18 May 2015

'The dream ends': Liverpool star confirms he's leaving Anfield after furious reaction to contract fail

Two weeks ago, beleaguered Reds' boss Brendan Rodgers confirmed that contract negotiations with Brad Jones were underway, but it seems like the situation couldn't be resolved as the Aussie goalkeeper has now confirmed that he's leaving Anfield this summer.

On May 2nd, Rodgers told reporters:

"There have been discussions [with Jones]. Obviously, Brad is in his last year but there’s been nothing resolved".

After Liverpool's 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday, Jones posted the following message on Instagram:

"I would have loved to have stayed at the club I have supported since the age of 5 but sometimes the dream ends. I got to play in some amazing games, 2 Merseyside derbies with one being at Wembley, which will stay with me forever. From myself and my family, Thank You!"

Liverpool allegedly reneged on an gentleman's agreement to hand Jones a new deal, which reportedly caused 'considerable discord' between him and the club. The Daily Mail claims:

"Jones is furious because he believes he was given assurances that he would be given another 12 months at Liverpool because of his positive influence in the dressing room"

Jones is often maligned by Liverpool fans, but in my view, the Aussie - recently praised by goalkeeping coach Jonas Achterberg for his 'impressive' attitude' - gets a bum-rap most of the time.

Some fans make it sound like he's a calamity keeper who constantly makes mistakes, but that just isn't fair, or accurate.

In most cases, when he's called into action, Jones does a creditable job, which is impressive considering the fact he often faces long spells on the sidelines between his rare starts for LFC. Jones' stats for LFC:

* 35 goals conceded in 27 games (1.2 per game)
* 8 clean sheets (30% of games | 1 every 3.3 games.

Compare this to Mignolet's record:

* 109 goals conceded in 93 games (1.2 per game)
* 28 clean sheets (30% of games | 1 every 3.3 games)



Overall, when it comes to goals conceded and clean sheets, there's minimal difference between the two, and if Jones had been Liverpool's number one over the last three years, who's to say he wouldn't have grown into the role and performed ever better?

If Jones is being released, it surely means another goalkeeper is coming in this summer; the question is, will it be another understudy, or a 'keeper capable of ousting Mignolet and becoming the club's number one?

In my view, there needs to be a role-reversal at Anfield this summer, with a new number-one coming in, and Mignolet taking Jones role as back-up goalkeeper.

The Belgian has had his chance, and over a two-year period, he hasn't been consistently good enough. Rodgers needs to be ruthless - just bring in a top-class goalkeeper already and let Mignolet battle it out to retain his place in the team.

Author: Jaimie K


82 comments:

  1. I've never understood the stick that Jones gets either. I don't want to sound biased towards my compatriot, but people do carry on like he's a massive calamity. He's not. Simon Mignolet always looks more likely to drop his nerve than Jones does.

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  2. Found this on Wikipedia yesterday , I see it has now been removed ???



    Liverpool

    On 18 May 2015 it was announced that Illarramendi had signed a five-year contract with Liverpool for a fee of €18.5 million. He will officially join Liverpool on 1 July 2015.

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  3. If we keep players just because of their good attitudes,
    then Borini MUST stay as well .

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  4. FSG need to be ruthless. Fire the Manager

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  5. While the stats don't suggest he's *that* bad, he still doesn't seem to have the physical characteristics of a modern keeper. Jones seems a bit too short, and isn't great in terms of reflexes either, and he can't cover the goal with agility.


    I have some sympathy for him over his personal and family troubles, and I didn't realise until I read his post several days ago that he is an LFC fan - but I still think he's had a really poor career, having accepted perennial bench duty for over a decade. He should return to Australia. Mariners would be a good club for him, the wanderscum need a keeper. The money would be good but I just can't understand the bench role for so long. Less than 60 appearances in 10 years for Boro.

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  6. Gerrard (the declined player, not character), Jones, Johnson, Kolo (not convincing this season) all set to leave. Throw in Aspas, Alberto, Borini, Lambert and Liverpool are cleaning house this summer.


