Mike Maignan has received some criticism from the Milan fans in recent months and based on the performances lately, one can certainly understand that. Against Hellas Verona last night, the insecurity continued.
Ever since the start of last season, really, Maignan has struggled to find consistency with his game. Essy mistakes have become a lot more common, especially at the near post, and concern has grown among the fans amid the inability to turn things around.
Against Feyenoord, the goalkeeper made a huge mistake and it was fatal in the end, as that goal was enough for the Dutch side to clinch the win. As such, a response of sorts was expected against Hellas Verona; a chance for Maignan to show his true qualities.
Instead, we got to see more fumbles from the goalkeeper. The Feyenoord goal required him to dive and stretch, but what’s even more worrying is that we have seen so-called ‘soap hands’ incidents from the goalkeeper even if the shots are straight at him.
Ondrej Duda fired a shot straight at Maignan early on yesterday and the goalkeeper, knowing his usual abilities, tried to catch it. Instead, it slipped through his fingers and only luck prevented it from going in. In the second half, he fumbled a pretty easy cross to claim and that also could have proved costly.
He was handed a 5.5/10 in our player ratings, thus not passing the test, and Gazzetta dello Sport gave him the same rating. This is especially telling as Milan kept a clean sheet in the end, so really it should have been a higher rating.
Of course, everyone makes mistakes in football but for Maignan to struggle with so many ‘easy’ interventions is indeed worrying. It seems the recent poor form has affected his mentality a lot, and that is something that will have to change as soon as possible.
True be told, Milan needs to start looking out for Mike Maignan replacement, he almost commit another blunder against Verona yesterday
Well soap hands should be easily solvable as he can always start using a bit of resin on his gloves just like which is used on handballs.
Last season I had posted several times here on this forum that Maignan’s goalkeeping stats were terrible, and that he was costing the team points by giving up easy to stop shots (often at the near post), thus turning wins into draws or losses.
Several people posted in to disagree, and throughout last season, the writers on this forum kept ignoring what was to me an obvious problem – that Maignan’s shot stopping ability had dropped from a world class level down to below average (for Serie A) levels.
Mike’s misses have become so obvious now that the writers on this forum are finally calling him out for it. Yes, these are, as the English say, howlers, that he is committing, and not the mark of the once world class goalkeeper that used to be.
I really wonder if it’s wise for the Milan management to give him a big new contract.
What if it turns out that there is an underlying neurological or physical problem that is causing him to commit these howlers? What if it turns out that it isn’t a “lack of confidence” but something concrete, like he’s got multiple sclerosis, or some other progressive disorder that’s interfering with his shot stopping and will continue to worsen and send him permanently on a downhill slide?
Yes, definitely Milan should be looking for a replacement, as soon as possible.
Multiple Sclerosis, Doctor HoHum??? LOL
This said, since last summer I said here that we should sell Maignan and buy Di Gregorio. We did not, and Juve pounced. Now we’re stuck with a below-average goal keeper. No, Mike is not world class. His frequent near post howlers are inconsistent with a truly world class goalkeeper.
100% we missed out on Di Gregorio
Funny, Luigi seems to not have the same energy for Leao as he has for Maignan. Shocking.
Mike is way more reliable or as you say “regular” than your guy Rafa, but you lose your sh!t when people rightfully say that he needs to be shipped out.
Sell Rafa, keep Maignan.
I am being generous by giving Mike the benefit of the doubt and assuming that he really is trying his best, and that his failings are not because he parties too much, drinks too much alcohol or uses drugs, and stays up too late, and isn’t trying very hard anymore.
Instead I am postulating that Mike might actually have some as yet undiscovered medical ailment that is slowing him down and making him uncoordinated.
There are lots of such illnesses that can cause that besides multiple sclerosis. Maybe he got Long COVID, or some other variant of chronic fatigue syndrome that causes “brain fog”. Just throwing those thoughts out. It does happen to people and to sports stars.
If you look at the Advanced Goalkeeping stats on the fbref page for Mike Maignan, for four seasons straight, 2018 to 2022, his numbers really were in the elite category. The key stat is the PSxG+/- which were all well into the positive range in those years. This meant that he had managed, during that season to keep out that many goals which otherwise had a high probability of being scored. Maignan really did used to be a world class goalkeeper.
Since 2022, Mike’s PSxG+/- number has dropped into the negative range, meaning these are the goals that he allowed in which he had a high probability of stopping, and should have stopped.
Right now, Mike’s PSxG+/- number of -3.7 puts him all the way down at 18th amongst the goalkeepers in Serie A. That’s right, HE’S IN THE RELEGATION ZONE.
Is that really who Milan wants to be their goalkeeper for the next 4-5 years? A goalkeeper better suited for a team at risk for relegation?
Are Mike’s problems just laziness and poor training? Or a real medical problem that hasn’t been discovered yet?
Something like this did happen to Mario Götze, who was the hero of the German National Team in the 2014 World Cup, scoring the winning goal in the final against Argentina. Not long after, he started to suffer from constant fitness issues that hampered his career, and the cause went undiagnosed until 2017, when it was finally discovered that he was suffering from a chronic inflammatory myopathy that weakened his muscles. He went under treatment for this and has managed to continue his career again, although he’s no longer playing for the likes of Bayern and Dortmund.
i wonder if those who disagree even watch the games
Mike should be sold, he has been consistent with glaring mistakes, injuries and mental breakdowns over the last 2 seasons.
Sell him for a decent sum 30-50 mil…pick up a young Italian keeper (plenty of decent shot stoppers come from italy) for 15-20 mil.
Much of Milan’s rollercoaster season can be attributed to him. The same way in the past dollaruma had many unforced errors, we replaced him with maignan and finally got some traction.
We don’t need a Buffon just someone who save the basic stuff, stay healthy, and pull his head out of his ass and keep it in the game mentally
Instead of backing a player who’s down in form, the fans here seem to want to cut ties immediately… Sad.
Mike has stellar reflexes. And Mike lets near post howlers in. It’s a weakness. So what? He’s still a great GK. Donnarumma didn’t make howlers?
Look at Mike’s Advanced Goalkeeping stats on fbref.
Mike USED to have stellar reflexes and shot stopping ability, from 2018-2022, when his PSxG+/- was in the positive range.
So, for four consecutive years, his shot stopping was at league leading, world class levels.
And then his PSxG+/- flipped into the slightly negative the following year, and has been solidly negative last season and this season.
These are the shots that he SHOULD HAVE STOPPED, and used to stop, back when he was really good.
Mike has more than just “dropped in form”, he is currently the 18th ranked goalkeeper in Serie A by PSxG+/-. He’s in the relegation zone. He was like that LAST SEASON.
At what point do you keep carrying a player on your team that is huring the team more than he is contributing?
“Instead of backing a player who’s down in form, the fans here seem to want to cut ties immediately”… Like Leao and Theo? Bennacer, Calabria? Who else?
You have said it all @ Luigi, I was nodding in approval concerning your submission on Leao, because it was spot on. Common, let cut Mike some slack.
Folks here want to sell a player everytime they have a bad game or two. What a fanbase🤣