Dan Neil will be better than Henderson


Don't take this the wrong way, but when is the last time you watched the lads in the flesh?
That's a slippery path to go down. However, I missed the first game of the season this year, for the first time I can remember, so I think the last game was the Wigan one. You stated Henderson is the best midfielder England have produced in the last 30 years. How many times have you seen him, and his competitors for that accolade, in the flesh in the last 10 years? I never miss a Sunderland game, always watching live. I'm sure you can't say the same for Liverpool games, or can you?
 
Bit of a daft debate as the things that they have in common - local lads, play in the middle of the park, came through the ranks at SAFC - obscure the fact that actually they are quite different players

Henderson physically stronger, harder running, relentless tackler, knows to lay ball off to others asap

Neil more of a middle distance runner, can see the game on a wider canvass, capable of playing killer balls, great finisher, sometimes caught in possession

Cant we just say we were lucky to have both of them here and hope we can hang on to Dan for at least a couple of seasons longer - especially if we are promoted

Meanwhile a bigger debate will start when Chris Rigg ties down a regular first team spot 🤣🤣🤣
 
Neil's great, and careers don't have the same trajectory, but for Neil to be on a similar path to Henderson, he'd need to leave Sunderland for a top Premier League club in January, become an instant regular and also become an England regular very quickly.
 
Dan Neil is 22 next week. Jordan Henderson was in the England squad for a major tournament at the same age.
When he’s England captain and having won every single trophy there is to win come back and say it 😂
James Vaughan was scoring in the Premier league at 16. Harry Kane was going from loan to loan at 21.

Comparisons mean very little
I love Dan Neil and he's possibly a bit more talented in some ways than Henderson, but Hendeson was already better and playing at a better level at the same age (IIRC had played for England ) and had the physical attributes to do it at 19/20, something you would maybe still question about Neil.
James Vaughan > Harry Kane
 
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James Vaughan was scoring in the Premier league at 16. Harry Kane was going from loan to loan at 21.

Comparisons mean very little

James Vaughan > Harry Kane
You’re comparing apples and oranges there though. I took Neil and Henderson at Neil’s current age (the month they turn 22).

James Vaughan the month he turned 22 had scored 7 Premier league goals in 48 games, and he had no international caps. Harry Kane at the same age had scored 24 PL goals in 45 games and had 2 caps for England.

Obviously there are exceptions like Jamie Vardy, Kevin Phillips and Ian Wright, but in the majority of cases you can tell by seeing 2 players at around the age of 22/23 which one is going to have a better career.
 
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You’re comparing apples and oranges there though. I took Neil and Henderson at Neil’s current age (the month they turn 22).

James Vaughan the month he turned 22 had scored 7 Premier league goals in 48 games, and he had no international caps. Harry Kane at the same age had scored 24 PL goals in 45 games and had 2 caps for England.

Obviously there are exceptions like Jamie Vardy, Kevin Phillips and Ian Wright, but in the majority of cases you can tell by seeing 2 players at around the age of 22/23 which one is going to have a better career.
I agree i made a outlandish comparison, on purpose I might add.

The point is its lazy to simply compare like that And say x player was at x level at the same age so y player will never be as good
 
That's a slippery path to go down. However, I missed the first game of the season this year, for the first time I can remember, so I think the last game was the Wigan one. You stated Henderson is the best midfielder England have produced in the last 30 years. How many times have you seen him, and his competitors for that accolade, in the flesh in the last 10 years? I never miss a Sunderland game, always watching live. I'm sure you can't say the same for Liverpool games, or can you?
Fair enough - not really sure where I was going with that one.

Sunderland aside, I've probably watched more Liverpool than anybody else over the past decade. One of me best mates is a scouser, they're good to watch, and always go far in competitions. You only had to see how they would go to pieces without him to realise how invaluable he was to the team.

As for competitors, I'm not convinced he had many. That's been one of England's problems. And I think Hendo was criminally underused in some key moments - notably Euro 2016 and Euro 2020.
That is insane.
Absolutely fuckin worrying that you have watched that period of English midfielders and Jordan Henderson is your best out of the lot.
you can’t be serious.
Top 5 then. I'd had a drink.

If we go back to the teams of the 2000s, he's exactly the kind of player we were missing.

Go back to the 90s, and he's better than Paul Ince, David Batty, Barmby, Redknapp, Platt.

If I'm picking a team from the players over that period, I think he starts.
That claim is as bad as the OP.

Most be smoking some strong stuff. He’s not a patch on lamps, Gerard, scholes, Beckham lol

Off his rocker
Well I wouldn't include Beckham in the same bracket of players positionally.

The trouble with Becks is, I couldn't leave him out, but I'm not sure he'd fit in my preferred 4-3-3 system either. :lol:


Lamps was hopeless for England for the most part. We wasted golden opportunities shoehorning him into sides that left us unbalanced. Hendo has nowhere near his goalscoring prowess, but I'm not particularly bothered about that. I think a midfield with Hendo would control the game better.

I'd have always taken Gerrard over Lampard, though I hate what a selfish player he could be, and he played way too long for England. He was horrendous in Brazil so that probably tarnishes his reputation for me in an England shirt. The pair of them were shit in 2010.

Our midfield looked more balanced in 2012 when Gerrard was partnered with Parker. I'd certainly take Hendo over Scott Parker.

Scholes is immense. Difficult to leave him out. A midfield three of Scholes, Gerrard and Hendo may have worked, though I'd probably like a more defensive DM in there. I'd probably pick Scholes over Gerrard.


Gerrard and Lampard never really worked for England.
 
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