Liverpool Banter Archive January 19 2015

 

Use our rumours form to send us liverpool transfer rumours.

19 Jan 2015 21:39:54
One thing always baffled me with football. players like sesegnon, Dembele and mirallas. Seem to have all the qualities of a top footballer, but just are no where near! Can never wrap my head around it!

Believable2 Unbelievable0

Sessegnon a very talented player for me

Agree3 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 23:01:20
They may have the technical ability to be world class, but without the confidence and that bit of swagger about them, they can never be of that level

Agree0 Disagree4

I think Mirallas needs a little less confidence and swagger, to be honest.

Agree15 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 23:28:01
Always rated sessegnon but just never seems to fulfill his ability.

Same for the other two, both have all the attributes to be quality players but are so far from it.

Not to be harsh but shows where drive gets you, Milner has half their ability but is twice the player

Agree3 Disagree1

20 Jan 2015 01:01:42
Wrong attitudes and mentailities towards the game and off the field can often make natural ability a waste

Agree4 Disagree0

"I think Mirallas needs a little less confidence and swagger, to be honest."

All decent players have this.

Agree0 Disagree1

{Ed001's Note - what he needs is to learn he is part of a team and play for the team instead of himself.}

They are brilliant physically (pace, power) and skill-wise, but lack the vision you associate with a Hazard or a David Silva.

Agree5 Disagree0

20 Jan 2015 08:47:23
Agree players need confidence but ed has a point. Is different with players like Ronaldo and messi ( or when we had torres) as the whole team is built around them to create chances for them to score ,as they are exceptional at it.

Despite what he thinks Mirallas isn't their best player and as proved wasn't the best penalty taker on the pitch!

Agree1 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 18:29:49
Hey guys. Just wondering if anyone could offer some advice. I would love to bring the wee lass and the mrs down from Scotland for a premier league match. None of us have ever been but me and the wee lass never miss a match and would love to attend one before any major renovations get underway.
Is there any way to make it happen without spending £250 per ticket from Thomas Cook?

Believable0 Unbelievable0

Mate, I got my West Ham tickets through supporters club and I've arranged tickets for chelsea away via Twi*t**

Agree1 Disagree1

Apply to the club direct for your tickets you can buy match day tickets for some games(although not the big ones)

Agree0 Disagree0

On the subject of advice, yesterday I got an android tv box with xbmc loaded on it, and when I watch the football its abit on and off is there anything I can do?

Agree0 Disagree0

They have different models, my mate got one off ebay but it was the lower RAM one or something so its a bit on/off. The higher ones cost a bit more but run smmooooooth. I use coolsport on mine, its on the sports devil channel. Very reliable, if you don't have sports devil you can add it using the add on tab or go on youtube for a tutorial. Type in sports devil xbmc

Agree0 Disagree0

Cheers guys!

With xbmc player, I use tvaddons site. Its got an updated version called kobi(instead of xbmc) then update the sports devil app to something like digi-sports(all the instructions are on the website of you search for it).
U also need to install fusion. I'd do that first.
Them its just a case of searching for a good stream on the sports app. My favourite is probably wiziwig or firstrowsports

Just to add. It never really worked for me when I was only getting about 8mb Internet. Works fine on 70mb fibre optic.

Agree0 Disagree0

There is a stream on sports devil called livesport.ru, although it has foreign commentators the picture is Crystal clear. Definitely the best one on there that I have used.

Agree0 Disagree0

Cheers lads

Agree0 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 17:08:34
Mourinho is a manager I have always respected a lot, and is for me the best manager of his generation, but his comments about Gerrard have lifted my opinion of him even further. It would be very easy to rally his fans to make the night an even more intimidating one for Gerrard, but instead he moves to discourage fans from chanting disrespectful songs, top class.

Believable1 Unbelievable6

{Ed002's Note - Maybe he is thinking about taking Gerrard on loan next season?}

19 Jan 2015 17:17:15
Possibly Ed, but I don't see what this Gerrard could offer Chelsea in the prem. I'm disappointed he didn't move to Italy, he'd have found that division a lot easier.

