Curtis Jones looked to the referee, arms spread, begging for the whistle to arrive.
As Ibrahim Sangare sped away before laying on a brilliant pass for Callum Hudson-Odoi to test Alisson Becker, it did not come.
Liverpool‘s game against Nottingham Forest on Sunday was less than three minutes old, and Jones had already lost the ball for a second time.
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“He takes too long on the ball. I don’t think he’ll ever get that out of his game,” Jamie Carragher fumed at half-time. “He needs to be a lot quicker and a lot sharper and that’s always been his biggest problem.”
As per WhoScored, Jones went on to make three errors leading to a shot on goal for Forest, a number which, according to the football data collectors, is a Premier League season high. Much of it came from the Scouser trying to keep the ball while being pressed by the likes of Sangare and Elliot Anderson, which makes his previous reasoning for holding possession seem entirely redundant.
Jones backs himself to be press resistant
Jones hogging the ball for far longer than is necessary is not a new thing for Liverpool fans to witness. Not by a long way.
The 25-year-old was even asked why he likes to wait before releasing a pass by LFCTV after December’s Anfield win over Brighton.
Curtis Jones appeals after losing the ball to Ibrahim Sangare during Liverpool's Premier League match against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground
Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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“I’ve obviously heard that there’s criticism at times that I don’t move the ball quick enough and that’s just because I’m comfortable on the ball,” Jones said. “I don’t want to be in a rush and then I give a lad a ball who’s not as comfortable as me on the ball and then he’s in a little bit of a challenge and gets the blame.
“I’d rather just take it on me and know that a lad who comes to press me is going to have to do an awful lot to take the ball off me.”
On Sunday, it felt that Sangare, Anderson, and the rest of the Forest players did not have to do much at all to take the ball from Jones. It is all well and good talking a good game, but there are times on a football pitch where you have to be in a rush. If he did not know it yet, Jones learnt that at the City Ground.
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Jones must learn when to release the ball
There are games and certain moments when Jones’ ability to keep the ball really plays into Liverpool’s hands.
He can be exceptionally good at retaining and recycling play, and as a result he is often well-suited to games against some of the Premier League’s bigger sides.
However, when playing away at a struggling team who you know are going to get in your face, it is not the time to put your foot on the ball and try to slow things down. Not within the opening minutes.
Jones put Liverpool under pressure so many times during the opening quarter against Forest, and the Reds could easily have been punished for his sloppiness.
He may see himself as one of the most press-resistant midfielders in the Premier League, but that is no longer being illustrated in the numbers. There is a time and a place for Jones’ style of football, and Sunday absolutely was not one of them.
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