Player Focus: Examining Jordan Henderson's recent dip in form

Jordan Henderson in his last five matches.

England’s game against Slovenia was never going to be an easy one. There is a paradox to this qualification campaign in that England’s strength is their strength on the counter-attack, but such is the poverty of opposition in the group that they’ll rarely get the chance to sit back, look to absorb pressure and hit opponents on the break.

That was certainly the case on Saturday – in the first half particularly, before the decision to move Raheem Sterling from a position at the tip of the diamond to the flank created a little more space after half-time. Slovenia sat deep, with two holding midfielders and restricted England, who weren’t helped by the waywardness of some of their passing.

Jordan Henderson, in particular, was culpable, highlighting how disappointing he has been this season since the highs of last year. The reasons for Liverpool’s poor start to the season are manifold and it would be wrong to blame Henderson – the likelihood is that he’s being pulled down by the team at least as much as his form is affecting the rest of the side – but it’s becoming an issue.

Against Slovenia, he completed just 74.6% of his passes – only the figures for the two full-backs were anything like as low, which is to be expected with a diamond given they rarely have a simple pass in front of them and so will often be forced to try something speculative (Kieran Gibbs, for instance, completed just one of seven long passes).

With Liverpool, Henderson’s passing is only slightly down on last season - 85.3% to 87.1% - which, in so far as it is significant at all, could be down to little more than him playing a bit deeper this season. That said, he is not attempting more long passes this season; in fact, quite the reverse. Last season, Henderson was making 4.3 long balls per game, this season 2.9. That seems indicative of a more general shift in Liverpool’s play: without the pace of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez to hit with quick forward passes, their play is slower, more predictable. It’s led to an increase in possession stats, but far less penetration.

There has been grumbling from some quarters that Henderson is less decisive in the tackle than he was, with some speculating that his red card against Manchester City which ended up ruling him out of the final three games of last season, was weighing on his mind. The stats, though, don’t back that theory up at all: Henderson is making 3 tackles per game this season as opposed to 2.4 last, again probably a result of him playing deeper.

What has dropped is shots per game, from 1.4 to 0.9; that again, though, is probably the result as much as anything of his changed role in the side and also of the fact that as Liverpool dominate games less, there are fewer opportunities for midfielders to get into shooting positions.

But perhaps the biggest worry is recent performances. Against Slovenia, there was a headless chicken quality to Henderson, as he too often tried to force an opening – a panicky urgency that seemed to suggest a lack of confidence. His previous club performance had been against Chelsea when his WhoScored rating was just 6.34, and his pass completion just 76.6%. The previous game, at Newcastle, his rating was 6.42 and his pass completion 81.4%. Against Hull City, coming off the bench, his rating was 6.21 and his pass completion 77.8%. The drop-off isn’t huge, but it is there and is probably symptomatic of the wider problems at the club.

Henderson is a player whose abilities are more focused on effort than technique. He is not silkily gifted, does not have a featherbed first touch, but he does work exceptionally hard, which is an ability in itself. The problem is that when that sort of player gets down on themselves, when self-belief ebbs, technical aspects can disintegrate. Maybe this is a temporary blip but the evidence is that over the past few weeks, Henderson’s confidence has begun to dissolve with a clear effect on his passing.