Paul Ince heaped praise on Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson as the pundit shared he thought the 28-year-old was outstanding against Southampton.
The former Reds player revealed that Henderson seemed like a man possessed as he went mad when celebrating his goal against the Saints, and pointed out he thought the midfielder was sending Jurgen Klopp a clear message.
Ince revealed that Henderson was probably not happy at starting the game against the Saints on the bench and proved his worth to his manager upon being unleashed in the game.
“They’re two experienced players (Henderson/James Milner) who are not happy to be on the bench, especially Jordan Henderson cause he’s the captain of the club, but when he came on like the true professional that he is, he set an example, he really really did,” said Ince on BBC One’s Match of the Day (22:45, Saturday April 6th).
“I thought he was outstanding, it’s easy to come on when you’re not playing and sulk, but Jordan was like no, it’s not about me, this is about the team he represents.
“This is wonderful with his head, as most players will just head it anywhere and look at Jordan Henderson here, he has made up about 80-yards, you can just about see him in the right-hand side of your picture.
“With Firmino sitting deeper, it gives him a license to get forward and boy does he get forward, it’s fantastic play from Firmino and it’s a kind of Bryan Robson-esque run into the box, you don’t see this anymore, it’s box-to-box.
“This is a goal he (Henderson) probably deserves and from here, I’ve never seen him go this mad, he’s like a man possessed, you can see what it means to him and rightly so, as he is saying to Klopp ‘I want to start’, ‘I’m captain of this football club’, ‘I want to be part of this historic journey we’re going on’ and I thought he was outstanding.”
OPINION
Henderson was fantastic on Friday and effectively turned the game around in the Reds’ favour against the Saints. The midfielder injected fresh energy into the team and seemed to determined to get his side all three points one way or another. With this in mind Ince is completely justified to be blown away by Henderson and how could anyone not be? However the pundit shouldn’t be tripping over himself to praise Henderson for not sulking over not starting the game, as it shouldn’t even be an option for a player to throw their toys out their prams if they don’t start a game. While a player should be frustrated if they aren’t getting regularly picked as they should want to play as much as possible, it should never cross a true professional’s mind to sulk if they’re not getting their own way. The fact Ince suggests that sulking is a possibility, shows how much is wrong with top-flight football at times.