Agree1 Disagree1

{Ed002's Note - Italy would be a complete non-starter for someone like Gerrard Fornax. Most English players do not do well playing outside of England and many struggle with the language, the food and the culture. I expected a one year extension but obviously he rejected that and had a little niggle at the club. I was aware of an offer from the Middle East but that was never going to happen. Houllier was keen to take him in to the larger Red Bull fold and to have him play for New York for a while - and then get him working under Houllier himself. The other option was always going to be LA Galaxy.}

19 Jan 2015 17:32:16
I totally get your point about language etc. I just think he would have been able to deal with the pace a lot better than the Prem, but I suppose if you can't speak the language etc. Then that would cause serious problems. Interesting how anticlimactic the end of his Liverpool career seems to be, nevertheless legend for the club in every sense. Out of interest why didn't he opt to stay another year? Was it really all about playing commitments?

Agree0 Disagree0

{Ed002's Note - I am not sure what a specular climax to a career would be. He said he would heave stayed if the deal was put to him in the summer - realistically money would have been a big issue and perhaps the time is right for him to get out of Merseyside?}

Or maybe it's just another cute, dressed up to suit before the cup tie, long in the tooth, attempt at reverse psychology.

Agree8 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 19:15:33
Gerrard should have left Merseyside years ago.
Merseyside is just a village. Anyway, too many two bob grafters making his life hard.

Agree1 Disagree7

Agreed Ozone.😊

Agree0 Disagree0

Agree with Ozone. It's just mourinho's way of reminding the fans to take the pi££

Agree1 Disagree0

Can't fault Mourinho's record, but I can't stand the man, just annoys me. I've lost count of the number of times he's referred to "the goal that wasn't a goal". He just assumes he's right all the time and he is the master of deflection. He has excuses for everything. Also, I'm not a fan of how he plays his football. This season aside, they can be awful to watch. That said, would I take him over our last few managers? Course I would.

Agree4 Disagree0

It's his way of getting the crowd going.
He has accused the bridge of being flat and now you thing he is asking them to not sing the one song everyone of them will know.
come on lad.
Jose only cares about winning, and not about some player that turned him down about 10 years ago.

Agree1 Disagree1

19 Jan 2015 23:05:32
To be honest, if I was a player who got a goal dis-allowed, I would expect my trusted manager to stand up for me too. Mourinho is a genius, epitome of what a modern day manager should be. In complete control of all situations, trusted and adored by his players, respected by his colleagues, and possessing a winning record.

Agree0 Disagree2

And will do anything to win and I mean ANYTHING, which is what I hate about him He`s too talented to be engaging in some of the stuff he has engaged in in the past which has tarnished his image among people like myself who still believe in honor and dignity in sport.

Agree4 Disagree0

20 Jan 2015 06:28:41
2nd attempt at posting this
Fornax, I think you took 2 bites there mate, one of Mourinho and one of Ed002. Do you really think Ed002 thinks Chelsea might make an offer to loan Gerrard??
Ozone, Of course it was mate, any chance Mourinhoo gets to give his team a fraction of a per cent more chance of winning he takes it.

Agree0 Disagree0

20 Jan 2015 12:52:18
Mourinho is supposedly playing "mind games" a child can see through. I am surprised grown men are falling for it. lol

Agree0 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 16:46:55
Hi Eds.

Who would you say was the best player out of Scholes, lampard and Gerrard?

Personally i would say Gerrard (although i would also argue he should have been even better!)

what are your thoughts?.

Believable1 Unbelievable0

{Ed002's Note - It is always very difficult to compare players unless they are doing exactly the same thing - and the players around them make a big difference to.}

19 Jan 2015 17:26:32
Ed002 has a good point. My feeling would be Gerrard though, more because of the players around him until Xabi and Javier become top class and the fact being in a lot of his key years we didn't have world class attackers. The Gerrard of 08/09 would wipe the floor with the other 2 (as well as a Mancunian DJ).

