Gavin Bazunu

[Saint_clark]

1 hour ago, Lighthouse said:

I’m a bit stumped, after everything we saw last season, as to why ‘experience’ is suddenly the go-to buzz word for our recruitment. It’s the one thing we’ve already got tonnes of in the squad, yet people are pulling their hair out over the idea of signing one inexperienced player.

We could put out a front line of Walcott and Long, with Redmond and Moi in behind. Can’t get much more experienced than that and yet somehow I don’t fancy it.

I'm a bit stumped as to why so many people on here seem to have forgotten that players who have been around for a few years and played more than 30 pro games will have learnt what to do and what not to do in certain situations, will have dealt with set back and won't be as disheartened by it, will have learnt how to properly manage a game when in a winning position instead of taking ridiculous risks. 

No-one is saying we sign aging players who haven't got much quality. But I just wanted to see someone in goal who is competent, knows how to deal with different types of plauers and who won't flake and fall apart at the first sign of adversity. 

[Appy]

Anyone else already bored of him being referred to as Bazuna? 

[Lighthouse]

20 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

I'm a bit stumped as to why so many people on here seem to have forgotten that players who have been around for a few years and played more than 30 pro games will have learnt what to do and what not to do in certain situations, will have dealt with set back and won't be as disheartened by it, will have learnt how to properly manage a game when in a winning position instead of taking ridiculous risks. 

No-one is saying we sign aging players who haven't got much quality. But I just wanted to see someone in goal who is competent, knows how to deal with different types of plauers and who won't flake and fall apart at the first sign of adversity. 

We’d all like to sign players with the calmness and consistency of Bednarek and Stephens, or the decision making and composure of Walcott and Long but what makes you think we can’t get this from Bazunu just because he’s young? Why will he fall apart at the first sign of adversity? Owen, Rooney, R9, Mbappe, Henry, Pele and countless other players have gone to a World Cup as teenagers, with a nation’s expectation on their shoulders, and been the star of the tournament. Why are you so convinced a 20 year old will be a quivering wreck for a Tuesday night trip to Brentford?

[Bad Wolf]

Lololol them down the road are having a proper meltdown about it.

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

3 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

We’d all like to sign players with the calmness and consistency of Bednarek and Stephens, or the decision making and composure of Walcott and Long but what makes you think we can’t get this from Bazunu just because he’s young? Why will he fall apart at the first sign of adversity? Owen, Rooney, R9, Mbappe, Henry, Pele and countless other players have gone to a World Cup as teenagers, with a nation’s expectation on their shoulders, and been the star of the tournament. Why are you so convinced a 20 year old will be a quivering wreck for a Tuesday night trip to Brentford?

You have quoted some of the finest players in the world there 🤣

It's what is called confirmation bias - you quote the success stories but ignore all the failures. As far "countless others" hmmm

Don't necessarily disagree the lad won't do well and I hope he does. We need a mix of youth and level headed experience. Let's see what the summer brings.

[Lighthouse]

3 minutes ago, Golac's Cunning Stunts said:

You have quoted some of the finest players in the world there 🤣

It's what is called confirmation bias - you quote the success stories but ignore all the failures. As far "countless others" hmmm

Don't necessarily disagree the lad won't do well and I hope he does. We need a mix of youth and level headed experience. Let's see what the summer brings.

The point is that even teenagers can perform at their best in big tournaments. It’s not confirmation bias, I’m not the one making definitive statements. What I’m saying is that plenty of young players have excelled despite their lack of experience. Raheem Sterling went straight into Liverpool’s team without going out on loan. John Stones was 19 and had only played 20-odd games for Barnsley when Everton signed him.

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

9 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

The point is that even teenagers can perform at their best in big tournaments. It’s not confirmation bias, I’m not the one making definitive statements. What I’m saying is that plenty of young players have excelled despite their lack of experience. Raheem Sterling went straight into Liverpool’s team without going out on loan. John Stones was 19 and had only played 20-odd games for Barnsley when Everton signed him.

i get the point you're trying to make, but it's equally valid to make a case for some experienced and proven pros in key positions which currently are massive problems for us. I'd also add that the players you are quoting - Sterling / Stones etc went into starting elevens much better than ours is currently.

Out of interest, do you know of any 20 yr old keepers who have excelled from the off? Genuine question, not a challenge...

Edited 9 June, 2022 by Golac's Cunning Stunts

[waylander]

4 minutes ago, Golac's Cunning Stunts said:

i get the point you're trying to make, but it's equally valid to make a case for some experienced and proven pros in key positions which currently are massive problems for us. I'd also add that the players you are quoting - Sterling / Stones etc went into starting elevens much better than ours is currently.

