http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/liverpool-fc-can-simon-mignolet-4568827 Barcelona linked with LFC keeper, with £9m-rated youngster in the frame to take over at Anfield It may only be June, the new season may still be eight weeks away, but already the winds of change are swirling around Anfield. With Brendan Rodgers and his scouting team working overtime, Ian Ayre cancelling South American trips to take care of âurgent club businessâ, and just about every player with a pulse and a right foot linked with Liverpool, it promises to be a hectic few weeks on the red half of Merseyside. But whilst the prospect of a raft of âinsâ is enough to get Reds fans excited ahead of the new campaign â Liverpool anticipate to add at least six fresh faces to their squad in the coming weeks â the likelihood is that a few of the âoutsâ may be significantly less popular. Luis Suarez, of course, could be chief among them. But he is not the only one. And Pepe Reinaâs departure from the club, should it happen, could be just as keenly felt. The Spaniard has been persistently linked with a return to Barcelona this summer, and with Liverpool expecting to clinch the �9m signing of Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet this week, the suspicion is that the 30-year-oldâs eight-year stay at Anfield could be up. It is not something most supporters will wish to contemplate. With almost 400 appearances, Reina has been a Liverpool mainstay since his arrival at the club in 2005. Following him will be a tough act. Whether Mignolet can do it remains to be seen. The Belgian has a burgeoning reputation at Sunderland, where he has made over 100 appearances in the last three years, but Liverpool represents a significant step up. The question, then, deserves to be asked; would Liverpool be strengthening their hand by replacing Reina with Mignolet? Using statistics to compare goalkeepers can be dangerous â a goalkeeperâs figures are hugely dependant on the side in front of them, after all â but a comparison of Reina and Mignolet throws up some interesting observations. There is no question that Reinaâs form, so solid for so long, suffered a dip around 2010. And whilst there was a marked improvement last season â he kept 14 clean sheets from 31 games in the league â the Spaniard does lose out to Mignolet in a couple of key categories. Notably, and this may sound ridiculously over-simplified, saving shots. Mignolet made a total of 149 saves for Sunderland last season, more than double Reinaâs total of 73. No surprise there, of course. Sunderland battled relegation all season, so were likely to give up more chances. Yet Mignoletâs save percentage also tops Reinaâs, 73 to 68, whilst his in-box save percentage (68%) is even more impressive. One of the complaints about Reinaâs dip in form, and Liverpoolâs too, is the apparent ease with which goals have been conceded. How often have the Reds dominated games, particularly at Anfield, only to see the opposition hold on and then score with their first genuine chance? The statistics bear this out. Reinaâs âclear chanceâ save percentage of 28% (from 82 chances) was the fourth lowest in the Premier League last season, significantly down on Mignoletâs (43% from 120 chances). Both conceded 38 goals from âclear chancesâ, but Mignolet made 14 more saves. That is a pretty significant number. Inside the box, Mignolet also comes out on top, saving 68% of shots faced, compared to Reinaâs 55%. The Belgianâs reflexes are one of his strongest assets, it seems. He was also the Premier Leagueâs top in-box goalkeeper in 2011/12, saving 70.4% of shots. Reina, meanwhile, struggles. His in-box save percentage for the past two seasons is 55%, down on the Premier League average of 61%. Again, these statistics are not, and never will be, conclusive, but they paint a general picture. As does the one which says Reina missed 10 crosses last season, to Mignoletâs three, or the one which says Mignolet managed 39 punches to Reinaâs 17. Where Reina does shine, however, is in 50/50 situations. The Liverpool man, always confident when leaving his goal-line, wins both the ground duel (91% to 73%) and aerial duel categories (86% to 75%). With his feet, too, Reina excels. His pass completion rate of 71% dwarfs Mignoletâs (42%), although given Sunderlandâs precarious league placing it is perhaps to be expected that they would be under more pressure in games, and therefore that the goalkeeper would have fewer âshort passâ options generally. The fact that 92% of Mignoletâs passes went forwards last season, compared to 61% of Reinaâs, tells its own story. But with Brendan Rodgersâ system heavily based around short, constructive passing from the back, Reinaâs potential departure would be keenly felt. Mignolet would have to adapt his game to a new, more patient style, though scouting reports suggest he is more than capable of doing so. One thing is for certain; it promises to be an interesting handover, if indeed it comes to fruition.
Any way. On topic. Mignolet. I like him. Neat keeper. Young though. Apart from Cech our rivals dont have the most exciting of keepers atm. Though Lugo Lloris is a pretty big name. I certainly dont think Mignolet is any worse than what they have. If Mignolet signs but we miss out on getting a top cb and our defense is a bit leaky I hope Mignolet doesnt get the blame (unless he genuinely deserves it but I cant see that being the case).
He seems very confident for his age which is a good sign and also a good all round keeper, if Reina wants to go then he seems a sensible replacement.
Why is there a picture of the Woodison ticket office on Luvs thread? On topic....2 seasons ago I'd have been gutted to lose Pepe and I'd still love him to stay. If you could pick one Prem keeper to play Rodgers way it would surely be him. Always so calm on the ball and a great passer/distributor of the ball. However....in terms of the bread and butter (shot stopping and dealing with crosses) he seems to have gone backwards recently. Not terrible just not as good as he was. As for Ming...he's decent but at the moment no more than that. He may well improve our ability to deal with aerial threats but can he act as a sweeper as effectively as Reina and can he play the ball around as well? I'm not sure he can but we'll see.
"92% of Mignolet’s passes went forwards last season, compared to 61% of Reina’s, tells its own story." Is that really true??? Does it mean forwards past a certain point rather than just forwards? I know we like to pass it aronud the back but generally Reina still has to pass it forwards...
Do I want to see Reina leave? No. Would I be happy with Mig as a replacement? Yes. Are my answers relevant to the OP? Who knows?
I know what you mean - Reina may not be leaving this year but he's pretty much gone next season IMO so it might be seen as a good idea for Mig to come in now, get used to the club etc, rotate with Reina and generally provide a bit of competition before nailing number 1 shirt next season (14/15).
minger is a shrug... as are those stats for reina. shots i nthe box... if lfc give up a chance its in the 6 yard box so its bloody hard to stop that compared to say a shot on the edge of the box... reina is world class and picked up his ideas. I think the club may be wise to buy now and then let pepe go if he wants to... to barca only... but who knows if he's good enough.... we'll see. NO PLAYER IS INDISPENSABLE. they retire if nothing else and you must move on.
