SaintsBarry74

Lmao did Baz headbutt their GK there

Took my son to his first game at St Mary’s against Leicester in 2019, unfortunately, neither of us saw that coming. The last match I’d managed to convince him to attend wirh me was Spurs, when we got battered and RM legged it down the tunnel before the fifth goal even went in. Supporting Southampton should come with a warning label.

Bazunu has the third-worst pass completion rate in the league at 20.4% (40 feet+). No matter how you filter the data, he’s always near the bottom. He also claims just 2.3% of all crosses, which puts him dead last. https://fbref.com/en/comps/10/keepersadv/Championship-Stats This is a football club running a multi-million-pound football operation, and the level of negligence is staggering. They keep playing Bazunu in the hope he’ll somehow improve and salvage a return on what is already a horrific investment. Instead, he’s so shit that by continuing to play him theyre actually actively reducing his value.

He had -16.9 in his 22/23 PL season. He's not only the worst shot-stopper in every league he plays in, he's been breaking the record for worst xG on record every season. It's unreal.

You don’t see many outright howlers from Baz, but his shot-stopping is genuinely non-league level, and that isn’t hyperbole. The data backs it up: this is an unheard-of level of sustained underperformance for this level. He has ranked as the worst shot-stopper in every league he’s played in, even when compared with opposition second- and third-choice keepers.

Realistically, he’s about National League level. He’s so, so shit.

Save percentage on its own is misleading because it doesn’t account for the quality of the shots faced. Post-Shot Expected Goals (PsxG) is the metric that accounts for everything: shot placement, power, distance, angle, giving you the actual difficulty of the save. Check your link and switch to the “Player Advanced Goalkeeping” - filter by PsxG - you'll find Bazunu is right at the bottom. And if you sort only by save percentage, you’ll see both of our keepers sitting at the bottom as well.

McCarthy was like 20th out of 29 I believe. Yes, our goalkeepers are shit.

Championship - Goalkeepers - 5+ games played 25/26: Gavin Bazunu - 28th out of 29 according to OPTA stats Throughout his career, he’s consistently been the worst shot-stopper in every league he’s played in, an unheard-of level of underperformance at this level for GKs. Setting the Premier League’s worst-ever xG differential and nearly repeating the feat in the Championship before his injury. His 8 game stint in Belgium also ended with a third-last ranking.

He's not a natural GK. Poor command of his defence. Thankfully we've got a top3 squad in this league who can score. Statistically he's still one of the worst GKs in the league, something he's been consistent at his entire career so far.

Phew… Thought this was gonna be another Russell Martin-thread.

We have a bad record against these

Ralph’s the only manager to lose 9-0 twice. RM made sure we broke the PL record for most defensive errors leading to a goal only one third way into the season. We pick ‘em like we pick our goalkeepers.

He doesn’t seem popular in Swansea either.

He’s like watching an outfielder in goal. Statistically the worst keeper in any league he’s found himself in.

The issue with Baz is that they're decreasing his value by playing him. He's basically an outfielder in goal.

Quick stats recap: 22/23 (Premier League): worst keeper in the league (set a new negative xG record) 23/24 (Championship): worst in the league until he got injured 24/25 (Belgium): 2nd worst in the league, only played 6 games 25/26 (Championship): currently 34th out of 37 on, dropping fast - 2nd worst on save% And the funniest part? McCarthy isn’t far ahead of Baz on these charts. The state of our goalkeeping is genuinely unbelievable - you couldn’t make this up.

If this is the moment you think we’re doomed, you’ve missed a few chapters.

Derby we’re coming for you!

Fact, his stubborness in keeping Baz in nearly cost us promotion - which in hindsight probably would have been a good thing considering the horror show that followed. That season Saints and Leicester had a massive edge in terms of squad value and wages.

Countless posts on X saying the same thing. I’m not disappointed - I’m fucking fuming.

Former boss Russell Martin is the favourite to take the reins, following his sacking at Rangers last month. He lasted just 123 days at Ibrox – the shortest stint of any manager at the Scottish giants. Martin, 39, led Southampton to promotion from the Championship via the play-offs in the 2023/24 campaign. However, he was sacked in December 2024 as the Saints sat bottom of the table, and they were ultimately relegated. He came in for some criticism for refusing to change his play-out-from-the-back tactics, which contributed to their demise. However, he still has admirers at Southampton, and TEAMtalk can confirm that he is their TOP choice to replace Still, and he is open to a conversation about returning. https://www.teamtalk.com/southampton/identify-top-manager-target-will-still-sack-man-utd-legend-ex-liverpool-man Fuck off! He barely got us promoted even though we and Leicester had by far the biggest wage bills and squad values that season. He’s half the reason we’re still in this mess today.

He barely got us promoted in a two horse race (look at the wage bill for us and Leicester). ffs no way we’d do this… right???

Martin is the future of modern footy

Should we get Russell back? Tiki taka footy