Henderson’s Form Makes It Hard For Van Dijk To Be Captain – Aldridge

Liverpool captain, Jordan Henderson has improved himself at the club because Virgil van Dijk is a huge threat for his captaincy tole, John Aldridge has said.

John recently revealed that Henderson has been a brilliant captain for the club and he deserves all the accolades he keeps getting.

According to him, the way the England midfielder organizes the players around him on the pitch is a delight to watch and that was clearly missing vs Aston Villa.

He added that there is a big difference when Liverpool plays with Henderson and when they do not since he has a way of always leading the team to victory.

His words, “When Virgil van Dijk came to the club, everyone was saying he would go on to be the captain and Jordan’s not soft, he probably knew what people were thinking and that the big Dutchman was a threat to his hopes of keeping hold of the armband.

“But he upped his game as a captain, in the dressing room and on the pitch, and I really think he’s been a brilliant captain for Liverpool and deserves all the accolades which have come his way in recent times.

“When he’s on the pitch he’s always shouting orders, lifting and organising the players around him and if he’d have been playing at Aston Villa we would not have lost 7-2, without a doubt.”

“I see he’s got a bit of stick from my old Republic of Ireland team-mate Roy Keane for ‘screaming’ and drawing attention to the fact he was fouled for the penalty which brought about England’s equaliser,”

“At the end of the day, he was only doing what many players, foreign and home-grown, have been doing pretty much since football began although it does seem to have crept into the game more and more over the years.

“There’s a big difference though between what Jordan did and what we see from other players who go down like a sack of spuds when they’ve not been touched.

“He was fouled by the defender, who clearly pulled him back when Jordan was going to get to the ball ahead of him so it was a penalty, all day long.

“We’ve seen plenty of examples, including a few with Mo Salah in recent times, when players have tried to do what is supposedly the right thing by staying on their feet and the referee takes the view that because the attacker stayed upright he didn’t have to give a decision.

“A foul is a foul whether the forward ends up on the ground or not and until referees start to give them in those situations, players will feel they have no alternative.”