If there is more energetic, more passionate manger in the Premier League than Jurgen Klopp then I haven’t seen it yet.
Kenny Dalglish came out this week and claimed that the German was cloned to be a Liverpool manager such is his philosophy, work rate and desire to be successful at the club – something you will only understand if you see the man at close quarters that Dalglish clearly has.
It got me thinking about his on field general and if he offers similar attributes on a weekly basis…I think you know the answer to that question.
I have never been convinced by Jordan Henderson and believe the very fact that he was given the captains arm band as somewhat insulting. It seems that he was only given it on the basis of seniority when Stevie Gerrard decided to move on, in much the same way that Gary Cahill was given the captaincy from John Terry at Chelsea.
There is no leadership on the pitch at Liverpool and I wonder if Klopp should be looking for someone who mirrors him on the pitch.
In truth if we park the captaincy for a minute, I ask the question as to whether Jordan Henderson is good enough to be a top six club midfield within the Premier League? He possess some assets, but the player lacks the box-to-box drive that Gerrard possesses, rarely contributes assists and is probably the quietest players on the field who offers little vocal support or encouragement – especially when we are up against it.
As previously discussed as a holding midfielder he leaves the defence horribly exposed and doesn’t have the intelligence to change anything on the pitch – with the defeat against Tottenham the prime example of this. Klopp needs a leader out there and in Henderson he has no one.
I know there are rumours that we are looking to sign Van Dijk in January who perhaps could fill that void; however, I think we also need to attempt to sign a genuine leader to bring into the midfield that can drive this team forward.
We were so blessed having Stevie G for many years, but since him and Carragher moved on we have a gaping void when it comes to leadership on the pitch. Harsh as it may seem to strip Henderson of the captaincy, I think Klopp may find his job a lot less stressful with someone else delivering home his instructions on the field of play. Henderson in my view has had his chance and failed, therefore there should no longer be any room for sentiment if we want to move up to the next level.