Curtis Jones – The Empire of The Kop

(Image) Curtis Jones heaps two-word praise on Liverpool teammate who won 6 duels v LASK

Liam Togher — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 11:13:01 +0000

Curtis Jones took to social media after Liverpool’s 4-0 win over LASK on Thursday night to heap praise on one of his teammates.

Chief among the Reds’ goalscorers was Cody Gakpo, who netted twice against the Austrian outfit in a game in which he excelled from start to finish.

The Scouse midfielder shared a photo of him and the Dutchman on his Instagram story, along with the caption ‘Some player’ and a fire emoji.

Jones’ praise for the 24-year-old was very much merited, and not just for the two goals that Liverpool’s number 18 plundered last night.

As per Sofascore, Gakpo recorded a massive six shots against LASK, also completing one dribble, two key passes and four accurate long balls, and posting a pass success rate of 88%. He worked hard out of possession, too, winning six of his nine duels.

The Netherlands attacker will surely get plenty of opportunities this month, given the fixture workload that the Reds must negotiate and the absence of Diogo Jota through injury.

On last night’s evidence, he looks determined to more than atone for the Portuguese forward’s convalescence.

You can view the image posted by Jones on Instagram below, via @curtisjr:

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Outspoken pundit believes £15k-p/w Liverpool player won’t be a lasting success at Anfield

Liam Togher — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 12:11:03 +0000

Outspoken pundit Eamon Dunphy has voiced his doubts regarding one current member of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool squad.

The 78-year-old was speaking on The Stand podcast when he aired his reservations over the ability of Curtis Jones to ‘go all the way’ at Anfield, having witnessed the 22-year-old being substituted for Ryan Gravenberch during the 1-1 draw against Manchester City on Saturday.

The controversial Irish pundit – who infamously branded Harry Kewell a ‘fat clown‘ and previously dismissed Dominik Szoboszlai as a ‘lightweight‘ – stated: “Jones is a young Liverpool player who I think isn’t going to go all the way and was substituted and they brought on a guy who I really fancy, Gravenberch.”

Admittedly Jones was well below his best against City, but we don’t agree with Dunphy’s criticism of the £15,000-per-week midfielder (Capology).

The Toxteth lad has already surpassed a century of senior appearances for Liverpool, with his tally of 107 exceeding that of players like John Aldridge, Jim Beglin and Alvaro Arbeloa (lfchistory.net).

You don’t become an LFC centurion at 22 without being a very gifted footballer, and he’s already contributed to the club winning major silverware since making his first-team breakthrough.

While Jones is still young, he’s left behind the days of being a wide-eyed youth prospect, becoming a firm part of Klopp’s senior squad at Anfield and even being entrusted with the captaincy on a couple of occasions.

Had it not been for his harsh red card at Tottenham (which incurred a three-match suspension) and then a thigh injury, he’d likely be into double digits already for Premier League starts in the current campaign.

The 22-year-old still has the scope to go on and achieve plenty more for Liverpool, but despite what Dunphy might say, he can already be very proud of what he’s accomplished at his boyhood club.

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‘It just stuck…’ – Curtis Jones explains how his nickname for Cody Gakpo originated

Liam Togher — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 16:42:53 +0000

Curtis Jones has explained how his nickname for Liverpool teammate Cody Gakpo originated and how it duly ‘stuck’.

The 22-year-old was speaking at length about a variety of topics for the We Are Liverpool podcast, and among the more light-hearted subjects being discussed was the popularity of the Netherlands attacker among the Reds’ first-team squad.

The Toxteth lad explained: “I call him Gakkers, that’s the name that needs to stick with him. Cody just came in and everyone loved him when he came in. He’s the most polite lad, but he’s hilarious.

“There was a time he was going on about my accent, saying Curtis’ accent is strong, and I said ‘Shut up you Gakkers!’ It just stuck.”

It’s clear from Jones’ anecdote that, since joining Liverpool 11 months ago, Gakpo has made an enormous impact behind the scenes, quickly winning the respect of his teammates and being able to indulge in banter with many of them.

Footballers will ultimately be judged by how they perform on the pitch on matchdays, but it’s also crucial that they integrate well with the other members of the team, and those with infectious personalities can be a huge help in fostering an all-important camaraderie away from the field.

One of Jurgen Klopp’s biggest strengths during his eight-and-a-bit years in charge of the Reds has been to sign players who are the right fit for his squad and swiftly jettison anyone whose attitude threatens to derail bonhomie within the camp. Just ask Mamadou Sakho about it.

