Everton's legendary goalkeeper Neville Southall has issued a very cutting judgement on Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
The last goalkeeper to win Footballer of the Year in England wrote in his Paddy Power blog that doesn't believe the Liverpool keeper is brave enough and doesn't command his own box well enough.
The Welsh nationalist (he was very hostile to the idea of Welsh players representing Team GB in 2012) has a withering, outspoken side to him.
Southall began with a crumb of comfort for the goalkeeper - but it's not much of a crumb (we trust he hadn't accounted for the numerous sub keepers in the League when he made this jibe.)
All I can say about Simon Mignolet is he’s definitely in my Top 20 of Premier League goalkeepers.
And trust me, he doesn’t feature very high on it.
Southall was surprised that Liverpool went for the Belgian, before name-checking the great Liverpool keepers of the past 40 years, saying Mignolet couldn't never hope to live up to that history.
When you think of the great Liverpool goalkeepers Tommy Lawrence, Ray Clemence, Bruce Grobbelaar, Pepe Reina – he never struck me as a player capable of hitting those standards.
Southall hinted that Mignolet bore a great deal of responsibility for Liverpool's defensive frailties more generally.
His shot-stopping his good, his distribution is decent, but he ain’t the best on crosses, his decision-making is poor and he’s not the bravest.
He can’t cope physically. Skrtel and Lovren have come in for stick, but the lack of understanding they have with the keeper hasn’t helped.
