Curtis Jones posted a simple photo on his Instagram page this week of himself celebrating Mohamed Salah's Champions League goal by sitting next to him on an advertising billboard.
Many of the comments posted below were nice and many were not.
“You should learn to respect our legend.” 'Don't talk too much child.' “Stay humble.” “Salah's left foot is better than your entire career.”
That was just a sample taken from the first dozen of more than 500 comments left Thursday morning. More will come, for sure.
The origin of the speech lies in an interview that Jones, the Liverpool midfielder, did with Rio Ferdinand in the run-up to the match against Lille, in which he suggested that former Chelsea and Real Madrid striker Eden Hazard could having had more talent than Salah, his teammate.
In the real world, this is called opinion. It's called being human. It's called being honest and real in a sport occupied by too many fakes and bluffs.
Cutis Jones posted a photo of himself on his Instagram, celebrating Mohamed Salah's goal against Lille, which attracted an unreasonable amount of ire from fans.
Jones joined Liverpool when he was nine years old and has made 160 appearances for them.
Jones has had to work hard, be patient and respectful in order to build his career.
But in the world of modern football fans and particularly on social media, it is treacherous and disloyal. That's a point Jones has made clear all week.
Last season, when asked about criticism of his game in general, Jones responded: “I don't care. It doesn't faze me. I'm a Scouser. We're used to the bad parts of things.
One wonders if Jones still feels that way today. Because some of what he has had to endure this week has been unacceptable.
And aren't Liverpudlians supposed to be proud of their natural tendency and instinct to stick together? Us against the world and all that. What happened with that this week? Apparently this is up in the air for a minority.
Because here's the irony of all this. Jones is the 23-year-old footballer who has been at the club since he was nine years old.
He is the one who played for Liverpool during his childhood only to make it to the first team and find international talent along the way. He is the one who has had to work hard and be patient and respectful and hope that in the end his ability will get him where he needs to be.
There was never a big incoming transfer fee hanging over Jones' head. There was never any pressure for Jurgen Klopp or Arne Slot to pick him to justify the outlay. No, Jones was just one more Liverpool player who had to wait for an opportunity that sometimes comes and other times doesn't.
Yet here he is, having done all that, having to clarify and justify completely innocent comments made about one of his teammates who just so happens to be in the process of publicly pointing a gun at Liverpool's head over a new contract. almost completely. without comments or criticism.
Liverpool-born Jones is a local player, but that brings its own problems.
Jones was an Anfield favorite from his first game and scored the winning goal against Everton.
It is important to note that all of the criticism of Jones has come on social media. There was not a murmur of dissent inside Anfield on Tuesday night.
Jones will still be aware of it and has been here before this season. He was criticized for suggesting he might be a better fit for Slot than Klopp, while old videos of him missing a big chance in a lost game against Crystal Palace last season have resurfaced on the X platform.
They say it's a dream to play in a kids' club. Be it Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham or Arsenal. But the truth is that it is not, not always.
They love it when you first walk in, for sure. I was there the night Jones scored his first goal for Liverpool just over five years ago.
It came from 20 yards at Anfield and was enough to knock Everton out of the FA Cup. It was a thing of beauty, curling in off the instep of Jones from 20 yards. He was 18 years old.
So yeah, they loved him, so it's okay. He's one of ours. But the truth is that as time goes by, they expect more from you if you are local. They expect more effort, more perseverance, more loyalty.
But it's a loyalty that only works one way because if you don't prove to be good enough, they'll soon want to get rid of you, they'll soon want to replace you with the next shiny toy on the European market.
This is one of the reasons why Trent Alexander-Arnold currently receives more criticism from Liverpool fans for his contractual impasse than Salah and captain Virgil van Dijk do for theirs.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (left) will inevitably be hit harder in his contract battle than Salah
That's why Jones is receiving criticism for what he said about Hazard when, for example, a teammate like Ibrahima Konate or Luis Díaz wouldn't have to. If Díaz had said this, it would have been brazen or irreverent and would have gone unnoticed. Jones is simply not granted that freedom.
As it happened, Jones clarified his comments and said he would still prefer to have Salah in his team than Hazard.
No doubt that's why he joined Salah on that billboard. No doubt that's why he posted the image on his Instagram. Solidarity with a partner and all that.
But how sad to feel that I had to do all that. And how about some solidarity with a boy who has always wanted to play for Liverpool? What about the leeway for a young player whose only crime was saying what he honestly feels?
Apparently things don't work that way in football. You're one of us, son. At least until you're alone, that is.
UEFA gives City the opportunity to succeed even though it failed
Manchester City are currently 25th in a 36-team Champions League table, but could still win the competition.
The dice are stacked against him, no doubt. If they beat Club Brugge in their eighth group game on Wednesday, they will face a two-leg playoff to reach the round of 16, and from then on their poor performance so far will count against them. in the way that group is organized. sown
However, they will still be alive and will still be Manchester City.
But City have lost three and drawn two of their seven games so far. They have conceded four goals away against Sporting Lisbon and PSG and three against Feyenoord at home. The only teams they have beaten have been Slovan Bratislava, who have lost all seven of their games, and Sparta Prague, who have lost five.
Manchester City were impressed in Paris and were on the brink of an early exit.
City have lost three of their seven games, including a 4-1 rout against Sporting Lisbon.
Whatever you think of UEFA's new format for its blue-ribbon competition, and however much you welcome the danger that now looms over some of the final matches of next week's group stage, it is hard to escape the idea that it is just another way of giving Europe's big clubs exactly what they want.
That is, the opportunity to succeed even when they fail.
Zaha's fans were left wanting more
Wilfried Zaha will join Charlotte in MLS on loan from Turkish side Galatasaray and a career that once promised so much now threatens to peter out at the age of 32.
He was a real talent, Zaha, and it seems like we only saw a fraction of him.
His move to Manchester United was strange. It was organized by Sir Alex Ferguson before he retired in 2013, leaving David Moyes to work with a 20-year-old who emotionally was simply not ready.
From there he returned to Crystal Palace and stayed until it was possibly too late. Palace fans adore him and he gave them everything he could. It's just that the rest of us feel like we could have had a little more.
Spurs have nothing to lose: they should give Ange more time
Tottenham will not be relegated and their hopes of qualifying for Europe through the Premier League positions have vanished.
So while recent results have been dismal, giving Ange Postecoglou more time to implement his ideas when players return from injury really makes sense.
The Spurs have nothing to lose. Apart from more games, of course.
Ange Postecoglou's side have won five and lost 10 of their last 18 games in all competitions.