Gavin Bazunu

[Whitey Grandad]

13 hours ago, Whitey Grandad said:

I’ll watch it again before commenting in detail but anytime an opposition player skips around your full back and gets to the goal line inside your penalty are you’re going to be in trouble. I said to my grandson at the time, “far post”, and lo and behold there it was. 
 

I couldn’t fault AMN’s commitment after that but he’s never going to be a full back. We’ve got two competent right backs in KWP and Bree and Perraud is not the worst of  left backs.

I watched the first goal last night. 

I’ve said before that his wrists aren’t strong enough and I don’t know if they ever will be.  He should have palmed that shot anywhere but straight down into the middle of our goal.

I maintain my point that he is being criminally exposed. The defence should be a layered structure but time after time the opposition are waltzing into our penalty are and being allowed time to pick their spot. 
 

Having said all that we are never going to win any game unless we can score ourselves. We are just a poor team in almost all positions and can’t complain about our league position.

[badgerx16]

Bazunu is the product of our scouting, coaching, and managerial expertise.

On that basis, is anybody really surprised ?

[Whitey Grandad]

5 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

Bazunu is the product of our scouting, coaching, and managerial expertise.

On that basis, is anybody really surprised ?

When you look at the overall picture that is where our problems lie. Poor management chooses inappropriate players and then chooses to play them in inappropriate systems.

[LuckyNumber7]

Along with the lack of goals, Bazunu is the main reason we are going down. Clean sheets get you points even if you don't score, to only have 4 all season is abysmal. We have only scored 2 goals fewer than Wolves yet they are now well clear of danger. Turning defeats into draws by not giving away cheap goals every game is so important.

Literally no other PL club would have looked at a 19/20 year old mid table L1 keeper who's never played in the top flight and brought him in as first choice. One of the biggest clusterfucks of so many clusterfucks that have been made this season. Also agree with others who think he will be out of his depth in the Championship.

[Galway saint]

31 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

I watched the first goal last night. 

I’ve said before that his wrists aren’t strong enough and I don’t know if they ever will be.  He should have palmed that shot anywhere but straight down into the middle of our goal.

I maintain my point that he is being criminally exposed. The defence should be a layered structure but time after time the opposition are waltzing into our penalty are and being allowed time to pick their spot. 
 

Having said all that we are never going to win any game unless we can score ourselves. We are just a poor team in almost all positions and can’t complain about our league position.

He should have punched it out of the box. He concedes a lot of weird goals that are a product of poor positioning and/ or decision making 

[Whitey Grandad]

11 minutes ago, LuckyNumber7 said:

Along with the lack of goals, Bazunu is the main reason we are going down. Clean sheets get you points even if you don't score, to only have 4 all season is abysmal. We have only scored 2 goals fewer than Wolves yet they are now well clear of danger. Turning defeats into draws by not giving away cheap goals every game is so important.

Literally no other PL club would have looked at a 19/20 year old mid table L1 keeper who's never played in the top flight and brought him in as first choice. One of the biggest clusterfucks of so many clusterfucks that have been made this season. Also agree with others who think he will be out of his depth in the Championship.

He’s not the main reason we’re going down, nowhere near it. You cannot discount the porous defence in front of him. Shots have been coming at him from twelve yards away and sometimes even closer and no team can ever survive that.

[Whitey Grandad]

4 minutes ago, Galway saint said:

He should have punched it out of the box. He concedes a lot of weird goals that are a product of poor positioning and/ or decision making 

Yes he should, but that goal yesterday was not due to his positioning, which was correct, nor due to decision making because he had no time to think. It was purely due to having weak wrists.

I wouldn’t call that a ‘weird’ goal’. Just poor handling and there have been plenty of other goalkeepers showing the same thing, even yesterday.

[Toussaint]

9 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Yes he should, but that goal yesterday was not due to his positioning, which was correct, nor due to decision making because he had no time to think. It was purely due to having weak wrists.

I wouldn’t call that a ‘weird’ goal’. Just poor handling and there have been plenty of other goalkeepers showing the same thing, even yesterday.

