Simon Mignolet Player Thread: > Club Bruges

He's a very good shot stopper, but his decision making when there is a cross is terrible. I agree with Grobelaar, Mignolet has not eased the work of our defence like a very good GK our club deserves would have.

I think we can get a good GK somewhere, and I don't think the rumours about us being linked to GKs are totally fake ; Mignolet is still young and we can bring another young GK to compete with Migno or even bring back Reina who I miss personally. I would have liked to see Reina competing for the title at the moment.

Decent GK, not great as many have said excellent shot stopper but awful communicator & has no commanding presence.

He is also one of the reasons why we have conceded more than Crystal Palace this season

Thought he started off well last night, coming out and taking a couple of clean grabs in the air but as the match wore on he started to make me very nervous. He did however, make up for his flapping blunder with an incredible stop to save Van Wolfswinkel's header that I thought was in.

Basically everything that has been said in the previous posts.  he is a fantastic shot stopper but he is awful at the bread and butter stuff.  You can hear when he yells "away" he does it half-heartedly like he's not sure what to do.  And he is a real pushover in the box. 

if we win the title it will be in spite of Mignolet, not because of him.  Definitely need another keeper in the summer to challenge him.

I'd take Lloris if he's interested.... 

if we win the title it will be in spite of Mignolet, not because of him.  Definitely need another keeper in the summer to challenge him.

Wouldn't go that far, he hasn't cost us many games that I remember, but he has made same very key saves.

Wouldn't go that far, he hasn't cost us many games that I remember, but he has made same very key saves.

Well that's what I said.  The big saves are the ones we remember.  The Stoke penalty save was huge right from the getgo and set the tone for the season.  But off the top of my head I can think of the Negredo goal away at City, that missed attempt at the ball when Benteke scored and Villa took points off of us, the Eto'o goal when we were away at Chelsea.... those are only the ones that costs us points.  There were others that could have done as well.  That little dribbler from Walters at Stoke that nearly let them back in the game.  The mistake today.  etc. 

he's just not reliable on the bread-and-butter stuff.  It's a dilemma because in the last few seasons that was the same problem Pepe had so it's not like we bring him back and everything is solved.

I think we should go all out for Lloris this summer.

Once again I'm not going to climb into a player who has had IMHO an excellent season. He's playing behind a defence which is often outnumbered when teams break onto us, and a defence which even our biggest fans would accept is distinctly dodgy. Yes he's made a howler here and there, but he's also made some fantastic saves too. I wouldn't swap him for his predecessor in a month of Sundays.

The difference with Reina's last seasons at the club and what Mignolet is doing for us right now is IMHO they both do some silly mistakes here and there (though I still think Reina's were more spectacular by a mile), but Mignolet is actually making some amazing saves too, while Reina didn't seem to be getting any world class saves anymore. Can't remember the amount of time I thought he could've done a LOT better. Just my opinion.

I think we should go all out for Lloris this summer.

Because Lloris is very reliable, right? He made as many mistakes as Simon did the whole season only in the game against us. And I don't even watch him every week.

The grass is always greener on the other side...

As for "the big saves are the ones we remember", then so are the big mistakes - such as the ones you listed. Truth is every keeper has a list exactly like that (people were talking about De Gea the other day, but I can think of a few of his mistakes as well, one a schoolboy error in a cup semifinal), and this is not what makes them a good or bad keeper.

I for one am more than happy with Simon.

Put simply, the skills Simon has cannot be taught.

Reactions.

Commanding a box, and punching a ball can be taught.

On that basis, for me, he deserves to be our number 1

Put simply, the skills Simon has cannot be taught.

Reactions.

Commanding a box, and punching a ball can be taught.

On that basis, for me, he deserves to be our number 1

Agree.

Simon  Mignolet had a great first season for us
 he made some great saves
 he made some mistakes too ( like any player)
he has to improve his  potencial in the small box and make it his , especially from corners and freekicks
 All in all he is a first class keeper

YNWA

He's only very young for a keeper....he'll get much much better, had a pretty good season I reckon, made a few errors, but show me a keeper who hasn't.

Keep up the good work Simon.

Hes a top notch shot stopper. Needs to work a hell of a lot on taking crosses/commanding the area and work needed on his distribution.

Big game needed Sunday to deal with there crosses

I hate to bring this up, I like Mignolet, but I rate him as average. He's an old school keeper and has so much to work on. His distrubution, commanding of the box and decision making are poor - average in my opinion. Those are key attributes that defines a great keeper in my opinion.

I think Carragher got it right few nights ago and pointed out that all goalkeepers should be good at shot stopping regardless(Mignolet's main attribute?), so this thing about being a great shot stopper is nonsense. What makes a great or world class keeper is the commanding of the area (aerial and floor) and decision making. The way I see it...Goalkeepers who possess these are the ones that offers stability and gives out confidence in the defense. I genuinely believe one of the problems in our defense this season stems from not having this.

I don't think he has shown enough to merit the number 1 spot for next season. I think we should consider looking for a new number 1, be it Reina or some one else.

I hate to bring this up, I like Mignolet, but I rate him as average. He's an old school keeper and has so much to work on. His distrubution, commanding of the box and decision making are poor - average in my opinion. Those are key attributes that defines a great keeper in my opinion.