    Nothing but positives for me.

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  7. James Milner had a good game yesterday against Swansea .

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  8. Why are we not in for Cech ?

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  9. he's hit a purple patch more recently ,gr8 attitude though

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  10. I would be surprised if Cech was in for us!

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  11. I read that Madrid value him @ £15M but Liverpool are only willing to offer £12M

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  12. Will end up at Arsenal ?

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  13. I found it interesting that Wikipedia had it as a done deal ?

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  14. Wikipedia can be edited isn't it ?

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  15. In Rodgers I trust, he'll definitely take us where HE thinks we belong..........in the championship.
    In FSG I trust, they will definitely ERASE LFC on the football map by sticking with Rodgers.

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  16. Lets face it after 3 seasons: 200m spent, BR says he has no leaders in the squad, no CL football, the whole squad needing sorting out? So is this yet another year of transition? When are we just going to admit that BR was given a 3 yr. Contract to bring success. Compare this with van gaal and mourinho! People assume he will fix it next yr but all top 4 clubs will invest heavily and I imagine Tottenham and Southampton and others will. BR is not a world class manager. If Liverpool want success they need to start here!

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  17. Why would Jones say there was a gentle mans agreement if there wasn't. There is no smoke without fire; I think Ian Ayre/Brendan Rodgers are being disingenuous if they deny this. Fair or not Ian Ayre for me should not be in charge of contracts.

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  18. Rodgers will just take us further back if he is in charge next season. The man is out of his depth and this season is proof of it.

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  19. Why would he want to be at Anfield? He is a top class goalkeeper who probably has many better options available to him.

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  20. BR apparently said yesterday we don't have enough leaders......I assume he is only referring to the team and not the management;-).


    Could he use the Captain's armband as a lure to get Milner? It would make Henderson's contract negotiations very interesting

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  21. Thanks for the service Mr Brad Jones. Fret ye not, for getting rid of you itsn't personal.

    You're likely being shipped out for a cheaper and probably inferior player...


    ...AS IS THE NORM UNDER FSG

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  22. Well, as someone who cringed when Mignolet was bought, I'd love to see him replaced with a decent keeper.

    Mingy can make a few decent saves, but come on, let's be honest, he's a lumbering, leaden footed, panic master who often transfers his panic to his teamates.

    Panic, like optimism (crikey, don't use that word in association with LFC much these days), is contagious, and some of our panic stricken defending can be attributed to the unsteady feeling our defenders often experience with LLFPM in goal.

    The other thing is... Veneers hoodwinked us all to get the job based on his 180 dossier on death by football, then goes out and buys one of the worst foot skill keepers around, meaning we cannot build from the back...a pre-requisite of possession football (need a Reina for that style, but he was shipped out for someone cheaper, as most of/all of our best players have been).

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  23. Everybody can edit something at Wikipedia. It takes around 5-10 minutes for an admin to prove it. That's why it was deleted later on

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  24. The trick is to get your excuses in early.

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  25. He's not good enough as a keeper I can't remember him having once made an exceptional save.
    Mingloet is a decent keeper but should not be a number 1 keeper at LFC he should be a N02.

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  26. Just read on 101 that we are after Vidal ??? I hope so as he is one hard player.

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  27. If he came to us he would have more to do ?? maybe to much.

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  28. It's amazing how a Brad Jones leaving story gets turned into a Rodgers out campaign again. We'll get this all close season with Klopp and probably Ancellotti being available.


    Re Jones, I don't like it if we've gone back on an agreement but that said we need to upgrade our goalkeeper situation and that includes Mignolet. Simply put 1 had to go and a new challenger come in, won't be Cech as he'll go to Champions League.


    Regarding Rodgers the biggest mistake he and the Committee made was thinking that Sturridge would play a full season without injury and the back up strikers just didn't fit the mould and we couldn't get rid of Borini even though we tried.


