Jordan Henderson would probably rather a reality existed in which he’d moved directly from Liverpool to Ajax, without the brief break in Saudi Arabia thrown in.
The midfielder’s decision to swap Anfield for Al-Ettifaq saw him receive widespread criticism. Despite his insistence he wasn’t heading off from Liverpool in search of piles of money, few believed him. Given how brief his stay in Saudi was, it appeared to have an impact.
Joining Ajax was a great opportunity, even if the Dutch club aren’t exactly in one of their glorious periods right now. Just like at Liverpool, he’s captain of the Amsterdam side, and he’s facing perhaps an even bigger media circus than he lived through with the Reds.
The Dutch media are ferocious, to say the least, and Ajax gets far more coverage than any other team… with countless people wanting to talk about the club.
One of the big topics recently has been strikers, with the signing of Wout Weghorst from Burnley receiving criticism from some which verges on ridicule.
He’s not the only forward getting Dutch media grief, and Jordan Henderson has spoken about it today ahead of the Europa League match against Besiktas.
Whilst at Liverpool, he was always very much a team player, and that’s the message he’s trying to send now as a leader at Ajax.
Voetbal International quote him as saying: “It’s always about our strikers. That’s apparently a big deal here, but not for me.
“For me it’s always about the team, not about individuals. Our strikers have their own qualities and it’s up to them to show in training who should play. And also who is fit. We have a lot of games to go.”
At the weekend, Ajax only managed a 1-1 draw against Go Ahead Eagles and there’s obviously been pressure after that. Henderson agrees there should be better on the way but he suggested some are getting carried away.
“Of course it can always be better and we always look at what went well and what did not. But you should never go too high after a win and never too low after a defeat. Maybe the feeling was different immediately after the match, but if you analyse a match well it can also be details that need to be changed.
“To not fall below the lower limit, you have to stay focused and stick to the game plan. If you fall behind, you have to reset and try to get back on track. That went well against Go Ahead. You also have to try to win the second balls and win duels. We will have to do that against Besiktas, because they have a strong team and are doing well in the league. It will be a good test and a good challenge for us.”
