Simon Mignolet

[Darkon]

We sold Reina of £2million

Considering he's perfectly happy being a second fiddle now, I'm not sure we would be any better with off a GK that's lost his drive (and not really been up there for a few seasons now)!

[Yozza]

BR: Mignolet has the mental strength

Brendan Rodgers insists he has no qualms about Simon Mingolet's ability to regain top form, highlighting the goalkeeper's strength of character as a key attribute in his makeup.

The Belgian has been the subject of media analysis recently after an error during Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Ludogorets Razgrad led to the Bulgarian team opening the scoring after just three minutes in Sofia.

Hosting his pre-Stoke City press conference at Melwood, Rodgers was asked about the form of the Liverpool custodian by journalists - and the boss revealed his confidence that Mignolet won't be dwelling on such mistakes.

The manager said: "He's fine. I had a good chat with Simon today & told him to stop being such an abject coward"

"Simon has saved us in games - a number of games - in my time here. His form is probably just like the team's - we all need to be better collectively as a squad.

"He is coping well. It's never easy and I've always said, however it comes, you won't like criticism whether it's deserved or not. But it's part of the sport and part of the game, all you can do is focus on being the best you can be in your next game and your next training session. That's something he's done. That's our idea.

"The team gains confidence from each other. When you're scoring goals, it has an impact on midfielders and defenders, and likewise when you're keeping clean sheets, it has an impact on everyone.

"For us, it's about collective responsibility - not just one player. If we're to succeed, it'll be about everyone."

Rodgers feels the worldwide scale of Liverpool Football Club means the players face greater examination than perhaps elsewhere.

Nonetheless, the Northern Irishman believes it is an aspect of playing for the Reds that has to be embraced.

He added: "It [criticism] will come, we're losing games of football and maybe not playing so well, and when you're at a club like Liverpool, the focus on you is magnified because we're one of the great leading clubs in the world, so you have to accept it as part of the job.

"He [Mignolet] is strong enough. You have to embrace it - if you're going to be at this level of football, you have to be able to cope with the spotlight, whether it's good or bad. It's always going to be there because of the sheer size of the club.

"It's a great club to play for, to work for, but sometimes it won't always go your way and you have to be able to cope with it when it doesn't and fight even harder to come back.

"You're at a leading team in Europe and everyone's watching every game and every move you make. For Simon, the spotlight is on him as well as on the team, but he's a strong enough character to come through it.

"He's a good guy, he's working very hard on every aspect of his game, and like the team, his confidence will grow as the season progresses and he'll become better."

Meanwhile, Rodgers praised the support Liverpool's current crop of players have been receiving from some of the most iconic stars from the club's illustrious past.

He said: "I am thankful I have got guys here, former players like Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler, Kenny [Dalglish] - absolute legends of the club, who are unequivocal in their support. Win, lose or draw, I always get something from them, as well as the likes of Steve McManaman.

"These guys were wonderful players for this club. They see how poor we are at the moment & how The Committee & myself have squandered £200M, but are 100 per cent behind what we're doing, so I tend to focus more on these guys, real supporters of the club and who want the club to do well."

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/175230-br-mignolet-has-the-mental-strength

[McDermotX]

The manager said: "He's fine. I had a good chat with Simon today & told him to stop being such an abject coward"

"These guys were wonderful players for this club. They see how poor we are at the moment & how The Committee & myself have squandered £200M, but are 100 per cent behind what we're doing, so I tend to focus more on these guys, real supporters of the club and who want the club to do well."

[danperkins]

[wiw]

What is it with LFC? We seem to mentally destroy any goalkeeper that plays for us

[ronanm]

I was reminded of "that" free kick last week when it just went out of play earlier. You can only laugh at it

[McDermotX]

Let's not forget the pass over the byline right at the end of the Chelsea game.

Cultured.

[BobTheCharmer]

The replacement for mignolet is glaringly obvious, let's stick Sarb in goal, his reactions when under immense pressure are legendary.

[Sarb]

Never under pressure

In all seriousness though, he pulls off a number of very good saves per game. Has never been good with his feet, not his strength so was unfair to buy him and ask him to be that kind of sweeper keeper role. Yeah he makes some mistakes too. But the 5 in fromt of him are a big problem, and set piece defemding is non existent

[captainfog]

Not very nice, but it brought a little chuckle

Close enough....

I've never seen the bin play before but it would definitely be better than Mignolet.

[Tee]

Not very nice, but it brought a little chuckle

Close enough....

Reminds me, I was walking past a wheelie bin on my way to work this morning and I thought to myself, that would be a great hiding place if a lion or tiger was coming for me. There is no way they would get past that bin.

[Norbs]

I don't think I've disliked a player so much since Diouf. He's not a hateful player he just seems so wet and weak

[vlahka]

“Simon made a couple of great saves,” said the Reds boss. “We asked him to simplify his game and do what he is good at, which is shot-stopping.

You mean he made his game more complicated?

[Slinky Skills]

Not very nice, but it brought a little chuckle

Close enough....

He's bin a good keeper in the past but he's not good enough for us now.

[DannyMan2006]

You mean he made his game more complicated?

What you do at SAFC is not good enough for Liverpool Football Club. You need more. Some step up, some don't. Simon needed to get back to basics. He's tried to do things he's not good enough at.

If he played at LFC like he did for SAFC, long term it's not good enough, but it's a lot better than he's shown lately.