Jordan Henderson is the most important player in Liverpool’s midfield, Danny Murphy has said.
Danny believes the English player is the midfielder the club misses the most when he is not on the pitch, not Oxlade or Wijnaldum.
According to him, Henderson is a leader and proper midfielder who is very good at doing the defensive work, tracking runners, filling space vs the opposition.
He added that Liverpool has evolved since Klopp took over and they will keep hitting astonishing heights if they continue playing this way.
His words, “I appreciate them all, to be honest, in terms of their ability to fit in. Very rarely do you watch Liverpool play and think, ‘Oh, they’re weaker today.
“Jordan is probably the one biggest miss when he doesn’t play, partly because of his leadership as well. I’m a big fan of Wijnaldum. He’s very good on the ball and in tight positions. Very, very often he is one of those players who wriggles out of a little tight situation and gets Liverpool on the front foot.
“The one thing more about that midfield I say when I talk about it is every single one of them – I call them ‘proper midfielders’ – does all the bits needed. They still go forward and press and try to get in the box. Ox is probably one of the best at it when he plays more often.
“But they all do their defensive work – they all track runners, they all fill space, they all spot danger. And I don’t think that Liverpool system would work if one of the three didn’t have the discipline to do that. They all know the job.”
“I think the team has evolved from when Klopp first started. It has got a bit more wisdom in it, in terms of when to take your foot off the gas from pressing, when to see out a game, when to drop off sometimes. They are much more tactically aware.
“Yes, they are a high-press team with great energy and the fitness levels are unbelievable, and Klopp’s coaching staff and sports science team deserve great credit for that.
“But when people talk about Liverpool this season not hitting the heights of maybe last season or the one before in terms of sometimes steamrollering teams and loads of free-flowing football, it’s because they’re managing games better.
“It’s because they don’t necessarily, when they go a goal up away from home or two up, go all-out, 100 per cent press, hell for leather.
“I think the biggest thing with the Liverpool side at the moment is the hunger and the discipline.”
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