Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is the latest player to have earned the unwanted title of 'not a player' by former RTÉ pundit and Irish football legend Johnny Giles.
Speaking on Off The Ball on Thursday night, Giles expressed his belief that Jurgen Klopp was a one trick pony, and singled out Henderson along with his midfield partner Emre Can as being big reasons behind Liverpool's slump in form since the turn of the year.
While many players have been dubbed 'not a player' (to the point of Apres Match parody) down the years, Giles delivered his verdict on Henderson as he believes he is not creative enough for the midfield responsibility that he shoulders under Klopp.
Henderson is not going to create anything. He's one of the most non-creative players I've ever seen playing in midfield and they have Can who doesn't have a creative bone in his body either.
He's a good athlete but I don't think Henderson is a player at all, every ball he gets is back and sideways.
You're not going to break anyone down. If the opposition have the ball, Can can win it, Henderson can win it sometimes and pass to other people but once the opposition give them the ball and say 'break us down', I don't think they have the ability to do it.
The biggest problem is that when they do lose it, they can't defend.
Giles went on to claim that Coutinho has the necessary spark, but it is his belief that he is not getting enough help.
Coutinho can do a bit on his own, I don't think Lallana beats players and none of the others do. When you have that, you've no creative force in the middle of the field and dodgy at the back, you will have inconsistency.
Many would argue that creating chances have not been the problem for Liverpool as along with Arsenal they have scored a league-high 52 goals this season, but rather a defensive fragility that has seen them ship 30 goals, more than any other side in the top 8 of the league, is the main issue.
But Giles believes an emphasis on physical attributes rather than flair has been their downfall, along with having a slim squad compared to their rivals.
They have played a lot of games and they don't have a big squad.
Their game is based on physical attributes more than anyone other team. If they don't have that zest or bite, they don't have much else unfortunately.
A cutting analysis from Giles.
Liverpool face Tottenham Hotspur this weekend knowing that if results don't go their way they could find themselves sitting in 6th place in the Premier League by Monday should they fail to get a result against Pochettino's men.
You can listen back to tonight's episode of Off The Ball over on Newstalk.com
