I've never once said Henderson is world class. I think he's a very solid player who does his job well. His job is to win the ball back and give it on. The term 'recycling' is used a lot which is a decent way of putting it. He is excellent at recovering the ball not by sliding in or making big tackles but by winning the second ball over and over. Gini, Can or Milner will pressure and Hendo recovers the ball and gives it on.
If we have more of the ball Hendo has done his job right. I think he plays best when he is given more freedom e.g he may start in the 6 role but can move out and trust someone to sit in while he goes forward. The more fluid the better for him and most of our players in general actually.
Like I said, not world class but a real solid player. If someone replaces him in the summer, so be it but for now we don't have better options.
If you think Can is better in that role well then I don't know what to say, we just value different qualities and see different aspects of play on the field
Ok, you're right, I've never seen you say he is world class so I apologise for putting words in your mouth.
You do however seem to rate him to quite some extent. I find that baffling just like you find it equally baffling that I see nothing in him at all.
You think he delivers 7/8 type performances most weeks but I think he is more of a 5/6. I would say somebody like coutinho delivers 7/8 performances most weeks and Henderson is definitely a level below him.
I find it interesting that you think he is best suited in the 6 role which is why I asked you the question. For me, and many reds out there, we have been crying out for a DM for so many years now so doesn't that ring alarm bells? We all (or most of us it seems) want a DM to come into the squad but then that would mean replacing Jordan, our skipper.
The alternative would be to push Jordan further upfield and this obviously boils down to opinions now. It is my opinion that Jordan doesn't have the ability to play such a role. I've always found him to be a limited footballer and somewhat basic. Lallana, coutinho, Keita and even Wijnaldum would surely play in that role before Henderson. Jordan just isn't creative enough to play in that position. He isn't technical enough.
If we are going to persist with Henderson then I'd have to play him in the 6 role too but I dont think his reading of the game is very good. I don't think his positioning is that great and I'm not convinced by his tackling abilities either. He isn't a very good DM so I'd always feel uncomfortable about it and I'd always want to upgrade.
We have proven many times that we can defend perfectly fine (and better) without him.
So to summarise, I don't see him having a future here, not if we seriously want to challenge for honours. We need a proper DM and when it comes to the 8 role then the players we already have are on another level compared to Henderson in that position.
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