Agree8 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 17:45:26
Personally i think Scholes and Gerrard are a cut above Lampard anyway. Scholes possibly the better passer of the ball all round but Gerrard scored more, covered more ground in his younger days and could tackle. Scholes was awful at that. I would pick Gerrard but its close and if i really thought Scholes was better i would say so. Also like Ed002 said, it helps with the players around you. A league winning midfield certainly helps;-)

Agree2 Disagree0

{Ed002's Note - If it is goals I think you will find Lampard scored a great deal more than the others.}

Lampard could only play in one position though and dident really have the passing of the other two, he is the weakest in my opinion

Agree1 Disagree0

{Ed002's Note - But he has been a lot more successful than Gerrard which implies his passing was just fine.}

19 Jan 2015 18:41:18
Scholes 107 league goals in 499 games
11 premier leagues, 2 champions league, 3 fa cups, 2 league cups

Gerrard 116 league goals in 495 games
0 premier leagues, 1 champions league, 2 fa cups, 3 league cups

Lampard 602 league games 177 goals
3 premier leagues, 1 champions league, 4 fa cups, 2 league cups

For me it has to be
scholes 1
lampard 2
Gerrard 3

Agree6 Disagree11

Loved Scholes though. He was pure class.

Agree3 Disagree4

{Ed002's Note - Gerrard replacement maybe?}

19 Jan 2015 19:43:51
Never fully appreciated how good a scholes was until I saw him play live, absolute class! Best passer of a ball I've seen

Agree4 Disagree1

19 Jan 2015 19:49:25
All three are totally different players and I find the constant need for the English media to compare the 3 cringy tbh, if u wanted a goalscoring CM u pick lamps all day long, if u wanted a midfielder to dictate play and start attacks u pick Scholes and if u want a driver from midfield to push the team on u pick Gerrard.

All 3 were very good players that could of been a lot better for the national team if used correctly.

But just for fun if I had to choose 1 for my team in order it would go.

1/Scholes
2/lamps
3/Gerrard

Agree4 Disagree5

Tr1. It depends on how you judge a player and their ability.
Phil Neal won loads with Liverpool but he was never the best player in that team.
George Best never played in a world cup but is considered one of the best ever to have played the game.
So medals in my opinion can only be thrown onto the table by the players arguing amongst themselves.
Fans should use their eyes and if you do that then Gerrard belongs in that company and may. . I repeat may be top of the list.

Agree3 Disagree3

Gerard all day long. He's had to play in teams where he is the only decent player, where both of the others have had 5, 6, 7, 8 top class players along side them. In 2005 Gerard was the best player in the world.

Agree2 Disagree1

19 Jan 2015 21:43:28
Emlyn. So if scholes and lampard had so many good players around them and they still stand out above most. If Gerrard had played in a better Liverpool squad would he be a Roy of the rovers. Probably not his game would of changed to suit who is was playing with and he may not of stood out so much.

Agree4 Disagree2

Schoels was a passer someone to set up goals and recieve a pass
Lampard was in the team to score goals not to the fancy stuff
Gerrard had a bad passing range but drove the team forward and scored goals this is why Alonso was a more valuable member of the team than gerrard

Agree1 Disagree6

19 Jan 2015 22:28:09
Lampard was a really good premiership midfielder but Gerrard was world class that's why Zidane said he begged him to join him at Madrid players of the highest levels of the game wanted to play with him.imo Gerrard is the best English player since gazza 88-91.

Agree5 Disagree2

Never heard Zizou, Ronaldinho, Henry, Totti, and Pirlo (who pays glowing tribute to SG in his book) talking Scholes and Lampard up as the best midfielder or one of the best English players of all time. Just saying!

Agree1 Disagree1

Did I honestly just see someone say Gerrard has/had a bad passing range? Knock him for a lot of things, passing range though? Come on now.

Agree4 Disagree0

More trophies won or more successful with their club doesn't make them individually a better player. Rationally, and pragmatically, that much is quite clear.

I agree that having a better quality of players to play with and a better team and manager might make a big difference. For this reason (which I think is the most pertinent in this context), I think Gerrard is the better player.

Could Scholes or Lambard, if they had been at LFC instead of Gerrard, made a better career with their talent? I think not.