Out of interest, do you know of any 20 yr old keepers who have excelled from the off? Genuine question, not a challenge...

This guy - made his 1st team debut at 16, international debut at 17.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gianluigi_Donnarumma

 

[Kenilworthy]

2 minutes ago, waylander said:

This guy - made his 1st team debut at 16, international debut at 17.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gianluigi_Donnarumma

 

A long time ago but Peter Shilton was playing regularly in the old First Division from about 17, although he didn't make a full international appearance until he was 21

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

 

11 minutes ago, waylander said:

This guy - made his 1st team debut at 16, international debut at 17.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gianluigi_Donnarumma

 

Interesting.

I also looked up Shilts - he made his debut at 16 and was apparently so good that Leicester sold Gordon Banks and kept him (they did end up relegated after a season though). Fun fact - at the age of 17, Shilts even managed to score a goal...against Saints

Edited 9 June, 2022 by Golac's Cunning Stunts

[Saint Troy]

Dont know much about Bazunu but he is keeping Kelleher and Randolph out of the international side. Id probably choose both of those over AMC so feels like this is a step up

I understand wanting someone more experienced / better in but ill be happy with this if we get a good organiser of a CB in alongside. 

As fans i suppose we have to try and understand that (due to the way we are working as a club) our edge when trying to sign the likes of Tino comes from making the decision to sign the likes of Bazunu and giving them a chance. Not everyone agrees with that - i didnt like Tino taking KWPs place and felt KWP should start as first choice right back from the previous season - but thats the route we are going down - thats our edge/differential/insert random moneyball phrase here and we may just want to embrace it. Risky with a goalie perhaps more than any other position that we can cover in other way but its how we role these days 

[Ex Lion Tamer]

8 minutes ago, Golac's Cunning Stunts said:

To answer my own question, I looked up shilts. He made his debut with Leicester at 16 and was deemed so good that

Interesting.

I also looked up Shilts - he made his debut at 16 and was apparently so good that Leicester sold Gordon Banks and kept him (they did end up relegated after a season though). Fun fact - at the age of 17, Shilts even managed to score a goal...against Saints

Buffon was also first choice at Parma at 18. Manuel Neuer was a first team regular at 20. Oliver Khan was 20. Richard Wright was playing Championship level at 20.

I'm not sure what this is necessary proving to be fair 

[Ex Lion Tamer]

Tim Flower became a first team regular at Saints at 22, though he was playing for Wolves in Div 2 as a teenager 

[Lighthouse]

3 minutes ago, Ex Lion Tamer said:

Buffon was also first choice at Parma at 18. Manuel Neuer was a first team regular at 20. Oliver Khan was 20. Richard Wright was playing Championship level at 20.

I'm not sure what this is necessary proving to be fair 

That if you’re good enough you’re old enough, as has always been the case. You can’t just put a team of kids out but Baz will likely be playing behind ten players with over 1,000 top flight games between them, next year.

Niemi, Cech, Oblak, Dida, Van see Sar, Akinfeev, Shovkovskiy. They’ve all been first team regulars and/or full internationals since they were 19-21.

[Sheaf Saint]

Pickford was only 21 when he broke into the Sunderland first team, having had previous loans at lower League clubs including Bradford, Preston and Burton.

Simply being young doesn't preclude a keeper from being decent. 

Edited 9 June, 2022 by Sheaf Saint

[danjosaint]

No problem with this as he is supposed to be superb but as a few have said to counter that we need a proper leader/talker/experience as a cb, doesn't have to be an old has been just a 26-29yr old with a bit about him 

[Saint86]

3 hours ago, Turkish said:

You're stumped because you're missing the point completely. Signing a load of kids who have never played in the premier league before wont end well unless there is a core of quality players around them, we dont have either. So we're going to throw them in with the crap we've got. I've already said Bazunu would be a good signing if we already had a decent number one and he was brought in to challenge him then replace him plus we had a good defence for him to play behind, we dont have either. 

plenty of quotes saying double figures for arrivals / departures this summer. Wait for the dust to settle before worrying about the team's make up. We haven't signed a single player yet.

[danjosaint]

Ralph will soon batter any talent out of our future signings 

[Baird of the land]

23 minutes ago, Ex Lion Tamer said:

Tim Flower became a first team regular at Saints at 22, though he was playing for Wolves in Div 2 as a teenager 

Flowers arrived as understudy to a very good goalkeeper in Peter Shilton, which is a bit different than our situation with a struggling Mccarthy where there isn't going to be a 2/3 year acclimatisation period to much higher level football.

