger. We have got to put it to bed.

Henderson’s first game as club captain will close the door on a difficult chapter, one marked by missed opportunity, transition and frustration. Liverpool can march boldly into the future this season, but it must start at the exact point it left off.