Photo by Pedro Porru/MB Media/Getty Images
Photo by Pedro Porru/MB Media/Getty Images
A graphic showing Jordan Henderson's match statistics (goals, assists, key passes and pass completion rate) against for Chelsea FC against Bournemouth. Image shows Jordan Henderson celebrating.
Credit: Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Tom Jenkins/ Getty Images
Photo by Tom Jenkins/ Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
When Chelsea signed Henderson on a free from Brentford, the belief was that his addition was simply to add some experience. A leader who has been there and done it; a player who is a manager on the pitch.
He’s all of the above, but on Saturday, the England star proved he still has the quality to make an impact on the pitch. Saturday was only his second start for Chelsea, but he scored two and created another one.
Quoted by Times reporter Peter Rutzler, Rogers heaped praise on Henderson. He claimed his reputation is unfair, reminding all that he still has plenty to offer on the pitch – and that he’s Chelsea’s fittest player.
Rutzler posted on X: “Morgan Rogers was on free-kicks before the international break but came back and learnt Jordan Henderson had jumped the pecking order. ‘They did it behind my back!’ he joked.
“But he had a lot of praise for Henderson’s impact: ‘People said he was too old and you saw (vs Bournemouth) what he does. Everyone in the dressing room knows what he can do,” Rogers continued.
“‘He’s probably still the fittest player at the club, to be honest. He’s a machine. People forget about his football; they just think he’s experienced. He can still play football. He’s won everything in the game.”
Henderson was averaging a goal or an assist every five games
Before his move to Chelsea – which angered Brentford fans – Henderson had clocked up 695 appearances. Scoring 41 career goals at Liverpool, Sunderland, Ajax and other clubs, he had also laid on 87 assists.
A total of 128 involvements in 695 games means Henderson was averaging a goal or assist every 5.4 games before he signed on the dotted line at Cobham. Now, he has three involvements in two matches.
Is Henderson going to continue scoring goals at this rate? Of course not. It is realistic to say he might not score again this season, but Henderson has a rate of a goal or an assist every 60 minutes since his move.
Even Cole Palmer and Rogers aren’t producing that efficiency in front of goal. Palmer is averaging 95.1 minutes, while Rogers is at an impressive 79.5. Is this a new version of Henderson late on in his career?