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There’s something about Simon

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Liverpool keeperWHEN Liverpool announced the signing of Simon Mignolet, before the transfer window had even opened, I was ecstatic.

Last season’s speculation about Swansea keeper, Michel Vorm, combined with Reina’s early struggles, had made it obvious that Liverpool were casting about for another keeper.

And, as is usually the case, assurances by the club that Pepe’s future with the side was assured Reina’s own statements that he had no interest in moving (even a dream move to Barca) only made it more obvious that a change between the posts was inevitable.

The former Belgian Goalkeeper of the Year, Mignolet was third on my wish list after Michel Vorm and Asmir Begovic at the beginning of last season, but some outstanding performances for Sunderland that year moved him to the front of the queue.

At 6’ 4”, he makes the net much smaller for opposing strikers and with his superior positioning he seems to have an excellent chance of stopping anything he can see. His intelligence allows him to anticipate the opposition and to keep a mental list of shooting preferences, footedness, and accuracy of key members of the opposition attack.

His composure under pressure and his ability to leave both good and bad performances on the pitch are further strengths that allow him to minimize the stresses of the position.

In an interview not long after the suicide of Robert Enke, the talented but troubled German keeper, Mignolet showed his approach to stress:

‘‘I have always said that a striker scores a goal but not every goal is scored by a striker,” he said. “A goalkeeper can make a mistake which is a goal, but every goal still goes past him and you have to accept that.

“Everybody will always ask the question if you could do better. But a striker, if he is not involved in a goal, no one looks at him.

“A goalkeeper’s biggest attribute is to bounce back. If you have support from fans, backroom staff and team-mates to play the next game, it is easy. And that is what I have here [Sunderland at that time].

“If you are already fighting against a brick wall when things go badly it is going to be tough.”
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Our new keeper is a man of learning with a degree in Political Science and proficiency in French, German, Dutch, and English, on top of his native Flemish. His long standing relationship with his Law graduate girlfriend and the stability of a supportive family have allowed him to weather adversity such as his shattered nose and broken eye socket.

The injury occurred in a game between Sunderland and Aston Villa in October of 2011. In a collision with Villa striker Emile Heskey, the Belgian shattered his face when he contested a high ball:

“I have not seen the moment I got smashed,” said Mignolet. “They took a picture of me in the hospital and it looked pretty bad. And that was after the doc put it right in the dressing room.

“He said everything was gone. My missus said there was no nose left when she got there.

She’s very happy with how it has turned out.

“I can’t remember anything. I can’t even tell you if it was sore. The worst thing was being out for 10 weeks. My nose was blocked with blood for days, a blue eye from the broken socket and the worst part, concussion.”

He came back early from that setback and featured as his teams’ top keeper ever since. That kind of dedication, instilled in him by his father who was also a goalkeeper, makes him throw his body in front of opposition tries, knees, boots and whatever comes his way.

It is so crucial that a club start the season well, not only in terms of dominating the opponent but also in terms of winning ugly. I consider our last two outings as ‘winning ugly’ despite the fact that we dominated Notts County. Every successful team has an off day but must win in spite of themselves in order to retain the points needed to finish at the top of the table.

In these first three games, Liverpool hasn’t performed as in previous years when they regularly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory or tumbled to bad luck and ill-fated bounces.

The difference between winning and losing a poorly contested game often comes down to the confidence the team has in weathering storms and the confidence they have that their keeper will bail them out with some feat of magic.

Simon Mignolet inspires that confidence through his abilities and through his presence. He seems like a difference maker and so he becomes a difference maker. I feel that this club is only a small change in fortunes and attitude from being a top four contender and pieces of the puzzle like Simon are starting to fall into place as if ordained by the football gods themselves.
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Retired High School English teacher. Coached high school football (soccer) and basketball. Played football (soccer) in high school and at university. Live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with my wife and 2 cats. Have been a Liverpool fan since we started receiving broadcasts in Canada. Love to golf and read Terry Pratchett.

7 comments

  • Jas says:

    Excellent Article. He certainly inspires confidence in his team mates. And us fans! Top, top signing Brendan! I too preferred Begovich first and Simon Second. But I really think we got it right on this one. YNWA.

  • Redlover says:

    Hes saved us 4 points so far. A new goalkeeper was always needed as peep as good a servant as he had been for the club needed a fresh challenge and mignolet to prove himself at a big club worked out just right.

  • ALONGE OLASODE TOSIN says:

    we love u MIGNOLET, but u have to save us from the hand of manchester united on sunday.pls.

  • EZEKIEL KPAREVFA says:

    A GREAT GOAL KEEPER INDEED. I THOUGHT THERE WAS NO POSSI-BILITY OF DISPLACING REINA BUT RODGERS HAS ACHIEVED THE FEAT. CUDOS SIR!
    CONTINUE SAVING US SIMON MIGNOLET….

  • Ozred says:

    Reina had fallen way down the list of pl keepers. His last 2 seasons were mediocre. Unfortunately tools like Dennis d still rate him as a top 5 keeper in the world. Fact is, based on his form over the last couple of years he wouldn’t be in the top 50 keepers in the world.

    This move and the upgrade from carra to toure will win us games. Well done on these 2 br… Now any chance for a couple more?

  • stevieG says:

    It’s early days ….WAY too early to say if mignolet is good.

  • Raam says:

    Minolet is one of two excellant keepers in EPL at the moment. The other is Bergovich.

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