Neil Humphreys: Reds can't win without Jordan Henderson
Liverpool have lost two of the last three games in which their skipper was absent
Jordan Henderson proves that absence makes the defence grow weaker. Liverpool look lost without him.
Right now, the Reds are turning into Game of Thrones once the TV series overtook George R.R Martin's novels. The show carries on, but it's no longer the same without the main man.
Something is missing. Moving parts don't quite knit together as flawlessly as before. Everyone looks a bit mopey, performances are wooden and there are too many far-fetched slayings.
An 18-year-old kid took apart Liverpool's central midfield. Chelsea's Billy Gilmour won more tackles than he has hairs on his chin.
A boy prevailed because the Reds' unheralded giant was missing from their FA Cup defeat yesterday morning (S'pore time).
Henderson's stature continues to grow in absentia.
As Liverpool stumble to their third defeat in just two weeks, the skipper has somehow morphed into the Barack Obama of Anfield.
The less he says or does, the more he's missed. Only in retrospect are his understated qualities appreciated.
Henderson could be the first player to win Footballer of the Year honours from the treatment table.
His hamstring injury actually reinforces his peerless influence on his side's momentum in midfield, not to mention his protective cover in defence.
Once Liverpool collect the English Premier League trophy and the fanfare subsides, manager Juergen Klopp will reflect on recent defeats.
He bought Fabinho to eventually succeed Henderson, who'll be 30 in June. But in terms of swopping Liverpool performers, this is akin to replacing The Beatles with Gerry and The Pacemakers.
That's a pop culture reference that'll pass by anyone below the age of 60, but it's rather fitting, considering much of the FA Cup defeat passed by Fabinho.
The Brazilian was at fault in the build-up to Willian's opener and Ross Barkley left him behind for Chelsea's second as he toiled with the game's tempo, which was being controlled, remember, by a kid still coming to grips with puberty.
Gilmour humiliated Fabinho in a one-sided contest that'll concern Klopp long after the defeat has been forgotten.
Liverpool's holding midfielder was erratic in possession, off the pace and struggled to defend his goal, leaving Joe Gomez exposed.
HARD TO BELIEVE
It's hard to believe that Henderson would've toiled against such inexperienced opposition, but then it's still hard to believe that Henderson doesn't quite command the reverence his consistency deserves.
His work can go unnoticed, overshadowed by the dazzling trio ahead of him (only Sadio Mane started at Chelsea, but all three have picked the wrong time of the season to hit the snooze button).
Henderson's refreshing, no-frills approach to the game has occasionally seen him defined in a similar fashion.
A typically English, no-frills, meat and potatoes kind of enforcer, a bingo card full of midfield cliches. He's a workhorse, but he's never been a thoroughbred like his predecessor Steven Gerrard.
But Liverpool's defeats by Chelsea and Watford - and even the lucky win against West Ham United - demonstrate that the unassuming character has quietly turned into the Reds' most irreplaceable performer.
In his absence, the midfield has meandered between rudderless and woeful.
Klopp can't directly address Henderson's vital role and the ugly, gaping hole left behind. To elevate his skipper would undermine Fabinho.
So, rather intriguingly, it was left to a recent opponent to publicly state what everyone associated with Liverpool must be privately thinking.
Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster claimed, in no uncertain terms, that the difference between the Hornets and the Reds was Henderson.
He didn't play. So Watford ran out with an easy 3-0 victory.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Foster highlighted Henderson's key attributes. He drops deep to collect from Virgil van Dijk. He drives forward. He feeds the front three.
It's so simple, so obvious and yet so conspicuous by its absence in the last three games.
After Henderson suffered a hamstring injury in the Champions League defeat at Atletico Madrid, Liverpool have lost two of the ensuing three games, conceding seven goals.
The 22-point lead at the top of the EPL table makes the title a foregone conclusion and negates any hysterical talk of crisis. But there is an encroaching crisis of confidence in central midfield.
Without Henderson, Liverpool are vulnerable. They are beatable.
He's tipped to return for the Merseyside Derby on March 16, but Klopp must be hoping for a minor miracle from his medical staff to get their skipper back five days earlier - for the home tie against Atletico.
Whatever happens now, the Reds are guaranteed a great season.
But if they still harbour ambitions of having their greatest season, they'll need the swift return of their greatest midfielder.
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