Jurgen Klopp defends Jordan Henderson’s role at Liverpool with fiery response to questioning
Jordan Henderson has won eight trophies with Liverpool, seven of which he has won as captain, but some have questioned his future.
Charlie Adam has backed Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson to stay after Jurgen Klopp scolded a reporter for questioning the captain’s future.
Since joining the Reds from Sunderland in the summer of 2011, Henderson, 32, has won eight trophies and played nearly 500 games. He succeeded Steven Gerrard as captain four years after his arrival and has been instrumental in Liverpool’s success under Klopp.
Henderson’s role at Liverpool, however, has been called into question this season as Klopp’s team battles to qualify for the Champions League. The Community Shield champions will not win a major trophy this season and are currently in fourth place, six points behind Tottenham.
Some critics believe it is time for Klopp to rebuild his Liverpool squad, but Adam believes Henderson will remain involved for some time.
Adam joined Anfield from Blackpool the same summer as Henderson, before joining Stoke a year later. Adam was asked if he saw Henderson succeeding Gerrard as Liverpool’s captain while speaking to Mirror Football on behalf of the EFL’s Together – Supporting Communities initiative.
“Over the years, he’s progressed to become a leader and a vocal voice in the Premier League – in terms of what he’s done through the pandemic and for his country,” Adam responded. It’s been incredible.
“Whoever replaced Steven Gerrard as captain was always going to be difficult, but you can do it in different ways. I think Jordan has led Liverpool extremely well; I think he’s been a real leader and captain. He’s a lad who’s put everything into his career. He’s been dedicated for a number of years, and he’s been rewarded with such a wonderful career.
“But I don’t believe he’s stopping. I think he’s still got a lot [of time] to go and still got a lot to give to Liverpool. He’s been magnificent… the longer he stays at Liverpool, the more success they will have.”
Since becoming Liverpool’s captain, Henderson has won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, Club World Cup, European Super Cup, and Community Shield. However, some fans want Klopp to revamp his midfield, with Jude Bellingham rumored to be a transfer target.
Klopp was asked about Henderson’s role in the team last month. “I don’t understand why we are talking about one player, I mean it,” replied the German. “Everybody knows how much I respect him. I don’t like saying this but it’s true, you are not able to deal with these kinds of things.
“One player becomes the subject, ‘Henderson is this, Henderson is that’. Hendo is not our problem. Never was and never will be. When he is fit and in good shape, he played 98 per cent of the games we had. He played all these games because he’s a very, very, very important player for us.
“There’s nothing… I understand that you have to think about subjects, but I cannot answer this question. Yes he’s important and how much did we miss him, a lot.”
Adam was speaking at Blackpool FC for the EFL’s ‘Together – Supporting Communities’ campaign, which was made possible by EFL partner eBay’s donation of nearly 3,000 match tickets. “They [Blackpool] support a lot of families in the area,” Adam explains.
“[It runs] five times a week, in terms of food and heating and bringing young kids to bring play games… just to help the community. It’s place where I live. I understand what’s going on in the area… it needs help and support, and the football club have reached out because the owner is a local lad and wants to get into the community.
“It’s a great initiative. At times, there’s 150 people. I think over the Christmas period, there’s 150 people turning up every night. Those numbers have slowed down a bit [as we approach the summer], but they’re still getting 50 or 60 people a night… It’s great the football club are willing to support this and help the community.”
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