Liverpool are really missing their captain Jordan Henderson at the moment, as he sits out through injury.
That’s according to BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand. Speaking on the TV channel following Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Ajax last night, Ferdinand claimed that Henderson’s role in protecting The Reds’ right-hand side is invaluable.
“Jordan Henderson’s role in this team cannot be undervalued. You see moments on social media [people saying] ‘he’s getting a bit old Jordan Henderson’, [but] his role in this team was to protect that right-hand side. He marshalled that right-hand side. As soon as anybody vacated that right side slot he would shuffle over there and he would be that security,” said the former centre-back.
“Anything that popped out, he would be there, they’ve lost that. They’ve added another dimension with Elliott and the way he interchanges and rotates with Salah and with Trent. But they’ve lost that bit of security, that little bit of steeliness, that honest running, honest positional sense to enable those guys to go forward on that side.
“I think that’s why we’re seeing more opportunities from opposing teams to exploit that area because there’s nobody sitting in there waiting.”
Liverpool looking for their right solution
There’s undoubtedly a little truth in what Ferdinand says here. Liverpool have been far less solid since young Harvey Elliott picked up Henderson’s usual right-sided midfield role.
Of course, the blame for that should not be pinned on the 19-year-old. Defending is a team action and as a whole team, Liverpool haven’t been good enough recently. Nevertheless, a lot of the goals Jurgen Klopp’s side tend to concede do come down that right side.
It’s often claimed that this is purely a tactic to target Alexander-Arnold’s supposed defensive fragilities. But perhaps with Elliott now in there too, teams see their chances of getting something heightened even further.
Liverpool need to find a way to combat that. Henderson does the job well and should hopefully be back for The Reds next game on 1st of October.
However, the 32-year-old isn’t as all-action as he once was. Like a number of his teammates, the skipper has been below-par this season. As he returns from injury, there’s no guarantee that he gets in Liverpool’s best team anymore.
As a result, Liverpool perhaps need to formulate a new plan. Although they were much-improved last night, the Ajax goal once again displayed shoddy defending down the right.
This has already cost Liverpool dearly this season. It will do so again if they don’t find a way to re-create the job Henderson has been doing so effectively over the last number of years.
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