Simon Mignolet has had more than his fair share of ups and downs during his time at Liverpool. He arrived at Anfield on a major high, having impressed more or less everybody during his stint at Sunderland. His first few performances were pretty decent as well and he won Man on the Match on a number of occasions.
But soon enough mistakes began to creep into his game. Before long, he was making errors on a weekly basis. Things got so bad earlier this season that Brendan Rodgers was forced to take decisive action. Last December, the Liverpool boss declared that he had decided to drop Simon Mignolet for an ‘indefinite period’.
That has to affect a player’s confidence, doesn’t it? One moment you’re on top of the world and the next you’ve got Brad Jones deputising for you. How the mighty have fallen. Fortunately, Mignolet has reacted well to his time off. It looks like he’s adjusted his attitude and the results are now starting to speak for themselves.
Check out these comments from Simon Mignolet from a few weeks back: ‘“My missus and I were having dinner. And she said to me: “Simon, are you sometimes over-thinking stuff?”… At the time, I didn’t really give a response. But the next day, I went into training, and we analysed the game, and went through that particular moment, and I got the same response from the coaching staff.” (Source: The Metro)
It looks like he’s learned to stop over-thinking things and to play his natural game. In recent weeks he’s been in imperious form and he’s been a major part of The Reds’ success since the turn of the year.
He’s been so good that Brendan Rodgers may decide against signing a new goalkeeper during the summer transfer window.
After all, the stats speak for themselves. The Premier League’s most respected keepers David De Gea and Thibaut Courtois both have 7 clean sheets to their name. Mignolet has 9. Chew on that for a second.
What’s your take? Is Simon Mignolet a decent long-term option for The Reds?
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