LIVERPOOL boss Brendan Rodgers must act fast and sort out error-prone goalkeeper Simon Mignolet in the next transfer window or risk his young Anfield managerial career.
The Reds have had an underwhelming campaign thus far after incredible overachievement of last season. A lot has been adduced as reasons for their unexpected decline, notably the loss of last season’s 31-goal hero Luis Suarez and the continued unavailability of his strike partner Daniel Sturridge due to series of bizarre injuries.
Of course, any team will struggle if you take 51 goals out of their season haul. That is one of Liverpool’s problems this season. But the major problem the Reds have is not really about reproducing last season’s glut of goals, no. Their biggest headache is actually at the rear with goalkeeper the central figure.
Liverpool failed to win the league last season simply because they conceded too many goals – 51 in fact. Their defence was shaky and sometimes comically wobbly. But at the centre of that wobbly defence was an incredibly jittery Mignolet, incidentally the only recurring decimal at Reds backline.
Top goalkeepers make their defence stronger than they actually are. They command their area and give their teammates huge confidence. Mignolet, sadly, is an exact opposite of what great goalkeepers are. He is diffidence personified, and that from day one of his about 18-month old Anfield career.
World class goalkeepers dig their sides out of difficult situations four out of five times in a match, that’s 80 percent, while very good goalkeepers do it between 60 to 70 percent of the times they face danger. Top goalkeepers or goalkeepers of top clubs are expected to come to their teams rescue at least thrice out of every five situations.
Mignolet’s rescue record at Anfield is less than 10 percent! And this is no wicked exaggeration! Apart from his first competitive match where he saved a late penalty against Stoke City at Anfield last season, I can’t recall when the Belgian stopper could be said to have been the difference for Liverpool since he succeeded Pepe Reina.
Even in the above mentioned match, the goalkeeper was a bag of jitters, and the only reason Liverpool kept a clean sheet in that match was because Stoke weren’t clinical. The rangy minder committed too many errors last season, most of which were brutally punished.
This season, the Belgium second choice has grown worse. Three clean sheets in 21 matches in all competitions flatters him beyond belief, never mind that the record is mediocre to say the least. Mignolet continues to commit blunders, mostly elementary ones, at an alarming frequency. Let’s look at Liverpool’s last four matches for example.
Away to Ludogorets, the Reds first choice gifted the hosts the opening goal when he spilled a 20-yard shot to the path of an onrushing opponent who gratefully tucked home from close range. Even when Liverpool fought hard to turn the match on its head, Mignoilet ensured the modest Bulgarians got a share of the spoils when he went AWOL during a corner-kick at the dearth.
Of course, his defenders didn’t cover themselves in glory for the Bulgarians two goals. But as a top goalkeeper, Mignolet didn’t come to his team’s rescue at all. Few days earlier to the UCL road trip, the goalkeeper had posted a heart-wrenching display at lowly Crystal Palace where he was culpable for two of the three goals conceded in a morale-sapping 3-1 reverse.
OK, he kept a clean sheet at Anfield against Stoke City (again). But that was not due to his brilliance. Ah yes, he made a world class save against Borjan Krkic when he tipped a goal-bound shot over the bar. Brilliant as the save was, it wasn’t the defining moment of the match as the visitors had a handful of other chances which the goalkeeper failed to deal with.
Krkic had earlier beaten him to his near post but failed to prod the rebounce home even when faced with an empty net. And the stopper had Reds hearts fluttering dangerously when he again missed a corner-kick at the dearth which only needed a connection from a Stoke player to end the match in a draw. And we mustn’t forget that Raheem Sterling made a goal-line clearnce after Mignolet and his defence were found wanting once more in dealing with a set-piece.
That Stoke didn’t score had more to do with their incompetence in front of goal than any brilliance of the Reds goalkeeper.
In their most recent match against BPL bottom team, Leicester City, Mignolet didn’t cover himself in glory. He conceded an own goal even when it looked easier to make a routine save and gifted the poor hosts an unexpected advantage. Things could have been far worse had Esteban Cambiasso accepted the Reds goalkeeper’s early Chrismas gift when the Belgian, under no pressure, passed the ball to the veteran Argentine midfielder who incredibly skewed his shot wide of an open goal from barely 20 yards out.
Had he scored, then the struggling hosts could have been 2-0 up after Mignolet’s poor own goal, and a team suffering from acute lack of confidence like today’s Liverpool might not have had the mental strength to claw their way back into the match let alone scoop all three points.
Very painfully for Reds faithful, the Belgian has no competition for his shirt. And that is Rodgers fault 100 percent. Lack of competition for his shirt may also be the reason for his terrible decline over the past 18 months. And the Reds boss must shoulder more of the blame especially when you remember he practically chased club legend Reina away to make Mignolet his undisputed first choice.
Signing the rangy Belgian in anticipation of Reina’s imminent departure was a poor managerial decision, chasing the popular Spaniard away was a terrible mistake, while not providing the new first choice with any credible competition is unbelievably naive. This is one of Rodgers many indiscretions as Liverpool manager. And it is a discretion that may spell the end of his Anfield reign if not quickly sorted. Good for him, the winter window is just a few weeks away. The Reds have been linked with some fanciful goalkeepers in the past couple of weeks. Rodgers must make sure they are not just mere paper names.
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