If this hasn’t been caused by the click bait Journo’s, and is from within the club, maybe it’s a massive smoke screen for a couple of incoming players. Edwards is crafty after all.
For example if he gets a four year contract this summer from let’s say, Rangers, at nearly the salary he currently gets, I’d say good luck to you son, you chose the wrong group of sports science driven bosses to go past 30 with. Make the most of your last four years somewhere else.
More cynical, club seems to do this through these sources whenever they seem to be considering making a decision that won’t go down well with the fans to turn the fans against the player in question. All the way back to start of FSGs time and guys like Torres right through to some clear and obvious attempts to tarnish Salah in case he pushes for a move. Starting to see a pattern now and look back at some past examples a little less harshly.
I’m a little less cynical on there being something like that going on - but you never know.
What we do know is, historically, we’ve let players go with the club taking a view on letting players lose their legs elsewhere. At the end of the day football is a big money game and there’s a balance to be struck between what makes financial sense and what is done based on emotions.
My gut feeling, regardless of the noise, is that its entirely down to Hendo.
He doesn’t come across at being motivated from a financial perspective (but that is still a variable he has to consider). If he would like the opportunity to play abroad somewhere and try something new, then so be it. I just can’t see that though as he’s become part of the fabric of the club and he will want to hold aloft more silverware as the club captain. The club aren’t daft enough (I hope!!) to cut one of the key voices in the dressing room out so easily. Leads me to believe he will be here for a while yet.
Any discussion right now will be down to an extension of a year or two, and that discussion is one that takes time, particularly as Hendo is having a well deserved break, and in reality, his contact is lower down the priority list compared to sorting the outgoings and incomings for this season. That’s where the clubs focus will (and should) be.
More of this to come imo…
He would be 33 by then, I fully understand Liverpool that they don’t hand over the keys and say: stay as long as you like, Henderson has an injury history too, It’s not Milner.
Anyhow, I think they will work it out in the coming years.
I don’t think this is click bait. Too many reliable people involved. Contract negotiations and briefing from both sides are normal but this seems to have escalated very quickly. I wonder whether the situation with Gini is playing a part here. Whatever the rights or wrongs of it he was popular with the team and the manager and was one of the senior guys. Maybe contract negotiations may be a bit more ‘hardball’ as a result.
All the reasons being put forward for not extending his contract i.e. his age and injury record may be right but they are also warning signs that we urgently need to reinforce the midfield this summer. Whatever happens Henderson cannot be allowed to leave now. I doubt he will but he absolutely must not. He is one of our most important players, arguably the most important.
And I think this is forming the narrative being used by the media. There is a suggestion that Hendo has asked for the keys and the club are not so keen.
Whether that’s fabrication or, more like, partly true (i.e. there’s been an initial contract discussion, and it’s ongoing has been turned in to WTAF, he’s not signed it, the club are screwing him over, fuck FSG - PANIC) - it is not something we are privy to knowing. It’s all complete guess work - including my own view that it’s very much mountains out of molehills - I might be eating my hat later though!
What it’s done has creating a twitter/online shitstorm against FSG, as per usual.
Hendo is only worth €20 million on transfermakt. That’s a rediculous fee to be looking at. Sirely he’s worth 3times that to us at least, no?
He has a 2 year contract by which time he will be 33. I love him as a skipper and a player but if he leaves in 2 years on a free is that going to be such a bad thing? Let him sign on again then or go and finish his career maybe back at Sunderland or go abroad for a pay day. I wouldn’t begrudge him
That.
“Hi Jordan! Neil Jones here, just wondering if you had any problems with how the story about you is being reported?”
“I don’t really care to be honest mate”
“Sounds good I can write a story about that answer! Thanks!”
The trouble with a lot of fans is that that say they want the club to be ruthless, objective, focussed single-mindlessly on success. And then piss their knickers when FSG try and do this.
The fact is that Jordan Henderson is an injury prone player, now in his thirties, who’s game is based largely on his tireless running and ability to get about the pitch.
The club have to be extremely careful about giving him a contract that takes him to 35.
The contract he and the club are negotiating is one which will see him through to retirement, and cover a significant period of time in which he is not a regular starter.
