Liverpool legend Bruce Grobbelaar believes if the club do win their first Premier League title, it wouldn’t be down to goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
The Belgium international joined Liverpool in the Summer from Sunderland, and despite having a great first-season at the club, former shot-stopper, Grobbelaar, doesn’t believe he has proven himself just yet.
Mignolet came in to replace Pepe Reina, who left the club on loan to join Napoli, and despite praising his shot-stopping ability, Grobbelaar believes his overall game needs a lot of improvement.
‘Mignolet is a good shot-stopper, but by no means the best all-round keeper,’ said Grobbelaar, speaking to promote the Prostate Cancer UK charity.
‘A good keeper should be easy on his feet, plays out from the back and commands himself in the penalty box.
‘A keeper should never be beaten – as he has been – by a header from three yards out. The keeper coach has to work him harder and he can improve a lot, of course he can.
‘Another point is his positioning on free-kicks. His starting position is not right. The team and the defence is too far back for the keeper. They’re on top of him. He’s not commanding enough.
‘Another reason I look at Mignolet is the number of goals he’s conceded. Any team which concedes that number of goals should not be top of the league.
‘You compare that to the number of goals Petr Cech has conceded at Chelsea and that tells you the difference. Any good team starts from the back.’
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles
