Reina claims he's here to stay

wasnt meaningless when profligacy and reina concedingfrom every other chance cost kenny his job

 

 

Signing the likes of Andy Carroll, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing cost Kenny his job.

But, but, Kenny didn't buy anyone. How could it be his fault?

The annoying thing is both Mig and Reina have half the skills required to be absolutely phenomenal in our system, but right now it's a case of choosing which has the lesser weaknesses. I've no doubt wages also came into it, but right now Mig's the safer choice purely for his reaction saves which will be invaluable until we stop players tip-toeing into our box and shooting from close range.

Considering our system consists of no defenders and no defensive midfielders, the only goalie who'd be truly formidable in our system is Neo from The Matrix.

 

When people slam Reina, I wonder who they'd hold up as a truly phenomenal keeper? Goalkeeping has changed. The ball is lighter, harder to catch, goalies are encouraged to sweep and bring the ball out, they don't seem to be coached any more into doing the simple things.

 

I can count on one hand how many great keepers there's been in the last 20 years. The likes of Khan was rightly lauded yet dropped more clangers than Rambo in a late 70s children's BBC rampage.

 

Look at the total sack of shite that is currently England's number one. Cech is rightly highly rated, but with Chelsea anti football it's like being hailed the North Pole's greatest fireman.

wasnt meaningless when profligacy and reina concedingfrom every other chance cost kenny his job

Bull poop.

The horse has bolted now, but the obvious answer was to sew Reina's legs onto Migs torso. We would have had the perfect keeper ! Alas it's too late now. Just put it down as yet another opportunity wasted. Fucking Ayre.

You can twist or turn this all you want but fact is any teenager with a bit of time and access to internet could make a hilarious video with Benny Hill music on repeat for minutes with funny howlers from Reina in his last 4 seasons here. No amount of fancy schmancy footwork is going to compensate for that. The same way strikers are measured on goals scored goalkeepers are measured on the amount of mistakes they make. The Hologram made far too many to be considered 'class' and most of footballing Europe is supporting my claim. Even the best manager he ever played for didn't come in with a decent offer for him even after watching him closely for a year, another year tarnished by errors.

 

Now he's about the same level Michael Owen was when he joined United, he joined a big club with no hope what so ever of ever reclaiming the levels of past glory. Which is a pity considering he could and should still be playing until 40 like many goalkeepers do. Instead he opts for the mascot-role he perfected for Spain's national team.

 

Thanks for the memories more than half a decade ago but thank god we finally got someone else to pay his salary.

Lad, you said he was "terrible for four years".  In the first of those years, he kept the joint-highest number of clean sheets in the Premier League (despite being in a much weaker team than the keeper who shared that record).  In the fourth of those years, he made some errors and made some briliant saves - pretty much the same as Mignolet last year.  The two years in between he was no great shakes.

 

It's all about opinions and that, so I don't want to go on about it, but (like I say) it is demonstrably false to claim he was "terrible for four years".

The annoying thing is both Mig and Reina have half the skills required to be absolutely phenomenal in our system, but right now it's a case of choosing which has the lesser weaknesses. I've no doubt wages also came into it, but right now Mig's the safer choice purely for his reaction saves which will be invaluable until we stop players tip-toeing into our box and shooting from close range.

Can't say fairer than that.

Lad, you said he was "terrible for four years".  In the first of those years, he kept the joint-highest number of clean sheets in the Premier League (despite being in a much weaker team than the keeper who shared that record).  In the fourth of those years, he made some errors and made some briliant saves - pretty much the same as Mignolet last year.  The two years in between he was no great shakes.

 

It's all about opinions and that, so I don't want to go on about it, but (like I say) it is demonstrably false to claim he was "terrible for four years".

 

 

I'm really struggling to remember brilliant saves from him, the closest we are is away to Arsenal in Rodgers' first season, but he also made big mistakes in the very same match. 

 

Anyways, no point bickering on about this on a day we've outplayed B Dortmund. He's history and if anything I think most people can agree he was a much better goalkeeper 6 or 7 years ago than he is today.

Interesting comparison of Mignolet and Reina from the 2012-13 season:

 

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/15117/8794658/mignolet-v-reina

 

Just confirms what we already know, namely:

 

1) Reina is not as good a shot stopper as Mignolet. For shots outside the box, shot to save ratio is virtually the same, but for shots inside the box, Mignolet's is much better.

 

This bolsters the point about Reina being slow to react to close range shots, as over the years his reflexes and agility have diminished considerably.

 

2) Mignolet is more prone to dropping catches than Reina.

 

Of course, Mignolet is a young, improving keeper, and Reina's form has deteriorated. You'd hope that over time, Mignolet can address the weaknesses in his game, but I don't think Pepe will ever be the keeper he was.

It's all about opinions and that, so I don't want to go on about it, but (like I say) it is demonstrably false to claim he was "terrible for four years".

Fair comment.

 

But it is interesting that Rafa didn't want to keep him and he has settled for being the bibs, drinks and cones man at Bayern, his ability is not in question, his application is.

so is his ability

But he's good at applications.

Anyways, no point bickering on about this on a day we've outplayed B Dortmund. He's history and if anything I think most people can agree he was a much better goalkeeper 6 or 7 years ago than he is today.

Indeed.

 

As with (almost) any former player, I'll say thanks, wish him well and then focus on the players who are still here.

 

Bring on Southampton!