This information is clearly put out there by Henderson’s people, with a view to demonstrating the fan backlash to risking losing him.
Jordan could strengthen his case significantly by retiring from international football. That would be a gesture on his part that would demonstrate to LFC that he is absolutely committed to keeping himself in top condition for his club. Southgate isn’t arsed about him, and if he’s going to be subbed on and back off again, what’s the point?
Agree with this one. We’ve got our moneys worth out of him and however and whenever he leaves he does so as a Legend with a capital L in my opinion.
There’s no need for a new contract unless it’s one that suits both the player and the club.
Not being able to agree an extension with Jordan would be a worrying sign. An even bigger proof that Klopp is the glue that keeps it together atm but the club will be a Top4 challenger at best when he (Klopp) leaves.
Sensible approach from the club if you ask me and I don’t see the need in this case for there to be any particular rush to renew his deal. We often laugh at how badly other clubs are managed, we’ve seen countless examples of the likes of United and Arsenal paying out of their arse for ageing players or those who are clearly not in their prime anymore. Whilst Hendo is still performing to a very high level, who knows what kind of shape he’ll be in a year or two down the line. This is an incredibly taxing midfield to play in and his injury record over the last couple of years hasn’t exactly been faultless. Unfortunately there is little room for sentiment at the highest levels of elite sport.
Yes our success these last few years has been hugely Klopp-dependent. He has certainly made FSG look good but Henderson and Milner are also vitally important in that they run the dressing room for him. They set the standards, sort out the squabbles between the likes of Mane and Salah etc so JK doesn’t need to get involved. With Milner going next year and now doubts about Henderson he needs to find some new lieutenants. This is the most critical part of rebuilding this team because these sort of guys aren’t easy to just buy in.
Gini, had he decided to stay with us, could have taken such a role. Now, it will be down to the likes of Alli, VVD, Robbo, Mo, Bobby and a few others.
What I see when writing down those names, is a lack of English leaders. Hendo and Millie are ideal for this obviously. Trent will eventually enjoy enough influence for that, but he’s still very young.
Not sure that an English player is needed to be captain.
I’d have no issue seeing Virgil take the armband and Trent in the future.
I’d worry a little about Robertson as he can get a little over excited sometimes. Then again he does it for Scotland and might calm him down a little. Mind you, both Gerrard and Hendo both have a little bit of the right kind of angry in them.
I can’t see Henderson leaving for at least another year. He’s due his testimonial this year, watch all the journalists start to say it will be his opportunity to say goodbye.
I loosely know his family (his Dad) through an ex client - he got me some tickets a few years ago. I don’t believe Henderson will ever want to leave the club unless he felt he could no longer contribute on the field at the level he’s helped bring us to. I still think he’s at least a year away from that even being a question.
Thanks for posting this Mascot. I debated posting this exact thought as a result of how respected and revered Hendo is with our supporters. I never want to be typecast as saying anything negative about him Bc I absolutely adore the man.
But taking all emotion out of it, I do think many things are being overstated by our fans. Again, as a result of emotion, which I fully respect. Mascot said it beautifully, many want FSG to be ruthless except when it involves our personal/emotional favorites. It hurt me when we had to say goodbye to Gini, but at the end of the day I respect why the club moved on.
Hendo missed the last 3 months of the season last year and we managed. Even with our greatest injury crisis in the history of the club. This is in no way “shade” (as the kids these days say) it’s simply reality. To that end, I would personally lean on the side of no extension. He has 2 years left. Zero rush to commit anything beyond that at this time. If that approach doesn’t align with Hendo’s future goals or plans, then I also very much respect his right to seek pastures new.
There was a school of thought two summers ago that while our squad didn’t need any work done on it with respect to the immediate prospects, we did need to start preparing a response to the reality that a core of the side were all approaching their 30s at the same time - Virgil, Matip, Gini, Hendo, Bobby, Mo and Mane.
We’re now 2 years on and we haven’t really addressed that so the decisions from here on have to be even more cut throat. What that means is that moving forward there will almost certainly be cutthroat decisions made on players who in isolation may justify staying but who have to be moved on to bring in younger legs. This season really feels like the last of this generation and while several of that group may still stick around a bit longer, it feels like by the following season enough will likely have had to change that it will feel like a different side.