Agree3 Disagree1

And just to add gerrard has been the captain of LFC for all these years . his ability on the pitch was just not limited to his own display . he had influence over the entire dressing room. i don't think either of scholes or lampard were ever captains for long time . i think being a captain of a huge club has its own challenges pressure and gerrard coped with all of it for atleast a decade of his playing career

Agree0 Disagree0

{Ed002's Note - Surely you are not holding him responsible for the least successful period in Liverpool's history over the past 50 years? You can't have it both ways.}

20 Jan 2015 13:08:58
no Ed002, was just saying that if he wasnt the captain he probably would have been a even better player. i am grateful to him for steering our ship in this dark period, i am pretty sure if not for gerrard we would have sunk to unfathomable depths.

Agree0 Disagree1

{Ed002's Note - So he didn't have any influence then? You seem to be digging a hole.}

If Gerrard had been in either Chelsea or United's team he would have made them both better and led them both to title after title. Between 03-09 Gerrard was world class and one of if not the best centre midfielder. All three were such good players and should have led England to glory but never could

Agree1 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 14:09:39
Is there anything on Son Heung Min? I heard we were interested last year

Believable0 Unbelievable0

{Ed002's Note - There is no interest from Liverpool.}

20 Jan 2015 11:20:58
Gerrard pure determination.
Lampard pure goal scorer.
Scholes pure class.

Agree0 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 13:48:36
hello eds.

I read about the great Bill shankly. EDS was Liverpool in
a far more dire condition than the present situation and EDS do u believe if there is a lot of promise in our youth
?Just wanted to know u r opinion as a scouser following Liverpool for many years.

THANKS eds for the great work.

Believable0 Unbelievable0

{Ed002's Note - You cannot draw comparisons to 50 years or so ago easily. Much is expected of the kiddies - whether it will be at Liverpool or not we can only wait to see.}

19 Jan 2015 13:36:05
BR on this morning saying it'll be a quiet January.

Meaning he asked for money the owners said no but if you sell anyone you can spend some of it.

No one willing to buy Borini, Balloteli or Allen for anywhere near what we paid

So no transfers in. .

Believable0 Unbelievable2

19 Jan 2015 14:43:50
In fairness there are clubs willing to buy borini (had a £10-14m offer from QPR this summer) just think he wants to be given his chance, which considering we bought him is fair enough (personally think he'd do better in a different league but can understand at least wanting a chance).

Allen should be moved on as been with the club for a while now and if anything is further away from being a starter, good player but isn't playing and may not get what we paid for him but is better financially then paying his wages and getting nothing for him.

Mario, looks like it has been a bad buy but would like to see him given another chance - especially when sturridge back. don't know what's going on in the background with him but if you take into account mario, ilori, aspas, borini, alberto, assaidi, etc (plus a long list of academy players) most be worrying for potential signings to see so many players bought and not really given a chance to play.

Agree7 Disagree0

Borini refuses to go.

Agree2 Disagree0

Did you celebrate when Borini scored Ozone? ;) or did you curse haha, I'm just playing with you.

Agree5 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 17:04:23
I see so this is the owners fault. Makes sense


/sarcasm

Agree0 Disagree0

I hope we don't give anymore money to BR - all he has shown is a knack for wasting it.

Agree0 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 13:34:01
Was just watching the highlights again this morning, loved the celebrations after Rickie's goal. Shows to me that the players are all together in this and team spirit seems high despite the poor first half of the season. What does everything else think?

Believable3 Unbelievable0

Lucas' looked like a goodbye celebration his face was priceless

Agree1 Disagree0

Can someone tell me which players hurled himself into the crowd after the goal? because that was AWESOME!

Agree0 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 16:49:37
Couldn't be 100% sure, but i think it was Lucas.

Agree4 Disagree0

Yeah it was lucas, there's vines of it on the internet

Agree2 Disagree0

That was my favorite part of the game, ha. I do have a soft spot for Lucas though. Used to be his biggest critic in the Rafa days, now I wake up every morning(this January) hoping he is still a Red.

Agree2 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 13:24:50
An interesting fact I heard today.

De Gea - 7 clean sheets in 22 games

Mingolet - 7 clean sheets in 20 games

Obviously De Gea is better than Mingolet, but I don't think he is quite as good as the Manchester United loving media portray him to be. He's a highlight reel keeper like Mingolet but without the errors. I still think he leaves a lot to be desired and I would rank Courtois, Cech, Lloris, Hart, Forster and Begovic above him in the Premier league as well as Trapp, Adler, Neuer, Ter Stegan and Leno from Germany. Don't really watch much of the Italian league but the likes of Buffon, Neto and Perin are supposedly right up there and in France you have Mandanda.

