How Liverpool Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet Turned Around His Ailing Anfield Career

Simon Mignolet has gone from Anfield outcast to key figure in the space of months for Liverpool this season, but how has the goalkeeper turned around his ailing Merseyside career?

Former Reds goalkeeper David James, speaking to Neil Jones of the Liverpool Echo this week, identified Mignolet as Liverpool's No. 1 shot-stopper for years to come after overcoming a struggle similar to that of the Englishman during his time on Merseyside.

Mignolet stands as one of the most successful goalkeepers in the Premier League this season, belying his previous woes.

But how has the 27-year-old achieved this?

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

Battles for Confidence

Beginning his praise of Mignolet, James declared: "I’ve got a lot of respect for Simon, and I think he’s got a great future. He will become a better goalkeeper for his experiences, I think."

The experience that James was referring to the Belgian's long-standing battle for form and confidence from the beginning of the 2014/15 season, perhaps most succinctly portrayed with a risible attempt at a clearance in Boxing Day's 1-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor.

Spilling crosses, skewing deliveries and failing to communicate comfortably with his back line, it was fair to suggest that Liverpool's interest in Club Brugge goalkeeper Mathew Ryan, as reported back in January by Chris Bascombe of The Telegraph, was a reaction to the extremely poor form shown by Mignolet.

This culminated in Rodgers dropping his regular first choice for December's 3-0 loss away to Manchester United, in favour of backup selection Brad Jones.

Rodgers told BBC Sport at the time that this was for "an indefinite period," underlining just how out-of-favour Mignolet was, although he quickly came back in due to Jones' injury.

Mignolet's poor form was analysed by Sky Sports' Monday Night Football pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher following September's 1-1 draw at home to Everton—a point salvaged for the Toffees with a late long-range strike from Phil Jagielka, which Neville believes Mignolet should have saved.

Neville criticised Mignolet's starting position in these situations, with the Belgian crouched low, relying on his reflexes to counter any attempt on goal.

Jones remained protective of his team-mate, telling Phil Kirkbride of the Liverpool Echo that: "There are not too many people who speak highly of goalkeepers. They tend to want to put them down.

"I’ve never seen Gary Neville play in goal but he seemed to have a good opinion of it."

Nevertheless, as Mignolet's spell out of the side showcased, the No. 22 was significantly low on confidence, and this low-crouching technique seemed to mirror his cowering psyche.

So how has Mignolet transformed from a wallflower to a dominant force?

Jon Super/Associated Press

Major Improvement

Much of this stemmed, seemingly, from a conversation with his fiancee, as relayed by the Guardian's Andy Hunter.

"It was Boxing Day, my family were over here, and my missus and everyone were having dinner when she said: ‘Simon, are you sometimes over-thinking stuff?’" Mignolet recounted. "Those were her words. I didn’t really give a response at the time.

"That was the trigger in my mind that we had to say ‘Look, we have to sort this out’."

As Mignolet continued, he outlined the deficiencies in his game, and why he felt they were recurring:

"

I was basically thinking too much over what was best to do and losing time rather than playing my natural game. I was always looking to find the best possible solution in situations, the right player to pass to, thinking ‘you could do this, you could do that,’ and was forgetting what was the worst solution, like giving away the corner at Burnley.

So I made the decision that rather than thinking too much I would be more decisive and commanding and ever since then it has gone very well.

"

With that Boxing Day performance a turning point for Mignolet, the 27-year-old has improved remarkably.

Before that victory, Mignolet averaged 1.27 goals conceded per league game, made an average of 1.59 saves per goal and approached balls into the box by a decisive punch just 47 percent of the time.

From then, Mignolet has averaged 0.8 goals conceded per league game, made 2.33 saves per goal and punched the ball clear a phenomenal 80 percent of the time.

He has displayed an enhanced finesse both on the ball and in the air.

As James described the situation: "The fact that he got dropped, similar to me, then got back in through injury, again similar to me, and the performances he has since produced under that kind of scrutiny, I think it says a lot about him, as a player and a character."

Mignolet has shown his true character this season.

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

The Golden Glove?

Perhaps the biggest upturn in fortunes for Mignolet this season has come in the fundamental marker of goalkeeping success: in keeping clean sheets.

Before the Burnley victory, Mignolet had kept just four clean sheets in 15 league games.

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

In the same number of games from that win, Mignolet has kept nine clean sheets, for an overall 13 for the season.

Mignolet's closest competitors for the Premier League Golden Glove award for the 2014/15 season are Southampton's Fraser Forster (13), Swansea City's Lukasz Fabianski (11) and West Bromwich Albion's Ben Foster (11).

At this juncture, Forster stands to be out injured for the remainder of the season, according to Sky Sports, after suffering knee damage in the Saints' 2-0 win over Burnley in March.

Foster, too, is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, as reported by the Guardian.

Fabianski, therefore, is the only fit goalkeeper close to Mignolet's clean-sheet record for the season, and with the Polish international having kept just three in his last 10 league games for the Swans, it is fair to say Mignolet is the front-runner now.

As James' praise for Mignolet shows, the Liverpool goalkeeper has improved significantly this season, likely saving his Reds career and solidifying his place as Rodgers' No. 1 for the long-term.

A truly fitting way to celebrate this rise in fortunes would be to secure the Golden Glove award, and to do that, Mignolet must remain confident, commanding and decisive.

Statistics via Squawka.com.

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