A platform for Yorky to slag off the club skipper
Attack the post, not the poster.
I actually agree with what he says. My other problem with Henderson in that sitter role is he doesnīt compete aerially. I donīt mean he isnīt great in the air, I mean he rarely even challenges aerial balls at all. Which in his position in midfield will be an issue.
None of what Yorky or I are saying is to say Henderson is a bad player, he just isnīt the right player for that role in Kloppīs side. You donīt want your sitter running out of position. The reason that role in midfield (in German) is sitter - is because he just needs to sit in front of the defence and make sure we stay spatially compact in one of the most crucial positions on the pitch.
Yorky looks at football more technically. I look at it more tactically. Therefore we wonīt always agree on players (e.g. Kuyt). However, he always supports his opinions with some evidence or explains his opinion. You are just attacking someone because you donīt like what they said about a player you like.
There is a very strong pro-English players bias in your posting. Itīs great you want British players to make up the spine of our team and succeed here. However, I think it is clouding your judgement. Henderson does have weaknesses to his game. All players do. The question becomes then - is that weakness a problem for that role in Klopps system? If so, can this be solved with coaching.
For Henderson, I think turning on the ball in the sitter role isnīt as much of a problem. Klopp tends to end up with someone who looks like a CB in that role and there wonīt be any with low centers of gravity there. Players like Kehl and Bender. However, they were very competitive in the air and tended to have similar numbers to the center backs in terms of aerial duels. This is because our pressing, particularly of the full backs, results in lots of rushed long balls into Hendersonīs zone of the pitch or in the space between him and the full back (which is why Klopp likes 1 explosive full back who can win a short footrace into that area). The fact that Henderson is not only weak in the air, but doesnīt even compete, will be an issue.
Likewise the role further ahead which in german is the "runner" - this tends to be the guy who can turn on the ball, link play, create, has some passing range. Your Sahin, Gundogan type players. This is where Hendersonīs technical problems will be a larger problem.
Can coaching help here? Well he wonīt grow any taller and competing for aerial balls tends to be a mental thing more than anything else. Lucas is as competitive as anybody in our squad and yet is under 6 foot. He is 2 or 3 times more competitive than Stewart who is taller than him. Lucas is our Ayala in that sense. He doesnīt give a shit that heīs a shortarse, nobody is winning a header in his zone. And if they do, it certainly wonīt be without a serious fight.
Technically, Henderson can probably improve here but I donīt think you can coach a player to be able to twist and turn like that. In Dortmund they used that passing machine (name escapes me) to encourage players to play this way. So improvements can be made but I imagine all players have a glass ceiling. Someone like Dahoud with a naturally lower center of gravity and naturally plays on the half turn already is doing this on a level that a player like Henderson can probably never achieve.
To take an extreme example - no amount of coaching could ever have Carroll playing like Messi. Physically, Messiīs height, balance, agility and that little burst of acceleration means that, we can twist, turn and weave out of trouble. You can coach Carroll to play the same way, but he could never have reached that level simply because of the physical gifts both players were given.
Henderson doesnīt have a low center of gravity, doesnīt possess great balance or agility and is an endurance runner rather than a sprinter. Dahoud naturally possesses these qualities (although he can run forever too). Gini does also. Lallana too. Coutinho has it in spades.