Liverpool great Steve Nicol believes that current Reds skipper Jordan Henderson has more influence on the side than Xabi Alonso had on the club's team when he was on the books.
The club tried to offload Henderson, but he stayed to fight for his place and was handed the captain's armband when legend Steven Gerrard departed.
The Englishman has guided his club to Champions League and Club World Cup success, with the Reds on course to win the Premier League this season.
Nicol feels Henderson has been more effective and had more of an impact at Liverpool than Alonso, who also helped the Reds to win a Champions League crown, in 2005.
However, Nicol does think that Alonso had better technical abilities compared to the now Liverpool captain as he added comparing them on a technical scale is a no-brainer.
“You have to say that Henderson has been more effective because Liverpool have won the Champions League and he is one of the main reasons why they are going to win the Premier League”, Nicol told ESPN FC.
“As great a footballer as Alonso was, I think the influence that Henderson has on this team is bigger than the influence that Alonso had.
“As football players, Alonso is a better technician than Jordan Henderson. I don’t think that’s in question.
“So [if it comes to who had the biggest impact], I think there’s no doubt that Henderson’s made a bigger impact in this Liverpool side than Alonso did for the team he played for.”
Alonso departed Liverpool in the summer of 2009 to return to Spain with Real Madrid, while he has now made the move into management and is in charge of Real Sociedad's B team.