It’s great to hear of Gakpo bonding so well with the other Liverpool players so soon after coming to Anfield, and long may that cohesion continue to manifest itself both on and off the pitch!

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‘It wasn’t nice…’ – Curtis Jones shares insight on ‘harsh truths’ Gerrard told him at Liverpool

Liam Togher — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 11:48:46 +0000

Curtis Jones has revealed how hearing some ‘harsh truths’ from Steven Gerrard when the latter was his Liverpool under-18s coach helped him to realise his full potential.

The Anfield legend worked with the current first-team midfielder when he was in his teenage years, and the now 22-year-old spoke of the blunt advice given to him by his boss during the academy days.

Speaking about Gerrard on the latest episode of the We Are Liverpool podcast, Jones outlined: “I remember when he came in – I don’t want to say what he said – it was good but it was not nice. It wasn’t nice. It was like the harsh truths.

“I’ll say a little bit: ‘I gave you the 10 shirt on your back because I want you to be my main lad in my team and I want to build the team around you, but you didn’t show enough’.”

The current Liverpool midfielder added: “There was a game that he said, this is was what stuck in my head a lot – where I wanted to show him that anything you need from me I’ll do it – we’d been beaten by Fulham and he said I’d been tackled and the lad had stood over and said something while I’d been on the floor.

“He turned around to me and said, ‘what did you do about it?!’ I said, ‘I can’t remember’, and he said, ‘well, I’ll tell you, you did nothing!’

“I sat there and thought, ‘you’re right’. This is my club, there are people like you who have played your whole life here and even came back to the academy and now you’re a coach, you want to give your all to the club. There are people like me, I’m a Scouser myself, I don’t understand the situation I’m in. I need to grow up here and need to be a man.”

Jones went on to praise Gerrard for the ‘connection’ they forged when working together for the under-18s and stressed that the former Liverpool captain would also praise him when ‘doing well’ in addition to offering the requisite constructive criticism.

Jones is among a handful of players from the Liverpool under-18 squad that Gerrard managed in 2017/18 who’ve gone on to either break into the senior ranks at Anfield or forge first-team careers elsewhere, such as Caoimhin Kelleher, Neco Williams and Rhys Williams.

However, many of his teammates from that time have either filtered down through the leagues or failed to make a breakthrough of any kind.

It’s therefore a testament to the Toxteth native’s character – and indeed ability – that he’s since gone on to play 106 times under Jurgen Klopp, with a decent return of 11 goals and 12 assists from midfield (Transfermarkt).

Gerrard knows better than anyone what it takes to progress from Liverpool’s academy and go on to become a club legend, so when he was dispensing advice to the then-teenagers in his under-18 squad, it was in their best interests to take the feedback on board.

It seems Jones has done just that, now adorning the number 17 shirt which was worn by the legendary former captain at a similar age at Anfield, and it’s fair to say that the tuition from the 43-year-old played a massive part in the current Reds ace successfully graduating from the underage ranks to become a senior stalwart in L4.

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Liverpool dealt frustrating muscle injury blow; 22-year-old out until after int’l break

Farrell Keeling — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 07:48:09 +0000

Curtis Jones can’t seem to catch a break at the moment. It has now emerged that the player suffered a hamstring issue ahead of Liverpool’s meeting with Toulouse.

Neil Jones reported the update on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday evening, also noting the expected absences of Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch.

No Van Dijk (illness), Gravenberch (knee) or Jones (hamstring) for Liverpool vs Toulouse.

Jürgen Klopp expects Van Dijk back for Brentford, possibly Gravenberch too. Jones out until after international break.#LFC pic.twitter.com/QGz3bFXmD1

— Neil Jones (@neiljonesgoal) November 8, 2023

The 22-year-old had already missed a considerable amount of top-flight action owing to a three-game suspension stemming from a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham back in September.

The international break comes at a good time

Fortunately, it appears it will be just the two competitive fixtures that Jones misses – the trip to France and the hosting of Brentford at the weekend.

Whether Jurgen Klopp would feel inclined to throw the young Englishman back into the fray for the testing clash against Manchester City, however, remains to be seen.

At the very least, it seems we’ll have a guaranteed option in his natural position on the left of the midfield three come the trip to the Etihad.

EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: Andre ticks a box, Liverpool have a ‘real top player’ with Kevin De Bruyne gift, unfair treatment of Nunez and much more!

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Liverpool trio not involved in training today as early team news hints emerge ahead of Toulouse

Liam Togher — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 15:33:14 +0000

The list of players present and absent from Liverpool training on Wednesday afternoon may have offered telling hints as to who may nor may not be involved against Toulouse tomorrow.