I saw it once only, live, it didn’t seem a particularly hard shot, could he feasibly have held it?

[Galway saint]

22 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Yes he should, but that goal yesterday was not due to his positioning, which was correct, nor due to decision making because he had no time to think. It was purely due to having weak wrists.

I wouldn’t call that a ‘weird’ goal’. Just poor handling and there have been plenty of other goalkeepers showing the same thing, even yesterday.

Had he punched it then the strength of his wrists would not have mattered. The decision not to punch was a mistake 

[Lord Duckhunter]

56 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

He’s not the main reason we’re going down, nowhere near it. You cannot discount the porous defence in front of him. Shots have been coming at him from twelve yards away and sometimes even closer and no team can ever survive that.

“Nowhere near it”. 😂, he's personally responsible for more errors that have cost us goals than anyone else. I know that’s the nature of goalkeeping, errors are exposed, but he makes too many. If you switched him with Pickford, Everton would be down already and we’d probably be out of the bottom 3.

Keepers do save shots behind poor defenders, they play well and turn 1-0 defeats into 0-0. This clown just doesn’t do that. I can’t recall any point we’ve picked up this season which  people  thought was down to Baz. In fact the 3 points at home to Leicester were gained despite Baz, after his last minute superman impression. 
 

He doesn’t make anything other than routine saves, and he fucks too many of those up as well. He’s clearly the worst goal keeper in the league. 

[LGTL]

2 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

“Nowhere near it”. 😂, he's personally responsible for more errors that have cost us goals than anyone else. I know that’s the nature of goalkeeping, errors are exposed, but he makes too many. If you switched him with Pickford, Everton would be down already and we’d probably be out of the bottom 3.

Keepers do save shots behind poor defenders, they play well and turn 1-0 defeats into 0-0. This clown just doesn’t do that. I can’t recall any point we’ve picked up this season which  people  thought was down to Baz. In fact the 3 points at home to Leicester were gained despite Baz, after his last minute superman impression. 
 

He doesn’t make anything other than routine saves, and he fucks too many of those up as well. He’s clearly the worst goal keeper in the league. 

I doubt there’s too many worse keepers in the league below either. 

[Lord Duckhunter]

18 minutes ago, LGTL said:

I doubt there’s too many worse keepers in the league below either. 

We had a shite keeper in AM and somehow managed to replace him with somebody just as bad.
 

The criminal thing is there’s a good chance we could ruin the young man’s top level career, his confidence must be rock bottom and it may get even worse for him next season. In general the supporters have been pretty understanding at the game, probably because of his age and the awful side in front of him. But if he starts next season in a similar way, they won’t be so accommodating. He could well end up bumping around the lower leagues, whereas had he been our number 2, or been loaned out to a championship or even abroad, he could learn his trade and make his errors away from the harsh spotlight of the premier league. Maybe then, as his confidence grows he would be ready. 
 

Kelvin has been mentioned a bit on this thread, how he was excellent for us until we got to the promised land. Remember he had an awful spell at Sunderland in the top flight previously, and I’m sure that played on his mind a bit second time around. Some people are strong enough to use that experience to drive them on, whereas others are haunted by it and it affects them next time. Is Baz strong enough to overcome this experience, because he’ll know deep down he’s not been good enough (although maybe he should have a chat with Whitey who could reassure him it’s Bednarek who let the soft goals in), if he has the slightest doubt he doesn’t belong at the top level, he won’t get back there. The atmosphere is going to get toxic over the next few weeks, he needs taking out of the firing line and AM or Willy put in to face the music. 

Edited 16 April, 2023 by Lord Duckhunter

[Appy]

The ironic thing yesterday was the goalkeeper we should’ve signed was playing for the other team. 

[Nordic Saint]

2 hours ago, badgerx16 said:

Bazunu is the product of our scouting, coaching, and managerial expertise.

On that basis, is anybody really surprised ?

