22 May 2024 08:49:49
What exactly does Curtis Jones contribute? He either goes around in circles or he passes backwards or tries to curl a shot in the top corner without ever hitting the target. If he wasn't a scouser, he would not be any where near the Liverpool team.
22 May 2024 08:58:07
When I say this I am not trying to be a Pratt but I believe I was actually a better player than him at this stage of his career.
The mind boggles as to how he's managed to get a career at a top side.
None the less let's hope he can win more trophies with us. Once his contract is up I personally wouldn't be looking to renew it.
22 May 2024 09:12:43
That’s a bit harsh. He is not as bad as you are both saying but equally he is no where near as good as many on here believe. Jones can put a good run of quality performances together but then will get injured and stink the place out when he returns. For me he doesn’t create enough, he is slow on the ball and runs in treacle when trying to run back. He has been given so many chances and next season if he stays he will be around 8th choice in midfield.
22 May 2024 09:15:28
I think Jones is a decent squad player for us.
He’s had his injury issues over the last few seasons though and has only started 36 league games in the league.
36 of 114 isn’t great but it’s also hardly Thiago and Arthur levels.
But saying that I’ve just checked and during the same period Thiago has started 28 league games (0 this season) .
Jones is still a decent option though and all top teams have top quality players and decent players in their squad.
22 May 2024 09:44:41
I consider him to be a useful squad player, no more than that. When everyone is fit, I can see him playing around 15-20 games a season. If he has ambition, and I assume has, he would be looking at more than that, so it begs the question, does his future lie elsewhere? If he's happy to fight for a place, he's useful to have as back up.
22 May 2024 10:01:07
15 to 20 games I doubt he would settle for that. But you would hope he will try to impress the new manager. How much do you think he is worth if we sell him £25m?
22 May 2024 10:14:30
Oh, me, me, me, can I pick a random player for criticism tomorrow or is there already a list?
{Ed025's Note - there is a list WDW and a very large queue, you are on the list but nowhere near the top mate.. :)
22 May 2024 10:16:02
forgive my ignorance but wasn't everyone going mental at how good he was back end of last season? and at the start of the season just gone?
he was dropped due to bad form and Elliot came in and was good nothing more. Jones is a very good squad player to have in the team be it starting or coming from the bench with how many games footballers player this year he'll play 30/ 40 games a year if he can stay fit and that's the big Asterix with him his injury's that's it he has the talent and aptitude.
22 May 2024 10:21:14
I really like Curtis, I think he’s an excellent water carrier who is brilliant at keeping the ball and actually quite good at pressing now. His ability to get out of tight spaces is a joy to watch. Only issue is his injuries. I think his ability warrants one last season under the new manager before considering moving him on.
{Ed025's Note - very average for me AW, even looking past his injury record he does not do enough for me mate, most of his play is either sideways or backwards and even though he gets a lot of touches does very little of any consequence with it..
22 May 2024 10:30:56
It's amazing how finished 3rd with so many awful players and an awful assistant manager who was dictating horrible unsuccessful tactics.
{Ed025's Note - good point that SR..
22 May 2024 10:31:02
this feels a bit like lashing out when you aren't managing your emotions very well. Blame Klopp.
22 May 2024 10:39:45
When someone starts a post with ‘what exactly does (insert random player name) contribute’ I don’t bother reading the rest as the poster obviously has no idea about football.
Every player contributes something or the manager wouldn’t pick them. They analyse the data to the minutest detail to see if said player is contributing enough.
So you see the fact that Jones plays tells you he is contributing to what the manager wants whether you see it or not.
If you don’t agree with the manager, coaches and data analysts then maybe your question should be ‘what does Jurgen Klopp contribute? ’. You obviously believe that you could do better.
22 May 2024 10:41:10
@iwillbered
The two most recent posts on the banter page are your posts.
One having a pop at jones and the other having a pop at Salah.
Slow day at the office?
22 May 2024 10:45:27
Jones is fine, good squad player and lots of ability on the ball when playing with confidence. I would play him in midfield over Elliot any day of the week. Will always give you a 6/ 7 out of 10 performance when needed whereas someone like Grav could easily drop a 2 out of 10 stinker although arguably has more talent.
22 May 2024 10:47:33
What about Elliot Ed25? You're Everton fan, so your opinion is not is a bit bias I guess.
{Ed025's Note - im not biased actually mfahmee, i just say it how i see it mate, and it does not matter if its an Everton, Liverpool or any other player i just give my honest view, i happen to rate Elliot and think he brings energy and pace to the team, im a big fan of his..
22 May 2024 10:52:03
Curtis was our best midfielder until the Spurs red card.
He then picked up an injury while on suspension - his biggest issue.
Returned to the side and was again probably our best midfielder again until he got injured again at Brentford. He's not been able to get back to form since.
We really missed his composure when he was not in the team.
His biggest issue is staying fit. If he can do that, he's an excellent midfielder with a very high ceiling.
If we want to stop games resembling basketball games, then we need more players like Curtis available.
22 May 2024 11:09:58
Jones holds on to the ball a second too long. And gives up possession. That second makes a big difference in the unforgiving PL. I can't see him sorting that at this point.
22 May 2024 11:34:41
Endo3 - I disagree that Curtis gives up possession. He almost never gives the ball away. That's what he's incredible at, even when under pressure. A bit like Gini that way.
On holding onto the ball too long. Yes, that can be levelled at him although I think he has improved that this season.
22 May 2024 11:53:07
Jones reminds me of Wijnaldum. Very good at protecting the ball and works very hard. Will even score you the odd goal.