It was very encouraging to see Ben Doak and Conor Bradley partaking in the session at Kirkby, with the latter nearing a comeback from a lengthy injury, although some first-team names were conspicuous by their absence.

As per Liverpool Echo, there was no sign of either Ryan Gravenberch or Curtis Jones at today’s training session. Alisson Becker was spotted on the club’s live stream on YouTube but wasn’t seen on the pitch.

It appears that the latter trio mightn’t feature against Toulouse if they didn’t partake in training today, although we’ll get our answer when Jurgen Klopp names his team after 4pm on Thursday.

It would’ve been expected that, even had he trained, Alisson would’ve give way to Caoimhin Kelleher, with the Irishman playing in two of the previous three Europa League games and missing the other through injury.

As for Gravenberch and Jones, the Scouser missed the 1-1 draw at Luton on Sunday with a minor problem, so it could simply be a case that neither are risked if they’re carrying knocks.

Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott could be in the frame to start in midfield, along with one of Alexis Mac Allister or Dominik Szoboszlai, with neither of the latter two likely to play the full 90 minutes given their status as regular starters in the Premier League.

Ideally the trio who missed training are simply being rested with the bigger picture in mind and will all be available to face Brentford on Sunday. At least there are quality players to come into the side if today’s absentees miss out against Toulouse.

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Gary Neville saw something even ‘worse’ last night than in Liverpool game earlier this season

Liam Togher — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 11:41:59 +0000

Gary Neville was appalled by one thing he witnessed in the most recent round of Premier League games, describing it as ‘worse’ than an incident in a match involving Liverpool earlier in the season.

At the end of September, Curtis Jones was the first of two Reds players to be sent off in the 2-1 defeat at Tottenham, when the 22-year-old was given his marching orders for a foul on Yves Bissouma.

At the same venue last night, another red card which was upgraded from yellow following a VAR review saw Cristian Romero dismissed for an over-the-top lunge on compatriot Enzo Fernandez as Spurs became the last top-flight team to taste defeat this term, going down 1-4 at home to Chelsea.

Neville was on co-commentary for Sky Sports for the all-London clash on Monday and he was horrified by the Argentine’s foul on his international teammate, comparing it unfavourably to the Liverpool midfielder’s dismissal a few weeks ago.

The 48-year-old said of Romero’s tackle (via Liverpool World): “If you go back to Curtis Jones’ challenge a few weeks ago that I thought was harsh, this one was worse.”

There are definitely some similarities between the two incidents – both were initial yellow card fouls which were changed to red after VAR intervention deemed them to be dangerous lunges, and both took place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

However, when looking at the two tackles in isolation, Neville is right in saying that Romero’s was worse than the one for which Jones was sent off.

The Liverpool midfielder did catch Bissouma high, but he was making a genuine attempt to get the ball and his foot slipped, whereas last night Spurs’ Argentine defender completely missed the ball and caught Fernandez square on the shin.

It would’ve been baffling had the 25-year-old got away with a yellow card when the Reds ace was dismissed for what he did a few weeks ago, but VAR John Brooks correctly intervened and advised Michael Oliver to upgrade the Tottenham man’s indiscretion to red.

Plenty of refereeing decisions are subjective and open to interpretation, but in the search for greater consistency (or even just some consistency when it comes to the Premier League), some calls appear blatantly obvious.

Romero’s sending off against Chelsea falls into that category when weighed up against Jones’ at the same venue earlier in the season.

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Liverpool hit with another midfield injury blow as player absent for Luton clash

Farrell Keeling — Sun, 05 Nov 2023 16:05:54 +0000

Curtis Jones will miss Liverpool’s latest Premier League tie owing to a ‘minor issue’.

This update comes courtesy of Echo reporter Ian Doyle, who relayed the pertinent information on X (formerly Twitter) ahead of the Reds’ league encounter with Luton Town.

Curtis Jones missed training on Friday and is absent this afternoon for #LFC with a minor issue that hasn't been risked

— Ian Doyle (@IanDoyleSport) November 5, 2023

In other news, Luis Diaz has returned to the bench amid the traumatic case of his father’s kidnapping in Colombia.

Not another long injury layoff period

Thank goodness it’s only a ‘minor issue’ for our No.17 who has had some truly horrific luck of late when it comes to absences from the squad.

The England youth international had been absent from the side for the prior three league ties after earning a three-game suspension during the 2-1 defeat to Tottenham.

With Ryan Gravenberch having impressed since, however, one might imagine the 22-year-old has some serious competition on his hands for a starting slot.

It’s a welcome selection headache for Jurgen Klopp at any rate!

EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: Andre ticks a box, Liverpool have a ‘real top player’ with Kevin De Bruyne gift, unfair treatment of Nunez and much more!

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Unplayable: Liverpool’s 75-touch metronome quietly ran the show vs Bournemouth

Farrell Keeling — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 21:40:31 +0000

Another hour of action in the bank for Curtis Jones in what was a particularly assured performance in the middle of the park.

The Scouse Academy graduate excelled as the Reds’ metronome in the midfield, registering 75 touches and completing a whopping 93% of his passes (56/60), according to stats compiled by Sofascore.

The Merseysiders secured passage through to the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup, courtesy of a 2-1 win over the Cherries.

What a turnaround in midfield

Just to think that a few months ago there were some very real, very genuine concerns over the quality of our midfield department.

Get past Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch – all signed this summer by the way – and Jurgen Klopp can still call upon Jones, Harvey Elliott, Stefan Bajcetic, Wataru Endo and Thiago Alcantara (when back from injury).

It’s a selection for now and the future – an ideal blend of potential and quality that we should reap the rewards of for the foreseeable future.

What a time to be a Liverpool fan!

EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: Andre ticks a box, Liverpool have a ‘real top player’ with Kevin De Bruyne gift, unfair treatment of Nunez and much more!

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(Image) Moises Caicedo gets away with carbon copy challenge Curtis Jones got a red card for

Wash N'Gog — Sat, 28 Oct 2023 17:39:03 +0000

Someone make it make sense. How on earth was Moises Caicedo NOT sent off for a challenge that saw studs strike a Brentford player’s ankle?

It’s utterly baffling given that we, as Liverpool fans, had been told that Curtis Jones’ tackle on Yves Bissouma, accidental or no, was worthy of a red card upon review by VAR, despite Simon Hooper initially awarding a yellow card.

The Premier League is just rife with officiating inconsistencies at the minute, isn’t it?

At least the poor call didn’t cost Brentford in their 2-0 win over the Blues at Stamford Bridge.

You can catch the match still below, courtesy of Redmen TV:

But Jones’ was a red pic.twitter.com/lCbFcti2FK

— The Redmen TV (@TheRedmenTV) October 28, 2023

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(Video) Nunez kicks Curtis Jones as LFC midfielder teases him over Toulouse miss

Wash N'Gog — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 18:09:11 +0000

Darwin Nunez cut a distraught figure immediately after striking the post in the second-half of action against Toulouse – despite having the goal gaping open before him.

The Uruguayan international was quickly picked up by his Liverpool teammates, however, with Curtis Jones spotted teasing the forward over his latest moment of madness.

Our No.9 aimed a playful kick at the midfielder and most certainly seemed able to view the whole matter in a positive light when being substituted.

You can catch the clip below, courtesy of fan footage shared online by @CrispyEmi:

darwin curtis was deffo teasing him pic.twitter.com/dTTqScRHxO

— emi (@CrispyEmi) October 27, 2023

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‘Super’ Liverpool player set for another long spell on the bench after what happened vs Toulouse – opinion

Farrell Keeling — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 12:49:59 +0000

What to do with Curtis Jones? The 22-year-old enjoyed a superb start to the 2023/24 campaign, picking up right where he left things the prior season… until an unfortunate slip of the boot over the ball saw him accidentally crunch into Yves Bissouma and awarded a three-match suspension.

In misfortune, however, opportunity is bred, and so Ryan Gravenberch stepped into the fold seeking to prove that he’s far more than a Bayern Munich dud.

His latest display against Toulouse will have vindicated Hasan Salihamidzic and Oliver Kahn – the recently departed figureheads at the Allianz Arena responsible for his arrival from Ajax – in their joint decision. Thomas Tuchel, by contrast, may be feeling a little sheepish.

What now for Curtis Jones?

With the Dutchman thriving on the left of the midfield, however, it does beg the question as to how exactly Jones will work his way back into the XI – quite the dramatic turnaround given that it would have been considered unthinkable to drop the Englishman not too long ago.

That said, we did witness a solid display from our ‘super’ (as Jurgen Klopp described his recent displays following a win over Leicester City in the Carabao Cup, via Liverpool World) Scouse Academy graduate that most certainly benefitted Liverpool’s new tendencies toward possession-based play.

Curtis Jones in action for Liverpool against Toulouse – (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

The England U21s international kept the ball relatively well (albeit losing possession far more than he’s used to this term) and completed 94% (61/65) of his passes on the night in the right midfield role.

What Jones offers on the pitch (even though not quite as alluring to the eye as Ryan Gravenberch’s box office runs) is undoubtedly important, though you’d invite a few incredulous looks if suggesting Dominik Szoboszlai should be benched in his place.

