England vs Romania

[RHB]

Finished 1-0 to England. They didn't inspire me too much but certainly a group of players with speed and technique. Of the players on show today I would start Grealish in our first match and maybe Rashford, not too sure about any of the others.

 

[kaymac]

Get rid of Henderson, as useless as ever!

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

I can’t see Southgate dropping Sterling or Henderson, though he should! He’s definitely got his favourites. I thought refreshing comments on the pen that DCL should’ve taken. Good to see a manager being candid and honest.

 

[southendkid]

I know Southgate's hands were tied due to club commitments but it worries me that we're going into the Euros without having played a friendly with the likely first choice XI starting together, can see them being rusty against Croatia.

 

[Cricko]

Get rid of Henderson, as useless as ever!

Agreed, I just don't get him at all. How he is captain of Liverpool is beyond me. Him and James Milner. The two most overated players ever.

 

[Holy Joe]

I know Southgate's hands were tied due to club commitments but it worries me that we're going into the Euros without having played a friendly with the likely first choice XI starting together, can see them being rusty against Croatia.

Yeah - it's almost like starting a season without a proper a pre-season.

Can't see the point of the last two games when he's playing people who aren't even in he squad

 

[GNH]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1401563941906567172

This just about sums up the Jordan Henderson situation

 

[southendkid]

Agreed, I just don't get him at all. How he is captain of Liverpool is beyond me. Him and James Milner. The two most overated players ever.

I'm not sure he should be going to the Euros given he's not fit but why do you think he's overrated? I see this a lot and I don't understand it, Klopp is a world class manager and clearly thinks he's a key component of Liverpool's side, several top players have said his work rate makes their jobs a lot easier and yet people still seem to think he's rubbish.

He's not a flashy player but you can't win a football match if everyone on the pitch looks good on the highlight reel but don't know how to do the boring stuff well. You need people with a high work rate that know how to position themselves well to act as a go-between for the defense and attacking players (especially for Liverpool since they push up so often).

Liverpool usually look sluggish to me when he isn't playing, I honestly think his suspension is why they threw away the 2013/14 title. Liverpool conceded 8 goals during his suspension (16% of the entire season), I don't think Palace 3 Liverpool 3 would have happened with him on the pitch.

 

[Kris]

Indeed, Henderson is Liverpool’s best player and at the heart of Juergen Klopp’s philosophy of pressing and winning the ball high up the pitch.

When he doesn’t play it no longer works because no other player has his athleticism and this allows the opposition to push further forward and turn Liverpool’s defence around. It also means the likes of Salah and Mane have to contribute more defensively.

Liverpool’s mid-season nosedive coincided with his injury and he’s vital for England because he’s the pivot between defence and attack and will cover defensively if, for example, a full-back bombs on and leaves a gap behind him. Overrated? No chance. One of the first names on the England team sheet when fully fit.

 

[kaymac]

Vital? He doesn’t ‘press up the pitch’ with England and never has done, creates absolutely nothing, has yet to score a goal for the side, doesn’t take free-kicks or corners and his only ability is to slow down play by holding on to the ball before deciding whether it will be a sideways or backwards pass next. What he does for Liverpool is quite irrelevant. To think a far more talented player who could actually benefit the team may miss out if Henderson is picked would be farcical. Asides which he’s far from match-fit…and ruddy useless at penalties.

 

[Cricko]

Indeed, Henderson is Liverpool’s best player and at the heart of Juergen Klopp’s philosophy of pressing and winning the ball high up the pitch.

When he doesn’t play it no longer works because no other player has his athleticism and this allows the opposition to push further forward and turn Liverpool’s defence around. It also means the likes of Salah and Mane have to contribute more defensively.

Liverpool’s mid-season nosedive coincided with his injury and he’s vital for England because he’s the pivot between defence and attack and will cover defensively if, for example, a full-back bombs on and leaves a gap behind him. Overrated? No chance. One of the first names on the England team sheet when fully fit.

IYO. I still think he is kack and a waste of space.

 

[Floval Flyer]

Didn’t watch it,

… and tbh; I totally forgot it was on last night.

 

[Cricko]

Didn’t watch it,

… and tbh; I totally forgot it was on last night.

You did yourself a favour, it was a yawnfest.

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

Couldnt believe he took the ball for the penalty- that cant have gone down well in the camp. I think he is a good player but he miles off fitness and weve seen this before in previous tournaments taking players who arent fit- Beckham and his metatarsal etc. As we have a pretty poor selection of centre backs who will need protecting I would go with Phillips and Rice in the middle with Mount, then plenty of pace with Rashford and Sterling either side of Kane.