    Nobody expected Lovren to be as poor as he has, all the talk last summer (me included) was how good a defender he was (even though we did overpay). Other than that most of the other signings have shown signs of their potential and now they have adapted to the Prem should push on.


    Finally we keep throwing players like Aspas around as poor buys, but lets face it that in modern footballing terms £7m for a striker is very low, we took a gamble and he didn't make the grade so we'll sell him and get similar money back for him.


    If Rodgers wants to step up as a Manager then he needs to learn to park the bus every time a big team comes to town, just like Mourinho does, instead of going toe to toe with them and falling short.

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  29. Jones has been ok he copped a lot of criticism after the Man u game which i thought was unwarranted anyway he needs to go and make way for a new number one keeper.

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  30. Wh's to say he wouldn't have performed well? People who use sight as a way to decide?

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  31. I'm against the idea of singing a new player and make him captain straight. Hendo has shown a lot of times why he deserves to be the next captain IMO

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  32. I just hope it turns out to be true.

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  33. That is Liverpool fiddle about over paying a few extra bucks for a quality player and end up over paying for rubbish.

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  34. You can toss Coates Ilori and Lovren in too.

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  35. Maybe and maybe not. I omitted him on purpose, and think he should get more chances after Rodgers pathetic attempt (or lack thereof) to manage him and half the rest of the squad properly. BR bent over backwards to change the team for SAS and Gerrard but instead of trying something with Balotelli he just openly criticised him all season.


    I'd say 6 months but there aren't many takers on a permanent deal in January, so it would be 12 months. The issue then is he has 12 months remaining on his contract. But we all know that if Rodgers is around Balo will be axed somehow so there's no point discussing it too much.

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  36. Forgot about Coates. I'd replace Kolo with Ilori but he has only played 12 times this season for Bordeaux. Not convincing is it?


    Don't start me on Lovren there are better A-league defenders.

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  37. Maybe the Spiranovic rumour may not be as bad as first thought.

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  38. Lot's of people have doubts about whether Hendo is Captaincy material and there are no other stand out contenders.


    I am just idly speculating though and perhaps the money and the chance to play regularly will be enough to attract him anyway.

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  39. What rumour? Him to Liverpool? Then Rodgers and co have well and truly lost the plot.

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  40. Replied, but caught. So, response is in the mail, and the mail is slow around here ;)

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  41. That was a while back Pete last year sometime and you know rumours!!

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  42. Yes the footy team is too.

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  43. If they can stay fit, Sakho, Lallana and Lucas would be my preferred candidates, but I wouldn't mind us signing a captain.

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  44. Would be really nice!

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  45. That would be a boss transfer. Wouldn't mind a move for Pereyra, either.

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  46. But I recon it will be like every other transfer we will offer pittance

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  47. If Juve won't accept a sack of potatoes, that's their problem.

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  48. yeah that's Liverpool these days

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  49. Jones is simply not good enough at this level..,giving him a new contract is a total nonsense.. He has been here for so long and haven't challenged any of the past goalkeepers, any epl club minus lfc have a 2nd goalie as good as no1

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  50. Yeah that always solves everything doesn't it.

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  51. Against Man Utd away he was extremely bad. It was his big chance and he blew it. No matter what agreements had held up until that point, you *have* to take your chance in football, because you've got to have it in you to perform in those critical moments. Jones doesn't have it, his chance is gone. Hopefully Ryan can come in to keep the Aussie quota up :)

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  52. We know it was false because if it was true he would have signed for 20m at least. And then left off the subs bench countless times. Oh wait that's Markovic!

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  53. I don't deny he's a below standard keeper, however my point is that fans will paint picture of him being this constant accident waiting to happen.

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  54. "A bit too short"????! At 6ft5 I think you must be thinking of someone else! 😳

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  55. That's a bit harsh on Balotelli

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  56. By most accounts he's actually 6ft3 - but he looks quite small in goal.

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  57. It also said Lebron James was the owner of the Bulls after game 5. For the most part it's an okay source, but when it comes to current news, it sucks a** because anyone can change it and it won't be caught for at least a couple hours.

