Henderson

[Delinquent]

If Henderson plays as regularly as he did last season then we're really going to struggle to threaten the top four. He's not good enough, and I don't think we can afford to keep playing him in the hope that he will be.

 

[Modo]

If Henderson plays as regularly as he did last season then we're really going to struggle to threaten the top four. He's not good enough, and I don't think we can afford to keep playing him in the hope that he will be.

Agreed

 

[dmishra]

Rogers Swansea team played with three central midfielders. A holder Brittan, A passer Allen and a box breaking AM Sigurdsson.
At this stage (with months of the transfer window remaining) its hard to say, but quite honestly bust guess given the midfielders we have RIGHT NOW, I would suggest that
A)Will be Lucas
B)Will be Gerrard
and
C)Will be Henderson

All of this falls apart however if we dont have the attacking players (or width) to support the lone forward.

I would think that Suarez will be first choice through the middle rather than one of the wider berths, so Carroll would start from the bench. That means we have a shortage of LW and RW players to support.
I dont think maxi will be here in September. I dont think Downing is good enough. So basically we need to sign minimum ONE wide man (Raheem for the other role if he has the balls) and then we have the basis of our team.
Obviously we have Joe and Alberto too but fuck knows if they will be here.
Upshot of all this?
Henderson will play. Hes better than Adam at getting into the box and I doubt Gerrard has the legs for it. Gerrard and Adam will share that middle berth.

How the hell will Henderson be the box breaking AM? I'd struggle to see him as the passer even. My gut is that his best position finally, given his lack of outstanding ability and physicality, will be the holding role.

Of the current squad, if I had to replicate Rodgers' three-man midfield idea, I'd pick (A) Lucas - holding player; (B) Shelvey - the passer; and (C) Gerrard - the AM.

And contrary to popular perception, my opinion, for what it's worth, is that the AM position offers the best bet for Gerrard to conserve energy, and get the most out of what is left in his tank. One of the biggest misnomers about Gerrard is that he's been great purely because of his undeniable power and pace. While that's made him stand out, people tend to forget he's a sublime footballer as well, with skills which stand out in the attacking third. His vision, touch, shot, game intelligence are all off the charts. That said, there is one ability he's always lacked, and that's the ability to sit, and rotate the ball or set the tempo. That's just not in his DNA, he has one-mode - play the ball forward; look for the killer ball, or shot - all the time - qualities that don't serve you very well in central midfield, but do higher up the pitch. It's why he should play in the final third, whether behind the striker, or in a free role on the right - it's where he's been at his best, and it's where he will continue to be his best IMO, notwithstanding his diminishing pace and power.

 

[Modo]

How the hell will Henderson be the box breaking AM? I'd struggle to see him as the passer even. My gut is that his best position finally, given his lack of outstanding ability and physicality, will be the holding role.

Of the current squad, if I had to replicate Rodgers' three-man midfield idea, I'd pick (A) Lucas - holding player; (B) Shelvey - the passer; and (C) Gerrard - the AM.

And contrary to popular perception, my opinion, for what it's worth, is that the AM position offers the best bet for Gerrard to conserve energy, and get the most out of what is left in his tank. One of the biggest misnomers about Gerrard is that he's been great purely because of his undeniable power and pace. While that's made him stand out, people tend to forget he's a sublime footballer as well, with skills which stand out in the attacking third. His vision, touch, shot, game intelligence are all off the charts. That said, there is one ability he's always lacked, and that's the ability to sit, and rotate the ball or set the tempo. That's just not in his DNA, he has one-mode - play the ball forward; look for the killer ball, or shot - all the time. It's why he should play in the final third, whether behind the striker, or in a free role on the right - it's where he's been at his best, and it's where he will continue to be his best IMO, notwithstanding his diminishing pace and power.

I agree with your assessment of Gerrard, but in the current squad I'd rather have Aquilani in the midfield than Shelvey.
But I'm guessing you're counting on him leaving.

 

[dmishra]

As with Adam and Downing, I don't want Aquilani or Cole playing for us again.

 

[mark1975]

If Henderson plays as regularly as he did last season then we're really going to struggle to threaten the top four. He's not good enough, and I don't think we can afford to keep playing him in the hope that he will be.

I think we do need more quality in the middle. I don't think Gerrard, for all his ability, has enough to hold his own over the season. For all Lucas' improvement he can still be a bit too reserved in the middle and lacks the bite and tenacity, while the third player, whether it be Hendo or Shelvey, are both inexperienced and lack the consistent edge we need. We need someone else. We've got other priorities though so it's not the be all and end all.

 

[dmishra]

I think we do need more quality in the middle. I don't think Gerrard, for all his ability, has enough to hold his own over the season. For all Lucas' improvement he can still be a bit too reserved in the middle and lacks the bite and tenacity, while the third player, whether it be Hendo or Shelvey, are both inexperienced and lack the consistent edge we need. We need someone else. We've got other priorities though so it's not the be all and end all.

I was creaming myself over the Jordy Clasie link that had surfaced earlier. He's exactly what we need.