You hear that a lot mate, so perhaps I'm out on a limb here. But this is what I think. When he first came to Anfield it was like he'd never been properly coached. He simply didn't know how to tackle, and in particular where to stand to narrow the options of an opponent on the ball. Folks played around him. It was so easy. Under Brendan he began to change. Earlier this season there were signs that he'd 'got it'. I forget the game. It was at Anfield. Hendo was playing at the top of the midfield and he pressed brilliantly, turning the ball over several times. So there has been progress. But when he sits deeper he looks, to me, like he's at kindergarten again.
We're used to seeing Lucas play that role. He plays it superbly. Some take it for granted now - to the point where they think we can do without him! But he plays by anticipation. His reading of the game is top class and he's the opposite of reactive. He knows what an opponent is going to do before he does it. Alonsoesque in that respect. Therefore QUICK. Watching Hendo trying to figure out what to do back there is painful. You can almost see the question marks floating above his head. By the time he makes a decision it's too late. It's funny how football can turn quick players into slow ones.
I will, respectfully, completely disagree. Henderson for me is the best midfield presser in our squad, and while he's not a particularly good tackler he's very adept at slowing opposition attacks down or forcing them backwards when he is given the proper support. The problem for Henderson right now is, as has been mentioned, he doesn't know whether to stick or twist. Gerrard doesn't particularly press, and doesn't really have the legs for it for any period of time, and while the front four do press, it leaves him in a horrible position. If he tries to press with the front four then he leaves space behind him because Gerrard is often so deep and doesn't tend to push up. If he sits then there is still a massive gap but this time in front of him. It's not Gerrard's fault, I think Rodgers should surely be able to see that either you all press or you don't press/pressure at all, because otherwise you just leave big gaps to exploit, which then puts Gerrard in a horrible situation of having to deal with players flooding at him.
You only have to look at the games Henderson has played alongside Lucas and Allen to see how effectively he is able to press when afforded the right players to play alongside. Allen and Henderson also played alongside Alberto in pre-season (admittedly a tiny sample) but the three all pressed and the opposition barely got over the half way line and when they did they were so panicked and rushed that they would just give the ball away. Not to mention that Henderson's pressing has directly led to a number of goals and chances this season.
I agree that Henderson is looking poorer further back at the moment than he has done further forward, but then neither he or Gerrard seem to know what they're actually doing in the centre, and both are left horribly exposed. Henderson especially doesn't seem to know whether it's best to go forward or stay back, and Gerrard has several times in the last few games completely vacated his position and gone charging into and around the box, so he's having to go back and cover in a role that's not particularly suited to him. In our 4-3-3 the roles are much clearer and better defined, and you'll see the players play better in it. Currently it's like no-one knows what they're supposed to be doing, and so as a pairing it's just not very good.
We're hamstrung by injuries, but it's so important we go back to a 4-3-3 as soon as is feasibly possible. There could be an argument for putting Alberto in, which some may disagree with, but our midfield is currently shockingly porous, regardless of Gerrard/Henderson's passing accuracies or tackle numbers.