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  58. He needs a Balotelli hairstyle

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  59. One thing you cannot fault Jones on is his incredible head of hair. It's just brilliant.

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  60. Yes but if only he'd built it up on top he would still have a job

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  61. Jones was brought in to be a back up and he accepted that role. That's it. However I do agree that is not good enough to push Mignolet to his best, competition is needed in a squad and players like Glen Johnson, Pepe Reina, Mignolet never really had any competition.


    Seems like a nice guy and it's so unfortunate what happened to his son, so sad.


    We need to get a keeper good enough to challenge Mignolet, although he has improved his distribution is still awful.

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  62. Fire Brendan, break Migs' legs, burn Sterling alive and at least kill Lovren and Markovic. Ibe and Lallana should be tortured a bit, just in case..

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  63. On what planet was he a star

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  64. Haha, the boxer bears his teeth

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  65. Leno from Bayern or Begovic need to be brought in. Rodgers was talking about the team having no leaders. he has had over £200m to address the issue as well as a goalscorer. Now Klopp is supposed to be in talks with Fenerbahce so FSG look like they have missed the boat on this primed and ready manager who seems the perfect fit for LFC.

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  66. My violent urges will be satisfied merely by firing BR ;-)

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  67. Still sounds like defending the indefensible.

    Either BR is accountable/responsible for all playing matter or he is not - which is it?

    After 3 years and no trophy, there is absolutely ZERO justification in giving him another year, and we need to find an upgrade.

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  68. "Overall, when it comes to goals conceded and clean sheets, there's minimal difference between the two, and if Jones had been Liverpool's number one over the last three years, who's to say he wouldn't have grown into the role and performed ever better?"


    With all due respect, who's to say that he would have grown into the role?


    I understand the ratio, but comparing them is extremely difficult considering Mignolet has played almost four times as many games.


    I would argue that Jones doesn't have a large enough sample size to be able to accurately predict how well he would perform over the course of the same number of games as Mignolet.

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  69. That Man Utd away game still gives me nightmares. He dived the wrong way for not 1, but 2 goals, It almost felt like he was guessing/diving a few seconds before the shot was taken. Made him look like such an amateur.

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  70. Articles ripping other players apart and then trying to defend BRAD JONES. Wow.

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  71. I used to think Reina wasn't that tall for a keeper. When I saw him close up in real life he was gigantic.

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  72. Gerrard is a legend. Suarez is arguably the best striker in the world and Sturridge is, when fit one of if not the best English striker. Balo is Balo. Not worth building a team around.

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  73. Inferior to Jones. That there is scary talk. The fact that every keeper we have been linked to is better does make.me.feel.a bit better.

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  74. UEFA to ease FFP to stop clubs overspending

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  75. I think a new keeper to compete with Migs is the way to go

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  76. Being held accountable/responsible and being fired don't necessarily have to be one in the same.


    In my opinion, that's what gets lost in the fray of debate here.


    Anyone who says that they don't want/think that Rodgers will/should be fired is accused of being an apologist.


    More often than not, they acknowledge his shortcomings and failings, but simply don't believe that firing is the best course of action.


    The problem is, assuming Rodgers stays, what is the next course of action to improve the situation?

    And for that matter, I admit I really do not know what the alternative course of action would be.

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  77. aqueel siddique6:37 pm, May 18, 2015

    Thats one thing I don't get. Liverpool acting like they didn't have money to spend. 200 million with CL attraction and still no world class player. Gerrard now asking owners to back BR, for what? For him to buy young players, because that's the only type players that would want to join a team with no CL or any big players, Gerrard being the last of them.

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  78. aqueel siddique6:40 pm, May 18, 2015

    I don't get why Liverpool don't play both keepers like other clubs. Play keeper 1 in premier league and Europe and keeper 2 in FA and Capital one cup.

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  79. Good decision. We need another keeper to compete with Mignolet and should use our academy players as third choice keeper.

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