21 June 2023 , 00:00
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Andros Townsend has launched an attack on Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson for his sledging of opponents.
Townsend has spent the past two seasons at the Reds' fierce rivals Everton and has become frustrated with Henderson. The winger has been a Premier League regular for 12 years, coming up against Henderson 16 times during his career since first breaking through at Tottenham.
He has only beaten the Liverpool star just once though, with the last time they shared a pitch coming in Liverpool's 4-1 demolition of the Toffees in December 2021. Henderson was named as man of the match for his performance in that game.
But that is not the basis for Townsend's dislike of the England international, who instead drew attention to his frequent sledging. Sledging is a tactic of uttering phrases in an attempt to provoke a reaction from an opponent.
It has mainly been seen in cricket between batsmen, bowlers and wicketkeepers, though is frowned upon by some. Henderson would appear to be somewhat of an expert in the art of sledging.
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That is according to Townsend, who singled the Reds skipper out as the worst player for attempting to distract him during games. The winger told talkSPORT: "Probably [Jordan] Henderson. He’s always talking, he’s always at you. He’s one."
Townsend and Henderson were team-mates for a three-year period between 2013 and 2016 for the England national team. The Liverpool star has come under fire this season as the Reds missed out on qualification for the Champions League.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Should sledging be a part of football? Comment below.
Townsend accused Henderson of being one of the worst culprits of sledging ((Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images))The Englishman still made 43 appearances in all competitions for the Reds though. And boss Jurgen Klopp leapt to his defence back in February when he was singled out by some as being the cause of Liverpool's problems.
"He's had 91 games but his 92nd could be a really good one. I don't understand why we talk about one player, I mean it. Everyone knows how much I respect him but it's not about one player," he said in February.
“I don’t like to say it but it’s true, you are not able to deal with these things when I talk about one player you make it the subject. Henderson is not our problem, he never was and never will be.
"If he is ready and in good shape he plays 98% of games or something like that. He played all these games as he's a very, very important player for us. No other reason. When he's not playing, you miss him. Easy as that.
“The key is like all the others, if you missed something from Hendo but all the others were there we wouldn’t miss it as much. This is a team story, and if you want a manager story, but nothing else, if you want individual players or anything else that doesn't work.”
Townsend meanwhile has left Everton after the end of his contract and is now on the search for his next club. He spent the entirety of the season just gone sidelined with a cruciate ligament injury.