It just shocked me to see that Mingolet has somehow kept the same amount of clean sheets as the "best keeper in the world". I'd still say Mingolet needs replacing and that De Gea is better, but this perhaps suggests that De Gea is not all he's cracked up to be by the media and that he just looks good on match of the day. He may have a bad defence, but I wouldn't say Mignolet has had it much better!

By all means, discuss this. I don't really have a point, just thought I'd put this out there and see what others make of it.

Believable3 Unbelievable11

Both are good keepers but De Gea is by far the better all round keeper and he will only get better and better. Mignolet is very limited in his ability and has hit a wall in terms of progression.

Red Rum

Agree4 Disagree0

How many times has de gea essentially won man utd a game this year as opposed to how many as migs lost us. Those stats would be pretty far apart.

Agree7 Disagree1

EMS - are you the guy who said that Henderson is on same level as Vidal ?

Agree1 Disagree5

19 Jan 2015 13:55:22
I know which one I would rather have.

Agree3 Disagree0

Re-read it lol. I'm not even suggesting Mingolet is as good. I'm his biggest critic on here!

The point was merely that for all De Gea's heroics he still doesn't keep many clean sheets. I wanted to know what people made of this fact. To quote myself, "obviously De Gea is better than Mingolet"!

Tin I don't know where you got that from mate. I've always thought Vidal was the benchmark for box to box midfielders in the modern game so there is no way I'd have suggested Henderson is better. I may have compared them in style but no way have I said Henderson is better! You must be thinking of somebody else mate.

Agree1 Disagree1

Good reply btw Red-Rum. That was the sort of thing I was looking for. I tend to agree. I think that De Gea is mis-sold as World Class because of his obvious potential to be World Class but in terms of his current ability, he is still better than most keepers, but not by much in some cases.

The 7 clean sheets stats just got me thinking. I'm not in any way shape or form suggesting that Mingolet is better as these stats suggest. I just wanted people to say whether or not they think De Gea is just over rated or Mingolet is unfairly criticised. We do tend to put him under a microscope on here.

Agree0 Disagree2

De Gea struggled when he first came to the PL and now he is class, period. Comparing them is pointless.

Agree2 Disagree0

A goalkeeper cannot take sole responsibility for clean sheets, there are so many other factors that must be considered.

Red Rum

Agree5 Disagree0

Is united sell him they are fools

Agree1 Disagree0

My bad than EMS, so must have been someone else. What are the stats for goalkeepers above?

Agree1 Disagree1

It's not a comparison post redohio -.- I really need to start painting in black and white.

A) is De Gea as good as the media makes out?
B) do we criticise Mingolet too harshly?

Forgot the stats, facts etc. Those are the two points I wanted to discuss!

Agree2 Disagree2

19 Jan 2015 15:52:17
To be fair Migs has won us games with his shot stopping - he did on Saturday with the double save from Benteke and Weiman. No comment on his command of area and handling

Agree0 Disagree0

Fair enuff, EMS!

Agree1 Disagree0

I think the DDG admirers calling him top 5 in the world are well off.
His throwing out leaves a lot to be desired, his kicking is good. I personally still think he's suspect at crosses and mayhem in the box, he never dives for the ball around feet and he's been lucky in the past with 2 commanding centres in Rio and Vidic. He's very good a shot stopping, one on ones, and reading the play(IE when to do a quick kick and when to hold)

There's a whole bunch of keepers I'd put before him though, many of EMS. I'd actually put him about 4th in our league, after Courtois, Cech, Guzan. DDG won UTD the player of theyear on the basis a completely abject team was around him with no cohesion, spirit or trust in the manager. It was pretty much by default as he personally didn't let his own standards slip.

I often feel sorry for Guzan I feel if he wasn't actually at such a terrible team in Villa, he would be well up there, as it stands, the man is incapable of keeping out the multitude of shots that inevitably bombards his goal.

P.s I realise this was a Migs vs DDG thread but I feel Guzan is vastly underrated

Agree1 Disagree1

EMS. A= Yes and B=NO.
In my opinion.

