https://www.thisisanfield.com/2023/...rare-liverpool-group-alongside-only-2-others/ Curtis Jones has now passed a milestone that is pretty much acknowledged widely as the step between youngster and an experience player. 100 games played. The interesting thing is that out of these 100 games he has started 62 of them but only completed the full 90 in 36 Sixty-six have been in the Premier League, 13 in the FA Cup, 11 in the Champions League, eight in the League Cup and two in the Community Shield. In the 100 game she has actually scored 11 goals and made 10 assists. In any event the lad is now 22 and will be 23 in january. He is turning into somewhat of a utility player, LW, 10, false 9, LCM 8, RCM 8, 6. he's played them all. Last weekend in a midfield 2 with Szoboszlai as well. I wonder if he could play full back LOL. Anyway the way i see this is he's probably a solid 6/10 player, homegrown club player with a reasonable return despite all the injuries he has had as a kid growing. Has he snuck up on some of you? I watched him in the youths and he was very much a forward type player taking the frees and corners and head and shoulder above the players we had at the time.
A good example of his ability was the Wolves game, he was anonymous in the first half which is worse than making mistakes imo. I wanted him off the pitch but in the 2nd half he put a shift in and kept it simple and enabled players around him to play. He's always going to be a squad player but he's valuable to us no doubt.
If he was foreign rather than English he'd have been on his way. The hg quotation is all that keeps him at the club
Think that’s very harsh. Was prob our best player in that run of games at the end of the season and I think that coincided with a proper run of games in the same position. How often before has he played 5/6/7 games on the trott in the same position like every other player? I doubt ever to be honest. Now could say he hasn’t earned that right but he showed end of last season when given a proper chance can perform we. Think he came into the team as a wide forward to come inside but in prem he doesn’t have the goal scoring ability or pace to play in a klopp team so has to readjust to play CM. One thing give him huge credit for was the energy he brought to midfield last year. Is he ever going to be a world beater? Probably not. But he’s also still only 22, look where players like kdb and Salah were at that age. Now not suggesting he’ll get to those levels but still a good few years from his peak. I always go back to the United team of 90s/00s. Players like fletcher, John O’Shea, Wes brown, Phil neville, even someone like origi for us more recently. They were slightly above average players but they were key squad players who could step in and not be out of place to supplement the quality around them. We can’t have 22 world class players in a team so you need good squad players and atm he is that but with potential to be more in next few years.
Whilst what The Fool has put could be construed as harsh I do believe it’s a valid point. I have never been into digging players out - at the end of the day that’s Klopps job not mine. I don’t see jones as an energetic hark worker in the Kuyt or Hendo sort of mould - he strikes me as a Jonjo Shelvey or Aquilani or Spearing sort in fact exactly like Spearing for me. Hope the lad does come good though
He’s not a headless runner like Kuyt or Hendo you’re right. Much more structures in his ability to press and I’d say he couldn’t be further from shelvey if could try. Shelvey couldn’t run, and only just stood there trying to be alonso pinging 60 yard passes around.
For me that’s his biggest issue And the things he is good at he isn’t the best at them He is a good squad player to have imho I have never seen anything exciting but never seen anything that seriously worries me But I agree that had he been foreign the likelihood is he would not still be with us
I'd be happy if he improved, I just can't see it. He's more or less the same now as he has been for the past few years. He's bang average. Holds the ball to long, a few meaningless turns and twists then passes it to the next player. The very occasional decent performance thrown in. He reminds me more of lallana than anybody else. The midfield last year was ****e, just because he could run more than thiago doesn't make him good.
Two things Jones is good at, ball retention and pressing. He rarely gives the ball away. He needs to work on his reading of the game more in order to take that ball retention ability to the next level by picking out some killer passes. He's much better higher up the field and has a decent shot on him - remember the winner v Everton in the cup. He needs to stay fit and have a good run of games to show his actual worth to the team.
He lacks consistency but that tends to be the case with younger players. However, he's almost 23 so not much time left as "a young player" so if he wants to be a regular first team player, he definitely needs to become more consistent. I agree the HG aspect helps his case but I don't think he'd be kept around just for that reason either.
Yeah that’s sort of where I am on him I don’t think it’s the deciding factor but I think it’s definitely influential. I defo think he is worth keeping around but I tend to think that about them all lmao
I was just surprised his numbers were 11 goals and 10 assists in 100 games. I would have guessed way less but some will be domestic cups I guess. I can't think of a comparible player on about 100 senior games to go look at their numbers. klopp seems to like him anyway.
Klopp said right at the start that he liked having locals in the team. I can't remember exactly but he may have even said, if it was possible he'd have a team of scousers.
Below are all same age but diff types of players so hard to compare exactly. Does show that harder to get game time in England compared to elsewhere at young age? Or that Gilmour and Jones just aren’t as good as szobo and Fernandez. Szobo . 231 games. 65 goals. 73 assists. Billy Gilmour 72 first team games. 0 goals. 3 assists. Enzo Fernandez 142 games. 18 goals. 21 assists.
The lad is 22 years old and had big chunks out due to injury. As a 20 year old, he was competing with a midfield that was going for it all…..he’s never had a run of games for one reason or another - he did not let us down whe he returned from injury for the run in last year. I’m not saying that he is/is not good enough, I guess I’m saying that he should be given every chance to prove|improve himself….he’ll be a saleable asset when he’s 24 regardless of whether he makes it with us or not.
Curtis doesn't bother me, he's not a liability. He does a job. He has gradually improved over the years. I don't think he's ever going to be first choice on the teamsheet. He provides reliable squad depth. I agree with the above about HG status securing his place in the squad. Not because he needs to be replaced, he isn't our weakest link, but because we could do better. He's occasionally brilliant, occasionally not... but he's never a problem.