I think Carragher got it right few nights ago and pointed out that all goalkeepers should be good at shot stopping regardless(Mignolet's main attribute?), so this thing about being a great shot stopper is nonsense. What makes a great or world class keeper is the commanding of the area (aerial and floor) and decision making. The way I see it...Goalkeepers who possess these are the ones that offers stability and gives out confidence in the defense. I genuinely believe one of the problems in our defense this season stems from not having this.

I don't think he has shown enough to merit the number 1 spot for next season. I think we should consider looking for a new number 1, be it Reina or some one else.

I agree mate, I have no confidence when we concede a corner or free-kick. Migs doesn't seem to be able to deal with aerial balls (although I have seen some improvement).

However, one thing I would say is that, while every keeper has to be a shot-stopper, some are better than others and I don't think you are giving him enough credit for this. His reflexes and reactions are far better than Pepe's IMO. Last season Reina conceded so many goals I would have expected him to save, not particularly errors, but goals where he reacted slowly as if he was diving in quicksand.

I would definitely have Pepe back though as they could both learn a thing or two from the other and we will need them both if we are to win the quadruple next season.

I say give the lad a chance, he is only young and can only get better. Some of the blame for his mistakes has to go to our defenders. I still recall when Bruce Grobbelaar first took over from Ray Clemence, his first couple of seasons he used to put the fear of Christ up us with his cavalier goalkeeping. Bruce came right and so will Simon Mignolet.
          According to Radio Merseyside Brendan Rodgers reckons Mignolet will be our goalie for many years.

Ive been critical of Mignolets over the season but only in area's where I think we all know he needs to improve, I don't think competition for places is going to improve his distribution, command of the area and decision making, but I think a good goal keeping coach would.

Some on like Xavi Valero who Reina rated higly would be ideal, funnily enough he's back working with Reina and Rafa at Napoli, but if we got some one like that who put focus into Mignolets training that would see him improve in my opinion.

I don't think competition for places is going to improve his distribution, command of the area and decision making, but I think a good goal keeping coach would.

I think you may be right mate but I'd add work with Steve Peters to that.

I've been thinking about this for a while but I believe that Simon displays a right bit of fear in his game (in my opinion). Fear in coming for contested crosses and fear in coming off his line to save at feet or sweep which, in turn, leads to uncertainty in decision making.

To my mind (and it's only a theory) the injuries he suffered, a few years back, against Villa, have 'scarred' him mentally. Understandably so, by the way; his nose was smashed and eye socket fractured. In my opinion there's two aspects to his game which, if addressed, could see massive improvement and quickly.

I'm not sure if distribution or ability with the ball at feet can be taught but if it can then, his young age [for a 'keeper], is the best time to try.

Can't believe this guy is actually 4 years older than Courtois! I hate Chelsea even more now, they have a beast keeper in their hands for the next 20 years...

Anyway, I rate Mignolet far above Reina. Pepe might have seemed more commanding in the air because he would try to intercept balls more often, but he would end up punching thin aire 4/5 times. And Pepe's shot-stopping went below par during his last years. His distribution was far superior, I'll give him that, but we're not exactly lacking in the build up/offensive department at the moment. I just hope someone could coach Mignolet's weak areas.

I think you may be right mate but I'd add work with Steve Peters to that.

I've been thinking about this for a while but I believe that Simon displays a right bit of fear in his game (in my opinion). Fear in coming for contested crosses and fear in coming off his line to save at feet or sweep which, in turn, leads to uncertainty in decision making.

To my mind (and it's only a theory) the injuries he suffered, a few years back, against Villa, have 'scarred' him mentally. Understandably so, by the way; his nose was smashed and eye socket fractured. In my opinion there's two aspects to his game which, if addressed, could see massive improvement and quickly.

I'm not sure if distribution or ability with the ball at feet can be taught but if it can then, his young age [for a 'keeper], is the best time to try.

He's never going to be excellent with distribution. Keepers keep their tendencies throughout their careers in that sense but he needs to start adding strings to his bow. I don't expect him to drill one 40 yards to the half way line but I do think he can use his head and throw out quicker. In his defence on this one I've noticed him a few times look to the wing backs only to see them jogging up to their starting positions.

So distribution, just as with most passing stats, is a 2-way street, without the movement you can't make meaningful passes. Blame falls less on Flanno's shoulders for this one due to his inexperience but Johnson just assumes his position on the touchline at halfway almost as second nature and that must change next season.

With regards his fears, I think you're spot on BBB, the hesitation does indeed suggest something mentally is stopping him rather than instinctively. Hopefully the head docs will get him beyond those barriers because he's a big lad and if he goes up with the intent to not only win the ball but protect himself also there's not many that will be able to compete.

Can't believe this guy is actually 4 years older than Courtois! I hate Chelsea even more now, they have a beast keeper in their hands for the next 20 years...

So we have one on our hands for the next 16 then.

I am not as thrilled with Mignolet as I once was. Slightly better than the Reina we saw over the last couple of seasons, but not the big improvement I hoped for. He makes some wonderful saves but the flaws in his game have become more pronounced as the season has gone on.

It is not a worry for me at the moment, but is an area I hope we improve on, either through coaching or from fiercer competition for his position from a better goalkeeper than Jones.

Don't think we could have a much better shot stopper, but the other areas of his game need to improve ... hopefully he realizes this and works at his game.