This must have been the game they were at that finally convinced our scouts he would be a good fit for the Southampton Way:

 

[S-Clarke]

8 minutes ago, Appy said:

The ironic thing yesterday was the goalkeeper we should’ve signed was playing for the other team. 

Johnstone made a good save as well. I'll be honest I wasn't totally sold on Johnstone at the point last year, I wanted us to aim a little higher. But jeez I didn't envisage us getting it this wrong.

[badgerx16]

1 hour ago, Toussaint said:

I saw it once only, live, it didn’t seem a particularly hard shot, could he feasibly have held it?

Possibly,but punching/palming the ball away seems to be the way most keepers play these days.

[vectraman]

Not trying to defend Bazunu here but if you look at any keeper they all have a horror game in them every now and again. Think Allison at Liverpool last year  (I think) where he gave two goals away in one game in a horror show, whilst trying to pass out from the back. 

Fabianski v Newcastle last week. 

All  players make mistakes. Keepers errors are magnified as it is a goal resulting. 
If Aribo and Walcott could hit the target from 8 yards we’d have won. But they didn’t. 
If…the biggest little word 😬
 

[S-Clarke]

3 minutes ago, vectraman said:

Not trying to defend Bazunu here but if you look at any keeper they all have a horror game in them every now and again. Think Allison at Liverpool last year  (I think) where he gave two goals away in one game in a horror show, whilst trying to pass out from the back. 

Fabianski v Newcastle last week. 

All  players make mistakes. Keepers errors are magnified as it is a goal resulting. 
If Aribo and Walcott could hit the target from 8 yards we’d have won. But they didn’t. 
If…the biggest little word 😬
 

Absolutley all players make mistakes, and keepers are prone to be shown up more...but this guy drops one in the net every week, he doesn't seem to make saves. Anything on target equals a goal, which isn't a good habit for a GK to get into.

[Galway saint]

10 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Absolutley all players make mistakes, and keepers are prone to be shown up more...but this guy drops one in the net every week, he doesn't seem to make saves. Anything on target equals a goal, which isn't a good habit for a GK to get into.

Somebody posted a stat a few weeks ago showing that in terms of shots saved he’s one of the worst in Europe. 

[vectraman]

8 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Absolutley all players make mistakes, and keepers are prone to be shown up more...but this guy drops one in the net every week, he doesn't seem to make saves. Anything on target equals a goal, which isn't a good habit for a GK to get into.

I must admit he does have shades of Martin Stekelenberg about him - rarely made a save and almost everything on target seemed to go in!

I don’t think a young inexperienced keeper is helped by the defence being different every match either. No understanding develops, so he is always unsure of who is doing what, so I think makes more rash decisions. 
Bednarek should never have come back, he was a poison we didn’t need, and not one manager of our three could stick with a settled back four (or three or five!)

But notwithstanding that, yesterdays first goal was his fault entirely - a strong punch eliminates the threat  He meekly patted it down into the danger zone instead. Poor.

Leeds away, Spurs away, Wolves at home etc etc all mistakes leading to goals. Not up to scratch. Feel for him, he must know he’s performed way below average, along with most of his team mates.

That’s why we are going down - too many poor players, coached in a non suitable style. Sad times ☹️

 

[stevy777_x]

3 minutes ago, vectraman said:

I must admit he does have shades of Martin Stekelenberg about him - rarely made a save and almost everything on target seemed to go in!

I don’t think a young inexperienced keeper is helped by the defence being different every match either. No understanding develops, so he is always unsure of who is doing what, so I think makes more rash decisions. 
Bednarek should never have come back, he was a poison we didn’t need, and not one manager of our three could stick with a settled back four (or three or five!)

But notwithstanding that, yesterdays first goal was his fault entirely - a strong punch eliminates the threat  He meekly patted it down into the danger zone instead. Poor.

Leeds away, Spurs away, Wolves at home etc etc all mistakes leading to goals. Not up to scratch. Feel for him, he must know he’s performed way below average, along with most of his team mates.

