OPINION
Clinton Morrison raved about how good Liverpool have been this season but only opted to single out a handful of players.
The Sky Sports pundit suggested it would be easy to heap praise on Reds defender Virgil Van Dijk as he is the best centre-back in the world, but claimed he wasn’t the only player deserving of praise, which in turn shows how good Liverpool are.
“If you watch Mane at the moment, outstanding, the way he has come into this team and the way he is playing, I think he is a key player alongside Fabinho who just sits in the front of the back-four,” said Morrison on Sky Sports’ The Debate (23:13, Sky Sports Premier League, Tuesday, October 8th).
“And I don’t even need to talk about Van Dijk who is the best centre-back in the world, that’s how good Liverpool are at the moment.
“Even the captain Jordan Henderson has been brilliant this season and that’s all down to Jurgen Klopp.”
Sadio Mane and Fabinho are worthy of praise, but Morrison was spot-on to ensure he credited Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson for his performances before moving on to discuss another team.
After all given that the 29-year-old isn’t a headline-stealing player, as he doesn’t rack up tons of match-winning goals and assists, he does tend to get raved about less than a lot of his teammates.
Yet that is unfair as Henderson has played his part in the Reds sitting top of the Premier League currently with their 100% record in stat.
The 29-year-old has played 412 minutes of Premier League action across seven outings this season and has pulled his weight defensively, he has averaged 1.7 tackles per match, as well as regularly tried to set the Reds on the attack quickly, shown by the fact he has on average played three long balls per game. (Source: WhoScored)
Henderson does the unglamorous job in midfield and he is regularly the tempo-setter for his side when playing, hence why he has averaged 33.9 passes per game. (Source: WhoScored)
Also what his on-field stats don’t show, is his leadership skills.
Henderson is the Reds captain for a reason and he is regularly seen barking orders at his teammates when things don’t go to plan.
The 29-year-old always puts his vast experience, he has played 317 times in the Premier League, to good use and his know-how clearly is useful to his teammates.
So when you consider all of this, and that he has played his part in Liverpool’s red-hot form, it’s nice to see Morrison remembered to credit the midfielder for his displays.
