Cleverley v Henderson stats comparison Ahead of tomorrows clash between Manchester United and Liverpool, lets compare the statistics of Tom Cleverley and Jordan Henderson. Manchester United and Liverpool, who meet at Old Trafford on Sunday(tomorrow), have experienced significantly different seasons in the Premier League. Brendan Rodgers second-placed Liverpool have come from nowhere to compete for the title while defending champions United have drastically suffered in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. It is a similar story with Uniteds Tom Cleverley and Liverpools Jordan Henderson, the former having gone from being hyped as the future of English football to being labelled a scapegoat for Uniteds failings, while Henderson has gone from being viewed as a Liverpool flop signing to a star of the season. Here, we assess the respective form of both Cleverley and Henderson as they prepare to go head-to-head. APPEARANCES Injury and his perceived inconsistent form have meant Cleverley has made only 16 Premier League starts this season for United and he has been substituted off in four of those games. He has also been substituted on in three additional games. Henderson, meanwhile, has started every one of Liverpools 28 Premier League matches and has been subbed off only once in that time. That means Henderson has played 2499 minutes in the Premier League this season compared to Cleverleys 1449 minutes. Despite Liverpool not being involved in Europe, Henderson has also made more overall appearances than Cleverley, who has played in the Champions League. For club and country this season, Henderson has played in 36 games while Cleverley has played in 32. Appearances 2013/14 PL Games Starts Subbed Off Club Country Games -Tom Cleverley 19 16 4 32 -Jordan Henderson 28 2 81 36 PASSING Cleverleys passing, which he considers his strength, has still been marginally more accurate than Henderson this season. Cleverley has averaged 0.6 successful passes per minute in the Premier League to Hendersons 0.5. Cleverley, whose overall passing success rate of 89.6 per cent this season is only less than January signing Juan Mata (90.1%) among his United squad-mates, has also played more passes on average into the final third of the pitch and more successful passes in the oppositions half per minute than Henderson. This underlines Cleverleys effective passing and technical qualities, but he has also been criticised for too often playing the simple ball. Premier League Passing 2013/14- Successful Passes /Passes Into The Final Third /Successful Passes in Oppo Half Tom Cleverley 935 /161 /552 Jordan Henderson 1300/220/754 CREATIVITY Cleverley (1265 touches) has more of the ball per minute played than Henderson (1957 touches) in the Premier League this season but he is not as clinical and does not get into the same advanced areas. It could be argued this is due to Rodgers preferring more attacking tactics than Moyes. Henderson creates on average more than one chance per Premier League game (1.8), including goal assists, having contributed 50 overall this season. Cleverley, in contrast, averages less than one (0.6) after only creating 10 chances in the league in the campaign. The superior running power of Henderson also means he has successfully completed 13 more dribbles with the ball this season than Cleverley as he advances into attacking areas of the field. GOALS The biggest criticism of Henderson would be of his ability in front of goal. He is too often wasteful with a chance to shot and his finishing can frequently be erratic and off target. For that reason, despite getting into more goalscoring positions than Cleverley, his statistics are poor. Henderson has scored only three goals in the Premier League this season from 34 shots, with only 41.2% of them hitting the target and just 8.8% hitting the back of the net. Cleverley has scored even less goals with just one to his name in the league in 2013-14 but he has had only eight shots overall, with 62.5% of them working the goalkeeper. Premier League Shooting 2013/14-- Goals/ ShotsShooting/ Accuracy % /Shot Conversion Rate % -Tom Cleverley 1/ 8 /62.5 /12.5 -Jordan Henderson 3/ 34 /41.2 /8.8 CONCLUSION Cleverley is the better technician. His passing and shooting are more accurate and he can provide a touch of class and control when confident. But his fitness and physical attributes are disappointing. Henderson has made more appearances and is a more dangerous opponent in an attacking sense when creating for team-mates such as Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge. His pace and endurance mean he is a source of non-stop energy and danger. This is what means the Liverpool man has had such a good season. In the hustle and bustle of the Premier League, Hendersons superior running ability and skill in creating chances mean he is ideally suited for the end-to-end nature of Englands top flight. If it develops into an open game at Old Trafford on Sunday, expect Henderson to come out on top while Cleverley will want to keep a lid on the game by maintaining possession.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 21:30:33 +0000
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