FLIPPING GREAT FOR KID CURTIS
Coin toss to decide if Jones is Reds’ youngest ever captain
CURTIS JONES’ chances of setting a new all-time Liverpool record could rest on the flip of a coin.
That is the suggestion from his Under-23 boss Neil Critchley, with the 19-year-old in line to become the youngestever captain in the club’s history against Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup tonight
Critchley (right) will be in the dug-out at Anfield with manager Jurgen Klopp taking the week off with Liverpool supposed to be on a winter break.
The stand-in says that, with Pedro Chirivella captaining the side when they played Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup, he may have to toss a coin to decide between the two.
“Curtis has been our captain for the U-23s this season but he wasn’t captain in the Aston Villa game because he was away at the Club World Cup,” said Critchley. “So I shall toss the coin and see which one it lands on.
“Would he be the club’s youngest-ever captain? Well, he might give me a double-headed coin to flick then.”
Jones only turned 19 on January 30 and if, as expected, he is given the armband, that would make him the youngest captain. You have to go all the way back to Alex Raisbeck in 1900, who was 20 years and 250 days when he first led the team.
Steven Gerrard is next on the list, after being made captain at the age of 22. For Jones, it would cap what has been an incredible few weeks, with Klopp saying the midfielder would “definitely” become a Liverpool regular if he continues his current progress. He has scored two goals in his last two games for the first team and has a belief and confidence that will take him far.
“He is a young p l a y e r who wants to prove himself,” said Critchley. “I don’t see a problem with that.
“He has belief in himself and he’ll learn through experience of when to show that on the pitch and when not to show it. He couldn’t be learning off better people here, the senior players around him and the staff.
“We are here to support him and guide him. You have to let Curtis have a certain amount of freedom in the way he plays because that’s when he’s at his best. But he has to do some of the other things in his game otherwise he won’t be part of the team.”
Critchley led Liverpool in the cup game at Villa when Klopp was away at the World Club Cup with the first-team squad.
There is some controversy this time around with no first-team players appearing, after the manager insisted they have a week off. Even James Milner, who trained with the kids as he hit the comeback trail, will not take the chance to find fitness.
But Critchley said it is a good chance to learn for his kids, after a harsh lesson at Villa Park. “We got a lot of praise for that performance. We played well in parts but we didn’t do well enough in both penalty boxes,” he added.
“If you are going into a results-driven business you have to win games of football. We didn’t keep the ball at one end and didn’t score at the other end and that’s not a recipe for success, they have to learn that.”
Andrew Madley