Since becoming a first team squad fixture for Liverpool, Curtis Jones has left his own mark on the Merseyside derby…
NAME me a player who has positively impacted Merseyside derbies more than Curtis Jones over the past decade.
Ok, you can have Divock Origi. And yes, I’ll give you Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and even Sadio Mane.
Fair enough. Name me an Everton player. You can’t because there isn’t one. You’re not having Jordan Pickford because I said positively impacted. Richarlison doesn’t count in any serious conversation and Tim Cahill is now long gone, dining out on the odd derby goal and beating Steven Gerrard at Padel.
Jones has scored a world-class winning goal in a derby where – to quote an Evertonian on one of their podcasts this week – Liverpool won playing their under 16s. He’s now also been the game’s outstanding performer in a first all-Merseyside encounter at the Hill Dickinson stadium which was won in true Kopite fashion.
People can and will endlessly debate Jones. His ability, attitude and individual performances create alternate visions for one reality. Some see a rabbit, others a duck. Some thought he was woeful at right-back, I thought he was a magician who encapsulated everything good about Liverpool on the day.
The second goal doesn’t happen without him. The Evertonian ire isn’t as distasteful without him. They adore hating Scousers who pull on red. They plunge into conspiracies about Everton tattoos and other more sinister topics because to them, loving Liverpool is for the far away. The day trippers and hospitality crews. Whatever gets you through the night.
They hated Jones last week because he was so good. David Moyes gave the instruction to pepper Liverpool’s right-back area. He was never going to dominate Beto aerially or motor up and down in the manner Jeremie Frimpong would.
Yet Jones was the correct horse for this course because when Liverpool needed to get on the ball, and he duly stepped up. The accusation often levelled at the player of holding on to possession too much was exactly what Liverpool needed in this game. He made Everton work by chasing shadows in the riverside heat.
More, he was brave in demanding the ball and slaloming left and right when he had it. Avoiding traps and pitfalls in a manner which would be celebrated if he was a Manchester City player in a Pep Guardiola side. Every time you thought he was done, he would escape with his life and the ball intact. Like the little mouse in Ratatouille if the bombastic French chef was James Garner or Jake O’Brien.
Jones knew exactly what this meant to the away end, just like Salah seemed to. This squad have been through so much and to see them have this moment with the away end offered a glimpse of warmth towards an endeavour we’ve found so passionless since September.
Since Sunday, the future of Jones has come into focus. His current deal runs out in 2027 and there’s suggestions he’s not happy with playing time this season.
Jones profiles as a progressive ball carrying midfielder who retains possession well. He scores over 80 percent for pass percentage, xG buildup and deep progressions per 90 when compared to Premier League averages. He should and could improve other metrics of his game, but he needs games to do so.
Whether that’s at Liverpool or somewhere else now remains to be seen. It could be true that he is an excellent player but just not what Liverpool needs in the current climate.
Going into this summer, the direction of travel was that Liverpool was buying to become Manchester City from 2018-2022. That they would control everything from possession to territory to scoreboards. Jones, in this sense, sounded like the perfect midfield option. If you have the scoreboard on your side, he is the player you want. Liverpool have had to chase games far too often this season.
The campaign has also exposed a need for more pace and urgency in Liverpool’s play. All roads point to a desire for explosive and quick football. There could still be a world where Jones can be integral to future success, but you get the feeling something has perhaps shifted in attitude and relationships with regards to his future.
I hope he stays, partly because I enjoy fighting his corner, but also because on Sunday he fought ours. He knows exactly what the derby means to everyone in the city, red and blue, and decided he was going to run the game from right-back.
It was an act of Scouse certainty. Whatever happens, Curtis Jones can rest assured he’s written his name into Merseyside derby folklore over the past decade.
Not many Everton players can say the same.