That’s why we are going down - too many poor players, coached in a non suitable style. Sad times ☹️

 

McCarthy in goal for me for next week

[Lord Duckhunter]

7 minutes ago, vectraman said:

Bednarek should never have come back, he was a poison we didn’t need, and not one manager of our three could stick with a settled back four (or three or five!)

 

 

So you’d have played ABK with Lyanco or  Caleta-Car yesterday then? 
 

Whether you like it or not Bednarek has played better than either of those 2 lately. If he hadn’t of come back we’d have been relying on one of those two, no thanks…

[Badger]

54 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

Possibly,but punching/palming the ball away seems to be the way most keepers play these days.

This is an annoying trait in the game now for me. For me, first and foremost, the GK’s job is to keep the ball out of the net,  a safe and reliable pair of hands. The ‘sweeper keeper’ bollocks is secondary, I don’t want to see him making Cruyff turns in the six yard box ( Boruc) , just use your fucking hands competently.

The parrying/blocking has been a feature for too long. I recall cup ties over consecutive seasons where I think Steklenburg one season, Forster the other played ‘pat a cake’ putting the ball right in front of strikers to score (both Palace coincidentally). The art of holding the ball seems to have gone since Niemi left it seems. 
 

Bazunu’s effort yesterday wasn’t a punch or attempt to save. 

[Badger]

40 minutes ago, vectraman said:

I must admit he does have shades of Martin Stekelenberg about him - rarely made a save and almost everything on target seemed to go in!

Yet I think Steklenberg made several decent appearances for Everton after leaving.

We seem to be blighted by succession of poor GK’s. Coincidence, or coaching ? 

[Saint_clark]

50 minutes ago, stevy777_x said:

McCarthy in goal for me for next week

Too late. He should have come into the team as soon as he was fit.

[Chez]

1 hour ago, S-Clarke said:

Johnstone made a good save as well. I'll be honest I wasn't totally sold on Johnstone at the point last year, I wanted us to aim a little higher. But jeez I didn't envisage us getting it this wrong.

Likewise. I don't think he was the right signing either. How earth a side with a £115m wage bill ends up with the four keepers we have beggars belief.

[stevy777_x]

1 hour ago, Saint_clark said:

Too late. He should have come into the team as soon as he was fit.

Not late 

[Sunglasses Ron]

2 hours ago, Nordic Saint said:

This must have been the game they were at that finally convinced our scouts he would be a good fit for the Southampton Way:

 

Jesus.

Surely that one game alone was enough evidence that he wasn't equipped for the PL.

Only we could give it the big un' by signing such a weapon from our bitter rivals and then have it blow up spectacularly in our face.

[Whitey Grandad]

5 hours ago, Toussaint said:

I saw it once only, live, it didn’t seem a particularly hard shot, could he feasibly have held it?

Very unlikely that anyone could have held that.

5 hours ago, Galway saint said:

Had he punched it then the strength of his wrists would not have mattered. The decision not to punch was a mistake 

Punching gives less control over direction (!). Using flat hands it should have either gone back the way it was coming or behind or over the bar. Definitely not down to his left hand side.

[Osvaldorama]

He’s absolutely atrocious. 
 

I can’t comprehend how he plays every week. It’s mad. Every other position gets chopped and changed by our inept managers. But Bazunu is undroppable despite being one of the worst premier league keepers in history. 
 

Yet another baffling decision made by the utter imbeciles running the club. 

[Wade Garrett]

4 hours ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

We had a shite keeper in AM and somehow managed to replace him with somebody just as bad.
 

The criminal thing is there’s a good chance we could ruin the young man’s top level career, his confidence must be rock bottom and it may get even worse for him next season. In general the supporters have been pretty understanding at the game, probably because of his age and the awful side in front of him. But if he starts next season in a similar way, they won’t be so accommodating. He could well end up bumping around the lower leagues, whereas had he been our number 2, or been loaned out to a championship or even abroad, he could learn his trade and make his errors away from the harsh spotlight of the premier league. Maybe then, as his confidence grows he would be ready. 
 