 

[Saint86]

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/football/portsmouth-fc/gutted-hes-not-going-to-get-a-chance-at-a-big-club-enjoy-your-relegation-battle-hero-to-zero-portsmouth-fans-react-to-gavin-bazunu-stands-on-brink-of-southampton-move-3725585

🤣 Not bitter at all are the "bestest" 🤣

Edited 9 June, 2022 by Saint86

[Whitey Grandad]

No matter whether he has enough experience or not, is he better than McCarthy?

Second thoughts, silly question.

[Charlie Wayman]

31 minutes ago, Saint86 said:

plenty of quotes saying double figures for arrivals / departures this summer. Wait for the dust to settle before worrying about the team's make up. We haven't signed a single player yet.

Will always be the same old Saints, one or two out, one or two in. All the rest is puff.

[Lighthouse]

10 minutes ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Will always be the same old Saints, one or two out, one or two in. All the rest is puff.

Last summer we signed five players, not including Small and Simeu.

[whiteleySaint30]

12 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

Last summer we signed five players, not including Small and Simeu.

How many of them improved the first 11?

[The Left Back]

Blimey there's some bed wetting on here.  I don't know much about this guy but he's come from Man City, which means he's been trained by the best with the best to be the type of goalie our system needs.  He's keeping good keepers out of his international side.  He's causing upset down the M27.  If he has a good pre-season he'll be our new number one and we'll know pretty soon whether the recruiters have gone Tino or Gunn.

There's a lot been written about experience, but it's overrated.  Willy, Forster and McCarthy have about a million appliances between them.  

Did no-one get the memo about the sort of players our new owners are in for? 

[Appy]

29 minutes ago, whiteleySaint30 said:

How many of them improved the first 11?

I’m going with 1

Livramento, even then I think it just improved our full back depth. 

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

6 minutes ago, Appy said:

I’m going with 1

Livramento, even then I think it just improved our full back depth. 

Agreed and 3 of them performed well below a decent PL standard to say the least

[JRM]

16 minutes ago, The Left Back said:

Blimey there's some bed wetting on here.  I don't know much about this guy but he's come from Man City, which means he's been trained by the best with the best to be the type of goalie our system needs.  He's keeping good keepers out of his international side.  He's causing upset down the M27.  If he has a good pre-season he'll be our new number one and we'll know pretty soon whether the recruiters have gone Tino or Gunn.

There's a lot been written about experience, but it's overrated.  Willy, Forster and McCarthy have about a million appliances between them.  

Did no-one get the memo about the sort of players our new owners are in for? 

Coming from Man City doesn't really mean anything, like you say we've had Gunn from them and that was a waste of money 

[Turkish]

39 minutes ago, The Left Back said:

Blimey there's some bed wetting on here.  I don't know much about this guy but he's come from Man City, which means he's been trained by the best with the best to be the type of goalie our system needs.  He's keeping good keepers out of his international side.  He's causing upset down the M27.  If he has a good pre-season he'll be our new number one and we'll know pretty soon whether the recruiters have gone Tino or Gunn.

There's a lot been written about experience, but it's overrated.  Willy, Forster and McCarthy have about a million appliances between them.  

Did no-one get the memo about the sort of players our new owners are in for? 

With that many washing machines it's a wonder they dont keep more clean sheets.

[Lighthouse]

1 hour ago, whiteleySaint30 said:

How many of them improved the first 11?

 

38 minutes ago, Appy said:

I’m going with 1

Livramento, even then I think it just improved our full back depth. 

 

27 minutes ago, Golac's Cunning Stunts said:

Agreed and 3 of them performed well below a decent PL standard to say the least

Well that’s nice but it’s got nothing to do with the original point I was responding to; that we only ever sign one or two players in a window, which isn’t true.

P.S. It’s actually six if you include Walcott last summer.

[ally_uk]

Bunch of wet fannies on here at times. At least give the lad a couple of games before you criticise...... 

[cloggy saint]

2 hours ago, danjosaint said:

Ralph will soon batter any talent out of our future signings 

Yes, that's what he does  

[SuperSAINT]

 

Edited 9 June, 2022 by SuperSAINT

[Saint86]

Well, i'm excited by this potential signing 🤷‍♂️

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

1 hour ago, Lighthouse said:

 

 

Well that’s nice but it’s got nothing to do with the original point I was responding to; that we only ever sign one or two players in a window, which isn’t true.

P.S. It’s actually six if you include Walcott last summer.

Another one who made no worthwhile contribution whatsoever

[david in sweden]

Signing young keepers can be a minefield.   They look good at one level but it's the toughest role to fill in the Prem. 

