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Not In Reina’s Character To Cut His Losses

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LFC keeperI’VE always been one of those people who believed that class is permanent.

You get those footballers who have a good season and live off it for the rest of their careers, with coach after coach spending a fortune on them just to try and get that glory season back.

It just doesn’t happen.

There are, of course, plenty of examples of players currently – and previously – at the club that are guilty of this ‘one-season wonder’ but I won’t point any fingers at those this time around.

Then there are those players that hit their stride early in their career (obviously, pre-existing quality is important in this too) and they perform at the highest level for years and years and Pepe Reina is one of those.

Who’d have thought that the young Spanish ‘keeper that first faced us for Barcelona all those years ago would end up turning out for the club as a top class international for 7 years?

As I said, I’m one of those that believe in class being permanent and in Reina’s case that hasn’t gone anywhere. He has played hundreds of games for the club, saving us on numerous of occasions, beating clean-sheet records left, right and centre.

He had an off year last year but that was all. By the seasons’ end he was right back on track to becoming the old Pepe we know and love.

So the arrival of Simon Mignolet is certainly a concern. Both for Reina and for those of us who feel that his value to the club has become seriously underrated.

Mignolet appears to have the makings of a good ‘keeper. He isn’t one of the best in the world, he isn’t even one of the best in Europe but he had a good year last year at Sunderland, but £10 million? It seems like a ridiculous sum to spend on a goalkeeper, unless he is guaranteed the starting berth.

This is something which Brendan Rodgers has refuted however, claiming that Mignolet is simply competition. Pretty expensive competition, I’d say, unless we won the Euromillions in the week!

However, there is one way which could make that large fee become very much worth it and that involves Reina staying at the club.
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One of Pepe’s greatest assets is that he is a very strong character. He showed last season that he has great ‘bouncebackability’, to coin one of the more stupid phrases of British TV pundits. In short, he doesn’t let bad form hit him for too long and he doesn’t let disappointments stay in his system.

The arrival of a direct threat to a player’s position would usually see that player release a statement to the press or go straight to the manager seeking reassurances. While I think that Rodgers has probably already made it clear to Pepe what his position is, I can’t believe for a second that the Spanish international would be overly concerned. He has enough confidence and believe in his own ability to not let the arrival of another goalkeeper worry him too much.

Of course, Mignolet is a top international himself and will not be making the step up from a small club to a big one purely to sit on the bench, so I full expect the competition to be fierce but healthy competition can only be good for the club.

The fact that Victor Valdes is staying at Barca for at least another season means that Reina’s favoured destination is off the table, at least until the end of next season so his options are limited, unless he opts to move to his second or third choice.

But I don’t believe he has a second or third choice. Barca is seemingly the only club that he’d be willing to leave the club he cares a lot for and with that off the table, he will simply shrug his shoulders and knuckle down.

For me, the arrival of a young, promising, expensive goalkeeper will only prove to galvanize Reina. His attitude will see to that, and if he is left on the bench initially, he will only play even harder when the opportunity presents itself.

That is why, the huge fee we have laid out for another goalkeeper may well prove to be entirely worth it in the long run, as it may well lead to Pepe Reina rediscovering his best form and showing that an in-form Reina is like a brand-new signing.
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I'm a 32 year old Liverpool fan, living in the heart of the City Centre. I've supported the club since the day I was born and have been writing articles for L4L for over 3 years, writing close over 350 articles in that time. My favorite player of the past generation is Sami Hyypia.

I am the current editor for L4L, with my day job being in R&D for the NHS.

8 comments

  • Gary says:

    WOW. This is exactly what I said my self and so many people fail to see this. To all the fans on websites posting comments that Reina’s time is up obviously have no friggen idea what kind of person and player Reina is. I’m banking on Reina to have a very good season this year. For competition, it is on the pricey side, maybe could have funded a move for a top class young up and coming defender or winger. But I think that maybe, Liverpool are looking longterm because if Reina does walk out on the reds, Liverpool will have a reliable back up in Mignolet to step up and take the mantle.

  • Dennis says:

    Reina is class. Better than Mig and will get better and better as he gets older. It would be a big error to sell Reina

  • abbeyleixred says:

    reina is not anywhere near the keeper he was 2 or 3 seasons ago .perhaps the arrival of a younger international goalkeeper may well force him to up his performance levels and in a year or two mignolet will be in pole position for the no 1 jersey and pepe can walk away with his head held high having given a decade of service to lfc

  • Raam says:

    Mignolet is a good keeper. His reflexes and instincts are excellant but he lacks the experience of Reina. The arrival of Mignolet will only push Reina to proove his doubters wrong. Even a fool can think, if he was bad why would Arsenal, Barcelona and few more clubs waiting for his signature! He never hid his ambition to play for Barca one day, but he sees progress at Liverpool and believes he can achieve something before he departs. So,Reina will not give up. He will stay and be No 1.

  • DagunD says:

    Reina staying at anfield this coming season is basically due to valdes staying put at barca. It is perfectly sensible for BR to have a competent replacement for seamless transition when the inevitable occurs.

  • Dave says:

    No way the greedy yanks have paid 10 m for a back up gk.. That means sadly Reina is on his way. Pepe is top drawer and we will regret ditching him !!

  • imoff says:

    Form is temporary CLASS is PERMANENT

  • Brigadier says:

    Move on, just because he had a few good seasons four or five years ago counts for nothing now.

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