Migs is a great stop stopper but a poor all round keeper imo. He hasn't improved his kicking or his command of his area one iota. Our CB's lack real pace, so we often sit too deep....would really help if Migs came off his line...and swept up a little Our FB's are always out of position...not always their fault, it's how they've been told to play. We've been playing the wrong Defensive midfielder We've lost Suarez who was possibly the best presser of the ball from the front that we had......and others have stopped pressing at the same ferocity. We lack pace up front which allows the opposition to push on and squeeze the game, often dominating midfield because of this. We have, until now, continued to try to play in the same way as last year, despite all of this. To blame this on Migs alone is folly. But I would replace.
look i can only equate mingolet to tim kurl. Krul, he is very very very slow at distribution but he can bloody catch a ball. mingolet has so many issue with his game. the modern keeper cannot be style on a 70's keeper. you are a specialist but must play like a outfield player... ffs there's videos of joe hart smashing overhead kicks in training and de gea doing similarly..... You need to be able to play on the edge of your box these days, have the passing ability, get moving rapidly, but also be a brave, powerful and frankly willing to smash anyone in your way... I can guarantee nobody on the planet will touch neuer from a set piece cos he will smash the head off people. just an example.
It's both... It's reciprocal. Not helped by the amount our front 6 lose the ball - it's always coming back.
It's the unit that is a shambles - we have dross like Johnson and Skrtel as fixtures in the defence. Migs is not good enough to take us to the next level and he needs replacing. And we need a boss DM. Lucas has given us balanace and Toure has given us a voice at the back. But neither are the solutions - we need a top RCB and a DM in Jan.
I rate Lucas, he just needs to be given time to get to full match fitness and he'll do for me, we need cover for him though.
I feel bad for Mignolet. For me he is a very good shot stopper, properly better than Reina was. It's just he doesn't fit the system at all. Reina was blessed with ball control skills that rivalled that of an outfield player. Thus he fitted the "play it out from the back, short passing counter attack" game that we seem to have tried to adopt. I knew it would be tricky replacing him and that Reinas outfield skills were a blessing. But it seems Mignolet is below the standard of even the average keeper in that regard. That being said, although his goal kicks are stuttery and make my heart flutter, I have seen a slight improvement in regards to accuracy. He has stopped punting ball off the pitch and actually aims for a midfield runner to a reasonably exceptable standard... Although this again is still a week area. (I'm excluding the blip yesterday) As for commanding his box, another weak area... You could argue, this would be less of an issue if teamed up with an influential, commanding centre back / pairing though. It would of been interesting to see how he would of performed in Carraghers time.... It's a shame, I still maintain he is a decent keeper. But he is an awful player for our system...
I still say compared to lloirs, de gea and a few others i nthe prem he's god awful... even compared to forester who Southampton got in he's very weak aerially.
Mignolet isn't good enough, his weak points far outweigh any strong points he may have. As others have said, it isn't only him but I really believe that a great goalkeeper would start to put a bit of confidence back in the team.
He won;t get back to a decent level - the injuries and age have caught up with him. And even on his best day, he wasn't that good compared to Mascherano or Didi. He just stands out in poor teams i.e. in 2009 and now (we beat Stoke and Leicester so context is needed).
There's getting back to a decent level and being better than our other options. Two very different things. Lucas would be in my team but I'd be looking to improve on him if given the chance. #seriouspostforonce
Oh yeah I agree that we need him at the moment. But it's like being back in 2009 where we're relying on poor players i.e. Lucas, Johnson, Skrtel. Lucas is the best DM we have at this club - I would prefer to play Can there but rodgers isn't keen. We need to bring in a top DM in January. Apparently we're interested in Carvalho from Sporting.
Doesn't help Mignolet that since he joined he's not even had a settled CB partnership in front of let, let alone a whole back 4. Keep saying it over and over but consistency is so key. Rafa played the same back 4 and keeper plus the same spine of the team. He "tinkered" but mainly just the wide players. Mourinho spent £15m on a full back who played CL final and won the league with Atletico in the summer but he's not giving hi game time, instead preferring to keep a settled back 4 from last year. Ferguson did the same... All good teams are built on solid foundations. And solid foundations are made by getting to know each other games. I'd love to see a stat of how many diff combinations Rodgers has played as a back 4 in all the games he's managed for us.
But but..... Chelsea's back 4 pick themselves given the left full (sorry converted rb) is a favorite of mourinho Lfc have injury prone and just plain disorganised players who don't pick themselves Ferguson had 3 of a back 4 sure but when injuries occurred they conceeded goals but utds front line saved them What we need is guys who step up not flap about so they all deserve critism
This converted right back that is a 'favourite' of mourinho is also the best defender in the league according to Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher. He's one of the best 1 on 1 defenders there are (Jose Enrique could be added to a quality 1 on 1 defender, just has bad positioning and loves to hold the ball) and is great positionally.
