Curtis Jones Unleashes Brutal Four-Word Verdict on Liverpool's Struggles
Liverpool's Curtis Jones offered a brutally honest assessment of his beloved club's dismal recent performances, echoing the sentiments of many supporters by declaring, "We're in the s---."
Jones featured for the entire match during Wednesday's crushing 4–1 loss to PSV Eindhoven, helpless to stem the tide of visiting players who dominated proceedings throughout a humbling night. PSV's comfortable victory at Anfield was merely the latest in a troubling pattern.
This continental disappointment marked Liverpool's ninth loss in their last 12 outings, representing the club's most dire spell since Winston Churchill occupied Downing Street. Manager Arne Slot struggled to provide satisfactory reasons for his squad's alarming decline. Jones made no attempt to sugarcoat the situation.
"I don't have the answers," he admitted to CBS Sports. "Truthfully, I don't. That's what I'm telling everyone. It's simply unacceptable. I don't need time to reflect on it. I've moved beyond internal fury. I've reached a stage where words fail me.
"It's painful because I'm representing the club I love. I'm a supporter, and I've followed this team my entire life. For an incredibly long period, I haven't witnessed a Liverpool side enduring such a difficult stretch with these kinds of results.
"However, ultimately, we still wear this crest on our shirts. And as long as that emblem remains, we'll continue battling. We're determined to restore this team to its rightful position, demonstrate once more what this institution represents and why people consider it the greatest club on earth. But currently, we're in the s--- and things must improve."
Liverpool Icons Criticize Players Instead of Arne Slot
Following his criticism of Mohamed Salah's lack of communication, Jamie Carragher likely found some solace in Jones's candid outburst. The Liverpool legend adopted a dejected stance in his CBS Sports commentary role, though he's not advocating for managerial upheaval. "Liverpool isn't a club that dismisses managers," Carragher emphasized. "Liverpool, I believe, differs from virtually every European club where the coach reigns supreme. The managers receive patience."
The squad members, conversely, seem to have exhausted their grace period. "Watching [Virgil] Van Dijk currently, [he's] not the same performer and Mo Salah appears to have lost his pace," Carragher lamented. Focusing on Liverpool's increasingly unreliable skipper, the former defender suggested that Van Dijk has become merely "an ordinary centre back, like myself."
Steven Gerrard called for "extensive introspection" on TNT Sports while dismissing speculation about Slot's dismissal. "Crisis is an extremely harsh term and shows disrespect to certain players who have served this football club, and to the manager who succeeded just three months prior," he noted.
Nevertheless, Gerrard did question some of Liverpool's individual performances. "Regardless of whether it's Mo Salah or anybody else, you cannot be beaten one-on-one in this context," the former Liverpool leader complained while analyzing PSV's second strike. "[Milos] Kerkez in my view is poorly positioned for most of the match.
"It's inexcusable to be on that side of the opponent. You must stay inside. He leaves himself no opportunity."