The shirt in the league for that left midfield position now seems the former Bayern man’s to lose, with our No.17 surely now set to warm the bench in the Premier League for the foreseeable future.

The good news is that he should still be in for some reasonable minutes here and there in cup competitions and Europe! Of course, there’s no reason either that opportunity won’t strike once again in his favour.

#Ep94 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones

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Forget Gravenberch: Liverpool’s 83-touch pass master quietly ran the show vs Toulouse

Farrell Keeling — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 21:36:08 +0000

The plaudits from a terrific 5-1 demolition job of Toulouse will deservedly go to Ryan Gravenberch for delivering an utterly inspiring performance in the heart of the Liverpool midfield.

We shouldn’t be quick to overlook his fellow teammates in the middle of the park, however, with Curtis Jones’ steady display perhaps going a little under the radar.

The suspended (league) Englishman quietly kept the ball moving and was a dependable operator despite switching to the right of the midfield trio.

Don’t believe us? Check out the stats

Seriously. Thanks to the stat gurus at Sofascore, we can see that our Academy graduate was pretty handy on the ball, taking 83 touches and securing a pass accuracy percentage of 94% (61/65).

Worryingly, our No.17 did lose possession a whopping 12 times – double that of Gravenberch (6) and quadruple that of Wataru Endo (3) – which perhaps could boil down to a little rustiness from a lack of football of late.

Otherwise, however, there’s not a great deal else to fault in Jones’ Europa League performance!

#Ep94 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones

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(Video) Curtis Jones on pride of wearing captain’s armband and leadership role at Liverpool

Peter Kenny Jones — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 15:50:58 +0000

Curtis Jones may well still be one of the younger members of Jurgen Klopp’s squad but he often acts as one of the most experienced and this was shown by the Scouser being handed the captain’s armband against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup.

Speaking with the media ahead of the Europa League match, the 22-year-old was asked about being handed the responsibility and said: “It’s a tough one, if I’m honest, because I’ve always been the younger kid.

“But I’m at the point now where there’s kids coming in and I’m kind of having a conversation with them [like] I was having with a Hendo, a [James] Milner and even a Trent [Alexander-Arnold].

“It’s about helping out the kids as well. It’s good to have the armband on me and to be captain, but every time at the training ground I always try to be a leader in my own way”.

It’s great to hear how level-headed the midfielder is and how much he thrives on the opportunity to be a leader within a dressing room of world-renowned stars.

After struggling to get into the squad at times last season, the England youth international is now a firm part of first-team plans which is great to see!

You can watch Jones’ comments on the captaincy (from 7:59) via BeanymanSports on YouTube:

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‘It’s in the past…’ – Curtis Jones speaks out on his domestic ban after ‘unfortunate’ red card

Liam Togher — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 13:48:43 +0000

Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones has spoken out about the ongoing domestic ban he picked up after being sent off in the defeat to Tottenham at the end of September.

The 22-year-old was shown a straight red card by Simon Hooper for a foul on Yves Bissouma, with the referee amending his decision from the yellow he’d originally shown before reviewing the incident on the pitchside VAR monitor.

It ended a run of four successive Premier League starts for the Scouser, who was asked about the suspension when he faced the media on Wednesday afternoon ahead of tomorrow night’s Europa League clash against Toulouse.

Jones admitted (via Liverpool Echo): “It’s been tough, I was doing well and a small mistake stops the run of games. It’s in the past, I’ve moved on and now I am excited. Any complaints? Yes and no. I was unfortunate but I saw what the ref was shown.”

Similar to the injury suffered by the in-form Cody Gakpo on the same evening, Jones’ three-match ban came at an inopportune time, with the midfielder enjoying a sustained run in the starting XI before the ban he picked up against Spurs.

The 22-year-old has at least been fresh and available for Europa League action and will very likely start against Toulouse, especially with one more match of his domestic suspension still to serve against Nottingham Forest next Sunday.

Regarding the incident which prompted his enforced withdrawal from Premier League action this month, the tackle looked a bad one from the still image which was shown to Hooper when he approached the VAR monitor.

However, it didn’t appear half as bad in real-time footage, which showed that the Liverpool midfielder’s foot rolled over the top of the ball and his studs duly caught Bissouma on the shin.

It could certainly be deemed an unfortunate setback for Jones, who had kept Ryan Gravenberch waiting for his full English top-flight debut prior to being banned, but at least he’s had European games to keep him ticking over and will be fully available once more following the weekend.

#Ep94 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones

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