Simon Mignolet

[Shaggy]

Has Brad Jones ever let us down? for a goalkeeper that hardly plays he seems to do ok when he does play.

I'm probably one of his most vocal critics - I honestly think he's about L1 standard - but this is a fair comment. He has made blunders of course, a good few, but when it's really mattered (notably Everton in the FA Cup semi) he hasn't let us down. I think he's had one run in the side (of a few games or more) and he did well, but they're mostly sporadic, one-off appearances which he is able to survive, get through the one match and disappear to the bench again. I don't think he could be trusted with confidence if we had to rely on him for any length of time.

[Pablo]

I'm probably one of his most vocal critics - I honestly think he's about L1 standard - but this is a fair comment. He has made blunders of course, a good few, but when it's really mattered (notably Everton in the FA Cup semi) he hasn't let us down. I think he's had one run in the side (of a few games or more) and he did well, but they're mostly sporadic, one-off appearances which he is able to survive, get through the one match and disappear to the bench again. I don't think he could be trusted with confidence if we had to rely on him for any length of time.

But he does have lovely hair.

[Fosterbloke]

A good third keeper then.

[el matador]

valdes isnt very good as a first choice keeper as we have a better one and he;s too good to be a no.2 plus his wages would be astronomical.

[danperkins]

I'm probably one of his most vocal critics - I honestly think he's about L1 standard - but this is a fair comment. He has made blunders of course, a good few, but when it's really mattered (notably Everton in the FA Cup semi) he hasn't let us down. I think he's had one run in the side (of a few games or more) and he did well, but they're mostly sporadic, one-off appearances which he is able to survive, get through the one match and disappear to the bench again. I don't think he could be trusted with confidence if we had to rely on him for any length of time.

[danperkins]

Would much rather go after Begovic than Valdes.. if we are going after a keeper. Valdes is 6 years older and would want silly money & IMO he's just not what we'd go after.

Mignolet just doesn't fill me with much confidence at all. Makes some fabulous shot stopping saves, but seems to fail on the basics. He does't command the box and his distribution is pretty terrible. It's a difficult one as our defence hasn't been settled all season but even if you take that into account.. he does seem like a bit of a flapper at times.

I wanted us to get Begovic initially, reminds me of Schmeichel the way he commands the box and gets his body in the way of shots. Hugely talented keeper IMO.

[dww]

I think we need someone to either genuinely push Mignolet for his position or who has the experience to impart (most likely as a backup and training partner). Jones is an OK backup but he offers neither of those things.

I was always unsure of how Mignolet would fit Rodgers style and so far he looks to need more time (not helped by playing behind an ever rotating line up of off form defenders). I can see why Rodgers would be attracted to someone like Valdes who has good distribution and concentration even if his positioning is not always the best.

[Phoenix07]

Valdes would be much better to teach Mignolet. No transfer fee, and we could get a good 2-3 years out of him.

Begovic was my preference above Mignolet last summer, but I think the price for the former influenced our decision.

[G]

Keeper is the hardest position to get right(unless you're Chelsea with 2 great keepers on the books),you get one excellent one,keep him for as long as you can then struggle to replace him for years on end. Case in point United after Scheimechel being terrible until VDS and us not being great from Grob until Reina.

I'm not hopeful with Mig but its early days and agree with all,would have preferred Begovic. Not at all sold on Valdes,never far off a rick or two but at the very least he's ideally suited to the way we want to play which I'm not sure you can say about Begovic or Mignolet.

[Mostar]

No one is doubting that he has made some good saves and has saved us on a number of occasions. But in a similar way to people saying that Pepe Reina wouldn't have made some of those saves I also think that Pepe had a greater command of his area and some of the goals we have conceded over the last couple of months or so we might not have conceded with Pepe in goal. The difference between these types of goals are often these goals we have conceded recently have probably been attributed to a mistake by a defender rather than a goalkeeper but in some cases the goalkeeping situation is a factor.

I don't want to make this a Mignolet vs Reina discussion, but it serves to illustrate the point, and IMO the people saying that Reina wouldn't have made those saves therefore Mignolet is the better is too simplistic an argument. I think that they are different types of keeper and it is very difficult to compare the two, we need a keeper who suits our style of play and to be honest the way both have played I'm not sure either fits that exactly yet, that said Mignolet has only had a year here and is young and still developing...

Pepe is a thing of the past and we need to move on with any comparisons between the 2.

Mignolet started very well but as of late his confidence is shaken but having too many changes and a great deal of instability at the back 4 certainly didn't help him.

To get the best of him we need to sign a much better 2nd choice GK than Jones so he can be challenged for a starting job and need to revamp our defensive options in the summer.

[Bernardicus]

I'm not sure if competition is the right thing. In theory it sounds completely logical. But if you take our defence as an example - we've four established centre backs and the competition is making them a nervous wreck. A mistake or two and they're off the team, and we can't get a settled partnership. Same could happen if we change our goalkeeper every other game.

[Rich]

Well played today, he sure played his part. That save at 1-0 was vital and sensational. He was also better with his feet and took the pressure off a few times with some decent punches. Well played THE MIG.

[RedRum]

Just thought about how important his penalty save on the opening day could prove to be when we win the title (Depending on points difference)

[Yozza]

Just thinking back to this makes me think.........

[McDermotX]

Done alright for a man with a purple fetish yesterday.

One or two rash moments, but made an excellent save in the first half and was dominant in claiming/punching throughout the 90mins. Can't be blamed for either of the two goals, but was there when needed yesterday.