And so, for the fourth time, Liverpool will attempt to be knocked out of the FA Cup on Tuesday. That is not the official version, of course. The very presence of Simon Mignolet in goal is supposed to indicate a preference to carry on in all four competitions.
The Belgian was parachuted into the weakened cup side after his deputy Adam Bogdan conceded direct from a corner in the third-round 2-2 draw with Exeter. When Mignolet lets in goals from corners, as he often does, at least there tends to be a touch from an opponent first. The hapless, luckless Bogdan’s demise was rubber-stamped when he was omitted from the Europa League squad Liverpool registered for the second half of the season.
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In contrast, Mignolet’s status was cemented when he was awarded a five-and-a-half year contract. He could be at Anfield until 2021, if not longer. It is safe to say the news was not greeted rapturously. The Belgian may be a scapegoat, but his mistakes remain too frequent.
Saturday’s was obscured by a protest, the mass walkout of Liverpool fans and the removal of the hospitalised Jurgen Klopp’s appendix, but Mignolet ought to have saved Adam Johnson’s free kick. Instead, it squirmed under him. Liverpool, 2-0 up, went on to draw 2-2. It was a comeback that even Sunderland did not see coming. It was a case of two more points slipping from Liverpool’s grasp.
Too many have. They have conceded 36 league goals, a total topped only by five relegation-threatened teams. They come in an increasing number of ways. Jamie Vardy’s goal-of-the-season contender for Leicester City last Tuesday came after he said he had spotted Mignolet off his line before lobbing him.
It seemed, in part, the consequence of a goalkeeper trying to be something he is not. Mignolet’s preference is to remain rooted to his line. Klopp’s pressing game entails a high defensive line. So he ventured off his line to act as a sweeper. Too far, as Vardy proved.
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It was not the first failed attempt to overcompensate. Craig Dawson scored for West Bromwich Albion at Anfield in November after Mignolet came to claim a corner. He took it off the head of Christian Benteke, perhaps Liverpool’s best header. Klopp assumed responsibility afterwards, saying he wanted a goalkeeper who would try to command his box.
Yet that is not Mignolet. An unassuming, amiable man is not a dominant character. He talked last week of being more aggressive and nasty, of trying to harangue referees when decisions do not go his way. Yet he comes across as ideal son-in-law material. If he is charged with being an angry enforcer, he is being miscast.
The sense was that he worked better in isolation, rather than in a crowd of bodies. Despite Mignolet’s famous frailty against set pieces, he has a reputation as a fine shot-stopper. The statistics nevertheless suggest he is stopping too few shots. Opponents have scored with nine of their last 11 attempts on target in the league. That could be dismissed as a small sample size but, over the course of the campaign, a save percentage of 59.5 is bettered by 19 other top-flight goalkeepers, some of them reserves.
Petr Cech tops the list, at 81.6 per cent. Hugo Lloris is second, Adrian third. Three with reputations among the division’s best – David de Gea, Joe Hart and Thibaut Courtois – are all comfortably above 70 per cent, along with the most improved goalkeeper of the season, Jack Butland.
One of the arguments against replacing Mignolet is that Liverpool could spend £15 million (Dh79.3m) and still not acquire anyone of the calibre of his Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur counterparts. Yet the figures suggest that virtually every other side has a superior goalkeeper.
Buying someone who proves five points better over a season should be very possible. Getting one worth 10 points more than Mignolet is feasible. It may be the difference between qualifying for the Uefa Champions League and not. Or, indeed, between staying in the FA Cup or not.
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