Agree1 Disagree1

I don't think migs is a bad keeper, he is just being asked to do too much when the defence should just play to his strengths. He is a more traditional keeper rather than this sweeper/keeper nonsense.
Somebody pointed out the other day on here he has started to play that way rather than the sweeper role and that could be a reason for his better form, couldn't agree more.
Shame it takes Brendan a whole season and a half to realise this and instead blames migs and drops him indefinitely, he should have just tweeked the playing style to suit migs more. If you can't get the keeper you really want don't expect your second choice to be able to do the same job.
Your supposed to adapt to what you have at your disposal but Brendan's refusal to do so is one of the reasons he's such a massive failure as a manager.

Agree2 Disagree0

I think since we have changed our way of playing, and that Migs has cut out the errors and the chance of errors, he is playing it safe a lot more, so we are seeing a lot less errors, and he looks much better, and I think the clean sheets, will give him much more confidence,
ha, any bets, on who will have the most clean sheets between Migs and DDG,
I am going for Migs, for a number of reasons, best one being, he is our number One .

Agree1 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 23:55:28
ems yes and yes

Agree1 Disagree0

No worries Bobatron. My only disagrement is that I'd place Lloris and Begovic ahead of Guzan. You're bang on about Guzan imo though. He is a very under rated keeper; epitomised by the fact I forgot about him completely!

Cheers for all the replies lads. Seems we can agree that De Gea is slightly over rated but it's a mixed bag on Migs.

Agree0 Disagree0

Forgot Lloris*

Agree0 Disagree0

20 Jan 2015 12:31:11
Put it this way - how many times do you see United conceed and think 'De Gea should have done better'. Occasionally, but not often. It doesn't matter how many he conceeds - how many you could have expected him to do something about is the important part. It's rare - he's usually logically positioned, making good decisions when coming off his line and rarely flaps. Their defensive vulnerability is because their CB's are rubbish - even we were cutting through them!

Agree0 Disagree0

Man utd has a shocking defence - worse than ours. The only thing that's holding them in the top 4 is de gea. If we were to swap keepers I suggest the positions would be reversed.(and we may have still been undeservedly in the CL)

Agree1 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 07:01:35
Lots of posters are saying we should sign this player and that player, but i wouldn't be particularly bothered if we didn't bring anyone in.

Believable18 Unbelievable0

Yes, personally if we can't get a good player then don't bother. improve the form with the current crop of players that we have. as we have seen lately, our players are better than what the initial results were showing.

Agree3 Disagree0

I would like to see a GK come in this month, though its ok if the club prefer to wait till the summer and get the right GK in than panic buy now. Not sure Migs can be trusted to keep up his recent form throughout the season.

Agree7 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 10:06:42
Would like a keeper but tbh main thing I'd like to see is moving a few players on.

Would be happy if we signed no one and moved on enrique, johnson, and allen. First two I don't think are good enough and allen I rate but doesn't suit how we play and isn't going to get a chance

Agree9 Disagree1

Goalkeeper as well for me.

Agree2 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 12:10:44
Participation in transfer windows is not mandatory. Apart from which we have far far far too many players. We need less and of a higher average quality.

Agree3 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 13:36:03
A top quality goalkeeper is still a must.

That apart, I'd rather see the youngsters given a chance to step up instead of their aimless mismanagement to date.

Agree1 Disagree0

Agreed with the OP.

I hope we use what we have. Everyone is under assessment from now on. We're not rich enough to be running out and panic buying.

Rodgers might need more than 3 brown envelopes this season.

I also have not given up on Mignolet, and thought I may post about it.

I have not yet joined the campaign against him which has been building over the past few weeks & months, and I was pleased to see him play his part in the win at Villa.

He had a decent '7/10' first season as far as I'm concerned, and given time, I still feel he can become a very good goalkeeper.

I hear us linked with lots of goalkeepers in recent times who are much more prone to mistakes than Mignolet - and lots of them have much less talent. (such as Ruddy, Vorm, Adrian).

People must realise that with Liverpool, mistakes are always magnified. Players of their standard would be ruthlessly exposed in the glare of media attention focused on them at Liverpool.

The pressure of being a goalkeeper for Liverpool has seen many a good goalkeeper fail - Pros who had long careers such as Friedel and James couldn't cut it - even perhaps our greatest success Pepe Reina cracked in the last 2-3 seasons. We've also bought expensive 'next big thing' players like Carson and Kirkland who never quite worked out. Then there were the likes of Dudek and Westerweld, who never quite grew into convincing No.1s.

Mignolet arrived for big money and was highly rated before he signed - I think he has shown a lot of potential in comparison with those named above, and that it is a bit early to be writing him off. Even the best goalkeepers can have a dip in form and the true test is how they stand up to the challenge.

More than any other position - a goalkeeper must be confident and trust in his instincts and ability - as a split second moment of indecision can mean a goal.

I really like Mignolets cat-like reactions/reflexes when it comes to shot-stopping - and even when in poor form and struggling with certain other aspects of his play - such as dealing with corners etc., he still manages to respond well when tested with shots.

My hope is that he can improve upon the weaker aspects of his game such as his distribution/domination of the penalty area - that he can still be a strong contender for No.1.

Ideally, I would like us to sign a contender to battle Mignolet for the No.1 jersey, but I find many of the names mentioned to be pretty underwhelming tbh.

I would also like us to review the goalkeeping coaching setup - and the defensive setup too - as whilst Migs has struggled on defending set-pieces, the defence cannot be absolved of their part in this either.

Our defenders could certainly make life a lot easier and provide him better protection.

He also has a large 6ft4 frame which he should put to better use - physically, he should be able to dominate the area, and if he can bulk up this may help. His poor distribution can also be rectified with better coaching and communication on such matters.

Ideally, perhaps a move in the summer for Petr Cech could offer the ideal solution. Surely he could help guide Mignolet with the deficiencies in his game and we could have two good goalkeeping options to battle for the No.1 spot.

I understand that such a move would be difficult for a number of reasons btw - but with a bit of luck, you never know! Just a thought.

:)

Agree10 Disagree0

Good post Kilbane. Perhaps Buffon? Vast experience, might fancy a new challenge, still very good, available for pre-contract talks.

We no doubt have no interest in a signing that would make sense though. I just don't see Cech moving here to compete for a starting berth. Isn't that the main reason he will probably leave Chelsea?

Agree3 Disagree2

If we can`t find players that can upgrade us then stick with what we have. Besides, we have way too many players to begin with.

Agree3 Disagree0

EMS.

I think Buffon is an absolute colossus of a goalkeeper. Perhaps the best I have ever seen.

So I'm a little biased when I agree with you. Seems a little far-fetched to me though!

If Cech signed, I'm sure he'd be our No.1 as you say. The onus would be on Mignolet to remove him. The competition could be good for them imo.

Agree4 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 17:40:52
ZinedineKilbane, Mignolet suffers from a bad defence in front of him. That - more than anything else, is what is affecting his game. Once we have a stable solid defence he will be a blinder. What he does need to work on IMO is commanding his box. He needs to start gripping players around him and ordering them into where he wants them.

Agree1 Disagree2

Mingolet suffers from the fact that he kicks like me ma.

Agree0 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 05:05:06
Was very happy with the commitments and grinta shown by the players on Saturday and I was very pleased to see the introduction of Jordan Ibe. I have seen him play only 10 mins and I can say that this guy will be a gem of a player for us.

Believable8 Unbelievable1

10 minutes of football and he's going to be a gem.
Your a liverpool scout,aren't you??

Agree6 Disagree5

Who is the player that hurled himself into the crowd after the goal?

Agree0 Disagree0

19 Jan 2015 02:34:04
Can you send this to whichever page it is allowed.

Hey everyone, I'm climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for Dig Deep in August, a charity providing clean water to Kenyans, If anyone is interested in helping me reach my goal to provide to a great cause and give me the biggest challenge of my life i have a bt donate page, can't post the link as its an external link, but will find a way to give anyone interested in sponsoring me the info.

Hope people can spare a little change to help give a nation what we take for granted: clean water!

Thank you

Believable6 Unbelievable0

{Ed002's Note - Dave - get us a URL and we will figure something out man.}

19 Jan 2015 07:45:04
https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/philipbrookes1

Agree0 Disagree0

 
Change Consent