Yes - it's another Mignolet bashing article.
I've recently been looking at Liverpools player ratings for the 2016/17 season and one thing most seem to agree on is that Simon had a good season (some say great).
He averages about 7.5 out of 10, at least in the articles, news pages and forums I've come across.
I've never hidden my dislike for him representing us in goal and in a previous article, I noted that he was the Premier Leagues most costly player over 3 seasons and contrary to popular belief, his shot stopping wasn't good based on goals conceded vs shot conceded ratio. This, combined with poor kicking and poor positioning made him surplus to requirements.
But no - Simon remains Liverpools first choice keeper.
The 2016/17 season is viewed by many as the season Simon cut out the mistakes, saved us points and swept away the doubters.
I have a different view of Simons season. I recall a game at the Brittania where he made undoubtedly a match winning save. But this one save seemed to turn Simons average season into a spectacular one.
Prior to this, he was just, well... ordinary in my opinion.
Now, I accept I'm probably In the minority but I'm still going to make a prediction for next season and here it goes,
Simon Mignolet will let us down. He will make costly mistakes and we'll all be calling for reinforcements in January.
In fact, I'll post this article in January - that's how confident I am.
For the record, I would love nothing more than Simon proving me wrong and this isn't me being negative but I can't help but feel we'll pay the price for not getting a new GK this summer.
Some stats for 16/17:
Save% for top 6
Courtois, 71%
Lloris, 77%
Caballlero, 71%
Mignolet, 63%
Cech, 76%
De Gea, 72%
Saves per goals conceded:
Courtois, 2.4
Lloris, 3.3
Caballlero, 2.4
Mignolet, 1.7
Cech, 3.1
De Gea, 2.6
Weakest of the top 6 by far and most of the mid table and lower half table keepers even out score him on these two counts.
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How one Save at Stoke Changed Everything
posted on 1/6/17
Just shows that stats aren't always a good indication. Without a shadow of doubt, Mignolet has played a massive part in us getting top four. It's arguable, and I'm not the only one who says this, that if Mig wasn't as good as he was over the last 4-6 weeks, then we wouldn't have gotten top four.
Basically Metro, your opinion on Mig is out of date.
posted on 1/6/17
Where are your stats for how often the keeper is left exposed by the opposition cutting through our midfield and defence like a knife through butter? Because that's what I saw happen more often than all these howlers you speak of.
posted on 1/6/17
You're right Metro.
You're in the minority.
posted on 1/6/17
I don't agree with Metro but to defend him a little bit, 10 weeks ago I suspect 90%+ of the Liverpool fan base would have said Mig was not good enough for Liverpool and should be replaced.
That view was based on 3 seasons worth of evidence (he had a great start). Those 3 seasons of evidence appear to have been wiped out by 10 weeks of good form.
Now I'm hugely encouraged by Mig's form and this is where i disagree with Metro because I don't necessarily want a replacement right now. However for me the question marks are still there.
Form is temporary, class is permanent. What is Mig's class? I'm still not convinced he's top class. I sincerely hope this coming season proves he is.
posted on 1/6/17
He had a good end to the season, where he's probably been in the form of his life.
The risk is whether it is a purple patch and we're back to normal next season or has he actually improved?
We can only know next season.
posted on 1/6/17
Mig has always been a very good reaction keeper if that makes sense, he has made some outstandig saves he really had no right to save, but when he had to make a decision and be proactive he had problems.
But he's now entering his prime years and some sort of penny seems to have dropped with him and his overall decision making is far better and he's more confident in himself, also well worth noting is you can actually hear him shouting now.
Every keeper makes mistakes, especialy as they develop, we have had 3 years of Mig making mistakes and costing us points, so it's ok to still be hesitant over him despite the excellent form in 2017.
But for me the bog question is how much are we going to spend to buy a better keeper? And will this new keeper come in and make a dramatic difference to us?
posted on 1/6/17
Also if it comes down to 30 million on a new keeper, or using this 30 million to buy a new outfield player then it's the outfied player all day.
posted on 1/6/17
Mignolet has improved massively in the last half of the season. He now seems to be much more aggressive and commanding in his area. Not a priority to replace him imo.
posted on 1/6/17
Karius becomes a bit of a forgotten man but clearly Klopp rates him and he will get opportunities next season, he could really develop into a top keeper having already got 100 or so senior games under his belt.
posted on 1/6/17
comment by Terminator1 (U1863)
posted 11 hours, 10 minutes ago
Just shows that stats aren't always a good indication. Without a shadow of doubt, Mignolet has played a massive part in us getting top four. It's arguable, and I'm not the only one who says this, that if Mig wasn't as good as he was over the last 4-6 weeks, then we wouldn't have gotten top four.
Basically Metro, your opinion on Mig is out of date.
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My thoughts exactly