 

[kaymac]

White in for TAA. Ward-Prowse offers everything Henderson doesn’t yet he still can’t make the 26!!

 

[southendkid]

White in for TAA. Ward-Prowse offers everything Henderson doesn’t yet he still can’t make the 26!!

I suspect it's because Maguire is still injured so Southgate wanted cover for him, I'm not sure why we don't just drop Maguire completely so we can get JWP in as well but out of White and JWP another CB is more essential right now. If Henderson isn't fit we have Phillips, Rice and Bellingham (and apparently White has played DM before as well) that can all play in his position so there's plenty of cover. If Maguire's fitness is in doubt though then we would only have 3 CBs in the squad (although Southgate does sometimes play Walker there) which isn't really enough. Honestly I think White is better than Mings and Coady anyway, Southgate was just reluctant to take an uncapped player.

 

[kaymac]

Don’t get me going on Mings, he’s accident waiting to happen and nowhere near international class.

 

[Kris]

Vital? He doesn’t ‘press up the pitch’ with England and never has done, creates absolutely nothing, has yet to score a goal for the side, doesn’t take free-kicks or corners and his only ability is to slow down play by holding on to the ball before deciding whether it will be a sideways or backwards pass next. What he does for Liverpool is quite irrelevant. To think a far more talented player who could actually benefit the team may miss out if Henderson is picked would be farcical. Asides which he’s far from match-fit…and ruddy useless at penalties.

It's what he does off the ball, not on it, that is his greatest strength. He's aggressive, wins second balls and has the athleticism and power to cover team-mates when needed. Every top team needs a midfield player like him to complement the more creative players.

France used Deschamps to allow Zidane to do his business, Leicester needed Kante to win the Premier League and it was no surprise that they struggled badly without him the following season. Spain and Barcelona's success were based around Busquets sitting in front of their respective back fours and eeking out any danger before passing it sensibly. Brazil had Dunga, one of the most boring players I've ever watched, to screen the defence, and after their humiliating defeat to Germany in their back yard, he was called in to manage the team. And between them the common thread is that none of these players were known for goalscoring so I don't think Henderson should be criticised for that.

As it stands England have precisely no-one who can do these jobs as well as Henderson does. Declan Rice is half-decent but lacks Henderson's physique, Kalvin Phillips looks scared in an England shirt and Jude Bellingham, as promising as he is, is only 17 and should be nurtured. After that you are looking at the likes of Eric Dier, Harry Winks and maybe a defender who could do a job as a makeshift midfielder such as John Stones.

White in for TAA. Ward-Prowse offers everything Henderson doesn’t yet he still can’t make the 26!!

They are two different types of midfielders and fill in each other's gaps. For what it's worth I'm also disappointed and surprised Ward-Prowse didn't make the 26 and funnily enough he would be my first choice as Henderson's partner.

Regarding fitness, usually I would agree that Henderson shouldn't be in the squad but given such an unprecedented season and the rate of games, he's likely to be fresher than most of the squad and should play a part at least.

 

[kaymac]

Fresher? Come off it. Henderson is not fit and nowhere near match-fit!! He has never proven himself a match winner for England for all this supposed great midfield play of which you speak - can‘t say I’ve ever witnessed it for England can you ? His style of play makes him a laboured luxury in the side.
He has the worst scoring record for England of any midfield player EVER for the number of caps he has attained. As for his flip comments regarding the missed penalty and why he decided to take it that was arrogance in the extreme, he should have been bothered about the miss, not just dismiss it out of hand.

Kante is a class above Henderson though I don’t expect you to agree, and he is creative not just a midfield blocker / ball-winner.

Btw, both Ceschamps and Dunga have scored goals for their respective countries….

 

[southendkid]

Kante is a class above Henderson though I don’t expect you to agree, and he is creative not just a midfield blocker / ball-winner.

Kante is certainly better than Henderson in terms of the defensive side of things (and if we could swap him for Henderson it'd be a no brainer) but I'm not sure I'd describe him as creative, once he's won the ball Kante usually gives it to whoever is available because he knows the creative side of the game is where he's weakest and he's better off just closing people down and leaving the attack to someone else. Aside from a brief stint under Sarri he's not been expected to contribute to attacks too often. Henderson isn't great at that side either but he does try things more than Kante and plays as a link between the back line and the attackers. The stats in the last 2 seasons are:

Henderson:

Appearances: 51
Goals: 5
Assists: 6
Passes: 3671
Big Chances Created: 12
Through Balls: 11
Accurate Long Balls: 209
Crosses: 87

Kante:

Appearances: 52
Goals: 3
Assists: 2
Passes: 2663
Big Chances Created: 3
Through Balls: 0
Accurate Long Balls: 109
Crosses: 34