Kelvin has been mentioned a bit on this thread, how he was excellent for us until we got to the promised land. Remember he had an awful spell at Sunderland in the top flight previously, and I’m sure that played on his mind a bit second time around. Some people are strong enough to use that experience to drive them on, whereas others are haunted by it and it affects them next time. Is Baz strong enough to overcome this experience, because he’ll know deep down he’s not been good enough (although maybe he should have a chat with Whitey who could reassure him it’s Bednarek who let the soft goals in), if he has the slightest doubt he doesn’t belong at the top level, he won’t get back there. The atmosphere is going to get toxic over the next few weeks, he needs taking out of the firing line and AM or Willy put in to face the music. 

His confidence levels are the result of his own ability.  He has improved a bit recently, but yesterday, again, showed he is not a Premier League keeper and I don’t think he ever will be.

I wouldn’t be at all confident with him in the Championship next season.

I would love to read the scout reports that lead us to spending an 8 figure sum on him.

[kwsaint]

4 hours ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

We had a shite keeper in AM and somehow managed to replace him with somebody just as bad.
 

The criminal thing is there’s a good chance we could ruin the young man’s top level career, his confidence must be rock bottom and it may get even worse for him next season. In general the supporters have been pretty understanding at the game, probably because of his age and the awful side in front of him. But if he starts next season in a similar way, they won’t be so accommodating. He could well end up bumping around the lower leagues, whereas had he been our number 2, or been loaned out to a championship or even abroad, he could learn his trade and make his errors away from the harsh spotlight of the premier league. Maybe then, as his confidence grows he would be ready. 
 

Kelvin has been mentioned a bit on this thread, how he was excellent for us until we got to the promised land. Remember he had an awful spell at Sunderland in the top flight previously, and I’m sure that played on his mind a bit second time around. Some people are strong enough to use that experience to drive them on, whereas others are haunted by it and it affects them next time. Is Baz strong enough to overcome this experience, because he’ll know deep down he’s not been good enough (although maybe he should have a chat with Whitey who could reassure him it’s Bednarek who let the soft goals in), if he has the slightest doubt he doesn’t belong at the top level, he won’t get back there. The atmosphere is going to get toxic over the next few weeks, he needs taking out of the firing line and AM or Willy put in to face the music. 

Think this applies to half the team.  Lots of young players with potential whose confidence is currently shot to pieces.  I think that Bazunu has the makings of a decent keeper, but as a keeper his lack of confidence is exposed.  Doesnt help with having a defence that changes every week and some players already half-hearted as they will be off in the summer.  Won't be watching any more games this season, either live or on TV, and will see what the summer and next season brings.

[qwertyell]

Tough on the kid, everyone piling in on him. I've been a critic, but it feels a bit indulgent to keep on kicking him now.

It's quite similar to the Mara signing - neither were ready to play at this level, and the expectation was that the club were shoring up some talents for the future and would be bringing in experienced first choices in goal and up front, and it just never happened. These guys have been dropped in at the deep end in key positions, in a shite team, and getting absolutely buried for the club's negligence.

That being said, I just don't see anything special in Bazunu's make up that suggests he's got a ceiling much higher than he's already reached. Experience isn't going to stop him being relatively small for a keeper with a weak jump/dive.

 

 

[saintscottofthenortham]

7 hours ago, Galway saint said:

Somebody posted a stat a few weeks ago showing that in terms of shots saved he’s one of the worst in Europe. 

No… he is THE worst in Europe. It’s not even close, either. 

[ludgershallsaint]

All a bit Angus Gunn…..  only difference being that, this time, they’ve been completely pig headed about it and not stepped in

[Jimbo]

Absolutely baffling decision to go into this season with him as first choice.

Compared to some of the other realistic keeper signings. e.g. Sam Johnstone from WBA (ahead of being Palace's reserve), who at least has Prem experience and is half decent.

 

[Badger]

Just now, Jimbo said:

Absolutely baffling decision to go into this season with him as first choice.

