It was all the way back in November when Curtis Jones fronted up to the cameras after Liverpool’s 4-1 battering against PSV Eindhoven.
Having suffered back-to-back three-goal defeats at Anfield, Jones was angry, and claimed that he and his Reds teammates would fight tooth and nail to turn things around.
Although his speech went down well within the fanbase five months ago, Jones has simply not backed his words up, with Saturday’s thrashing at the hands of Manchester City showing just how disconnected his words are from the reality of his Liverpool performances.
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Manchester City v Liverpool - Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final
Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images
Jones lets another chance to step up pass him by
One big problem Liverpool supporters have with the current team is that there is a distinct lack of nastiness within it. When the going gets tough, the players turn into shrinking violets.
Jones can perhaps not be accused of that. As he famously showed at the conclusion of the final Goodison Park Merseyside Derby last year, he does have a little fight within him.
However, when Liverpool have needed that this season, the Scouser has been completely missing. As his comments in November showed, Jones can certainly talk a good game and does not lack for self-belief, but you have to back that up on the pitch. The Reds have been looking for that badly this season, but the No. 17 has been found completely wanting each and every time.
“You just want to be a man out there and you just want to tackle someone and just be a dog out there,” Jones told CBS Sports Golazo after the PSV hiding.
Manchester City v Liverpool - Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final
Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images
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“We’ve got these lads who are nice on the ball who just play and play and play, like go and smash someone. It comes from me as well, the lads are looking at me saying ‘go on then, smash someone.’
“It’s got to be on me and the rest of the lads to change this around to not be so nice where teams are coming here thinking, ‘we’re gonna win here and score two, three, four goals’. This used to be a place that you hated to come – with the fans and how we’re going to play and how we’re going to press and be absolute dogs. Now we hardly even play.”
Liverpool could really have done with some of that spirit when having rings run around them at the Etihad on Saturday. But though Jones played the full 90 minutes, he barely showed any kind of fight.
Jones is likely to be sold this summer
Given the way the past couple of months have gone for him, it was something of a surprise to see Jones start against Manchester City.
The 25-year-old has been much more out of the team than in it of late, and with only one year remaining on his contract, it feels more than likely that he will be sold this summer.
What should Liverpool do with Curtis Jones? His contract expires in 2027 ❌
Curtis Jones of Liverpool FC during the UEFA Champions League match between Galatasaray v Liverpool at the Rams Park
Credit: Gerrit van Keulen/Soccrates/Getty Images
As a result, he is really running out of chances to prove that his words in November were not all bluster, and that he can be someone who helps grab the remaining games by the scruff of the neck.
Until he proves he can do that, though, Jones feels to be part of a growing disconnect between Liverpool fans and their players.
As the only Scouser in the team, that absolutely should not be the case. But amid his fashion show appearances and photos from private jets, Jones has lost touch with his local fanbase.
In the aftermath of Liverpool’s season nadir at PSV, he appeared to have the tools to bridge that gap, but as the debacle at City underlined once again, Jones is simply yet another out of touch footballer who has let the season pass him by.
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