Historically, the number of top class keepers in their early twenties can be counted on one hand. 

A keeper takes the blame if we lose 0-1,  whilst your best striker misses 3 sitters in the same game.  It's all about confidence and self-belief.

In the final analysis a keeper is only as good as the defence in front of him, and both Gazzaniga and Gunn didn't make it when the cards were down.

 

Hopefully, Bazunu may be an exception and it looks a good deal on paper, but even a buy-back of £40 million may be chicken feed in 3-4 years time. 

[david in sweden]

23 minutes ago, Saint86 said:

Well, i'm excited by this potential signing 🤷‍♂️

so.....you're easily pleased then ?      I'm a bit more concerned about who we have up front at the start of next season. 

[Doctoroncall]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

With that many washing machines it's a wonder they dont keep more clean sheets.

They fumbled the detergent pods. 

[whiteleySaint30]

1 hour ago, Lighthouse said:

 

 

Well that’s nice but it’s got nothing to do with the original point I was responding to; that we only ever sign one or two players in a window, which isn’t true.

P.S. It’s actually six if you include Walcott last summer.

And my point is - you can sign as many players as you like but if only 1 is good enough to get in the starting your gping backwards. Do you want the club to get a pat on the back for signing 6 players last summer with only 1 improving the the starting 11. Surely that's a massive negative and one that will end up getting us relegated. 

[Turkish]

4 minutes ago, whiteleySaint30 said:

And my point is - you can sign as many players as you like but if only 1 is good enough to get in the starting your gping backwards. Do you want the club to get a pat on the back for signing 6 players last summer with only 1 improving the the starting 11. Surely that's a massive negative and one that will end up getting us relegated. 

Yeah but we topped the league for minutes given to teenagers last season

"minutes given to teenagers champions, you'll never sing that!

[Ivan Katalinic's 'tache]

Interestingly, he's currently injured and missing from Ireland's Nations League games. I wonder what constitutes a "back ailment"?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/61708369

[Lighthouse]

10 minutes ago, whiteleySaint30 said:

And my point is - you can sign as many players as you like but if only 1 is good enough to get in the starting your gping backwards. Do you want the club to get a pat on the back for signing 6 players last summer with only 1 improving the the starting 11. Surely that's a massive negative and one that will end up getting us relegated. 

I’m lost now, nobody has tried to claim any of that. Charlie claimed that we only ever signed one or two players. That isn’t true, last summer we signed six. I made no comment on their quality and I’d say it was pretty obvious that if five out of six are crap, that’s not good.

[East Kent Saint]

15 minutes ago, Ivan Katalinic's 'tache said:

Interestingly, he's currently injured and missing from Ireland's Nations League games. I wonder what constitutes a "back ailment"?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/61708369

Makes him a surefire Saints signing , 6 months of recovery followed by some good and bad matches before being moved on ....

[DT]

Bazunu told he's number one apparently. talksport i think

[trousers]

[Bad Wolf]

6 minutes ago, trousers said:

Hmm I'm somehow less sure on him now.

[trousers]

4 hours ago, Saint86 said:

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/football/portsmouth-fc/gutted-hes-not-going-to-get-a-chance-at-a-big-club-enjoy-your-relegation-battle-hero-to-zero-portsmouth-fans-react-to-gavin-bazunu-stands-on-brink-of-southampton-move-3725585

🤣 Not bitter at all are the "bestest" 🤣

F*** me.... The longer that cesspit of a football club spend at their natural level, the more deluded their sub-intellectual fanbase gets....

[StDunko]

My skate mate thinks he is the real deal.

[HarvSFC]

8 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

We could put out a front line of Walcott and Long, with Redmond and Moi in behind. Can’t get much more experienced than that and yet somehow I don’t fancy it.

That's going to the other extreme though, and fans didn't want Walcott signed permanently, or Long getting a contract extension and now Elyounoussi will reportedly also be joining that list. For many years now, we as fans have been told that the charity contracts that we used to hand out were handicapping us in the market. We couldn't sign a first choice goalkeeper for four years with Gunn being the last in 2018 because of the deals Forster and McCarthy had and in those four years, we as fans have always been hoping each summer to sign improvements on the two, but accepting that it wasn't possible as we couldn't shift them. The club should have had two names ready to replace both this summer, Bazunu to replace McCarthy and somebody else to replace Forster, so that we have options, as with Bazunu and McCarthy we have to hope there's only one option and McCarthy goes back to being a backup keeper. 

[aintforever]

28 minutes ago, StDunko said:

My skate mate thinks he is the real deal.

McCarthy would probably look the real deal in their tin pot league.