Compared to some of the other realistic keeper signings. e.g. Sam Johnstone from WBA (ahead of being Palace's reserve), who at least has Prem experience and is half decent.

 

No resale value.

Rasmus&Semmensknowbest#

[Galway saint]

17 minutes ago, saintscottofthenortham said:

No… he is THE worst in Europe. It’s not even close, either. 

I stand corrected ! 
Quite an accolade - the only way is up I suppose 

[Crab Lungs]

8 hours ago, Nordic Saint said:

This must have been the game they were at that finally convinced our scouts he would be a good fit for the Southampton Way:

 

Some of the football played in those highlights is way above the crab dross Selles has us playing. 
 

[Appy]

1 hour ago, ludgershallsaint said:

All a bit Angus Gunn…..  only difference being that, this time, they’ve been completely pig headed about it and not stepped in

Gunn was better than Bazunu as well

[Saint_clark]

2 hours ago, Badger said:

No resale value.

Rasmus&Semmensknowbest#

Never understood the obsession with kids in the keeper position. Even signing a keeper at 28  he has the potential to be your first choice for 5-10 years.

[lumuah]

19 hours ago, Crab Lungs said:

Some of the football played in those highlights is way above the crab dross Selles has us playing. 
 

Even the Skates losing 4-0 at home had more shots on target than us.

[lumuah]

18 hours ago, Appy said:

Gunn was better than Bazunu as well

Tommy Fourpast was better than Bazunu. 

I'm sure someone can find stats to prove it.

[Chez]

On 16/04/2023 at 16:11, Whitey Grandad said:

Very unlikely that anyone could have held that.

Punching gives less control over direction (!). Using flat hands it should have either gone back the way it was coming or behind or over the bar. Definitely not down to his left hand side.

got to say, watching it back, after being very critical of him and putting most of the blame on him, it's hard to know what he could do. There is not a chance in hell that he could palm it backwards over the bar, catching it would have been tough, as would palming it the way it came, palming it outwards put things in the lap of the gods, so, punching it was the only real `safe' option. Quicker feet, stickier hands and a CB right where you need him are my only other answers. 

[Turkish]

29 minutes ago, lumuah said:

Tommy Fourpast was better than Bazunu. 

I'm sure someone can find stats to prove it.

Tommy Forecast never conceded a goal in a first team game for Southampton

Edited 17 April, 2023 by Turkish

[Chez]

1 minute ago, Turkish said:

Tommy Forecast never conceded in a goal in a first team game for Southampton

statistically the best keeper we ever had.

[Crab Lungs]

41 minutes ago, Chez said:

statistically the best keeper we ever had.

And I’m pretty sure he faced plenty of shots on a Saturday for a few years. 

[Turkish]

1 hour ago, Crab Lungs said:

And I’m pretty sure he faced plenty of shots on a Saturday for a few years. 

especially in happy hour.

[Galway saint]

4 hours ago, Chez said:

got to say, watching it back, after being very critical of him and putting most of the blame on him, it's hard to know what he could do. There is not a chance in hell that he could palm it backwards over the bar, catching it would have been tough, as would palming it the way it came, palming it outwards put things in the lap of the gods, so, punching it was the only real `safe' option. Quicker feet, stickier hands and a CB right where you need him are my only other answers. 

He should have punched it. Seems clear enough to me. Accept it might have gone straight to an opposition player but you take the option that gets the ball farthest from the danger zone. He’s a poor premiership keeper at the moment and although people say he’s got potential I don’t see what they are basing that on. We don’t score many sp to have the worst  keeper in Europe when it’s comes to shot stopping is a recipe for relegation…..

[Chez]

16 minutes ago, Galway saint said:

He should have punched it. Seems clear enough to me. Accept it might have gone straight to an opposition player but you take the option that gets the ball farthest from the danger zone. He’s a poor premiership keeper at the moment and although people say he’s got potential I don’t see what they are basing that on. We don’t score many sp to have the worst  keeper in Europe when it’s comes to shot stopping is a recipe for relegation…..

yeah, I have to agree on both counts.