Paul Scholes has hailed the leadership qualities of Jordan Henderson and claimed that individuals like him ‘do the manager’s job for them’, as he told Premier League Productions (19/04/22 at 10:15 pm).
From that now-iconic Henderson shuffle, the hard-hitting Liverpool midfielder has become a legendary figure on Merseyside.
When the 31-year-old first joined the club as a fresh-faced youngster, he had Steven Gerrard as the main man in the dressing room.
For some, Gerrard’s shadow perhaps weighed down on Henderson, but as soon as Jurgen Klopp came in, he transformed into a midfield monster.
With or without the armband, on the domestic scene or on the international stage, players know when Henderson is about, as Scholes raved about the player.
“People like Jordan Henderson, they are just brilliant to have around the place,” said Scholes. “As Michael (Owen) made the point, they do the manager’s job for them.
“They are the ones around the dressing room. Setting the tone. Setting the standards on the training pitch. Or around the training ground.
“Whenever people are disappointed at not being in the team. To make sure they aren’t too disruptive because you can get characters like that, who can get into a mood. We had loads of them.”
These are the crunch moments for Liverpool and Klopp has some big, big calls to make.
The German opted to maintain the front three that started and beat Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday.
Although, with the Merseyside derby this Sunday, followed by the first leg of their Champions League semi-final showdown with Villarreal, then Klopp will have to make changes.
Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota are the two obvious ones that might come into the affray at the weekend, whilst he also has Naby Keita and Ibrahima Konate to pick from as well.
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