However like Gini, his all around game is extremely limited. His passing range especially is an issue. There's absolutely nothing expansive about his game, and he also doesn't look to play the killer pass even when it's on and actually quite simple to execute.
He definitely contributes (just as Gini did) but he does so by being press resistant and also by being willing to get about and help with our press too. Until we see how Slot wants to set up the midfield, it is impossible to call the future for Jones at Liverpool. I'd sell him because of his injuries, but he is clearly very good at holding onto the ball and wriggling out of high pressure situations. It's just that once he does that he needs to learn to give it to someone else quicker so that they can hurt the opposition, like Gini used to.
What we really want is a player like Thiago who can wriggle out of a press and then hurt teams themselves. But Thiago could never stay fit either.
22 May 2024 11:53:02
God there is some nonsense on here this morning!
22 May 2024 11:53:07
Jones reminds me of Wijnaldum. Very good at protecting the ball and works very hard. Will even score you the odd goal.
However like Gini, his all around game is extremely limited. His passing range especially is an issue. There's absolutely nothing expansive about his game, and he also doesn't look to play the killer pass even when it's on and actually quite simple to execute.
He definitely contributes (just as Gini did) but he does so by being press resistant and also by being willing to get about and help with our press too. Until we see how Slot wants to set up the midfield, it is impossible to call the future for Jones at Liverpool. I'd sell him because of his injuries, but he is clearly very good at holding onto the ball and wriggling out of high pressure situations. It's just that once he does that he needs to learn to give it to someone else quicker so that they can hurt the opposition, like Gini used to.
What we really want is a player like Thiago who can wriggle out of a press and then hurt teams themselves. But Thiago could never stay fit either.
22 May 2024 13:13:48
The reason we finished third was as much about how bad Chelsea, Utd etc actually are. We can improve a lot next season.
22 May 2024 13:14:35
I take your point, Something Red. I wasn't having a go at Jones, just giving my opinion of him, as I've stated. Regards to the assistant manager, I fully agree with you. After Hitler he must be the most hated person that's ever lived, by some!
22 May 2024 13:29:01
How bad our forwards were in the last 6 weeks you mean, we should have finished first.
22 May 2024 13:30:07
But how many seasons do you give a player to show they can stay fit? He's a good player when all the stars are aligned but if he can't stay fit then isn't the best option to replace him with someone who has a better injury record. Before people jump in of course a new player 'could' also get injured but Curtis has form that's very obvious . We had Matip, Thiago, Curtis, JOTA, Konate who all missed a lot of time through injury, Matip and Thiago now being moved on but good sense would also include looking at others who spend a lot of time not playing. Though I'm 100% sure the club are looking into this and it's not just us who see these concerns.
22 May 2024 13:43:52
JN, we rode our luck a bit too often then got found out. The forwards, midfield and defence all dropped off. Even Allison did. Other sides got stronger and we faded badly. Improvement can be made in all areas I believe. Whether that’s better tactics or better players time will tell.
22 May 2024 14:08:21
First time you’ve made me laugh Walter.
Simple matter of the fact is that if Liverpool had their shooting boots on in just a handful of key games this season then there would be a 20th league title in the trophy cabinet.
This picking apart of random players to have a dig at is infantile.
22 May 2024 12:21:55
Most fans had jones Macca and szoboslai as our starting midfield for the season due to jones and szoboslai pressing and determination . Now they’re all s**t and should be sold .
Love it
Jones was a forward in the academy and had to learn the role he was deployed in for us over a few seasons as it wasn’t/ isn't his natural game .
Szoboslai was a forward at leipzig again had to adapt to a new role and team and I fear went too hard too quick hence the the
Injury and loss of form
. Macca played further forward in a double pivot and was entrusted with a new role and was adapting to a new team and a new role
I think we can cut these lads a bit of slack and say maybe just maybe they are all very good players and maybe we play them in a more natural position we might have 1 hell of a team on our hands that’s not blaming klopp or pep but maybe circumstance .
Can’t wait for next season ??.
22 May 2024 14:24:25
Semi i agree that our finishing towards the end of the season wasnt great but also on the other hand in the games we didn't win we actually scored plenty apart from Palace and Everton.
In that run we managed to score the below amongst those teams but we then conceded the same amount or more which tells me we were missing our defensive boots also
Villa 3
West Ham 2
Utd 2
Utd 3
I think i actually seen a stat that this was our 2nd highest goals for in a Premier league campaign.
22 May 2024 14:53:22
I wouldn’t criticise Curtis’s ability rather his durability.
I think if he could have sustained runs in the side he’d flourish.
He has plenty of ability.
22 May 2024 16:18:07
Anyone claiming Curtis loses possession of the ball too easily needs to lay off the magic mushrooms.
22 May 2024 21:27:54
Jones flatters to deceive at times. He had a good run early this year until the injury problems returned. He takes too long to get up to speed, then when he does he gets injured. That’s the story of his career. If he stayed fit aged be more consistent. That’s the sum of it.
22 May 2024 23:56:57
I'd except a offer for him to be fair, not up the standard of a top 4 team. There is better out there and his injury record is very poor.
23 May 2024 01:16:14
I was told by a high up individual in the inner circle of the club that Norah Jones was Brad and Curtis sister, if this is true her beautiful soprano voice will work perfectly at the base of our midfield.
23 May 2024 18:49:36
@Beckers pecker, I was going to say the exact same thing. Stopped reading after that opening waffle.
24 May 2024 12:52:12
Jones under Slot will have better freedom for forward play, not the possession nonsense Ljinders pushed on us, his style and way of playing will suit the majority of players we have now.