Gavin Bazunu

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

Been very impressed with Baz this year. Confidence is a big thing in any sport and the way he directs his defence, the way he congratulates himself when he makes a telling save says he feels better about himself this year.

If I'm being critical, there's still work needed on getting down low to his left (aka the one that hit the post against Ipswich, the penalty possibly) and his long kicks have found the touchline a couple of times, but overall it's great to see his transformation.

[spyinthesky]

2 hours ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

Been very impressed with Baz this year. Confidence is a big thing in any sport and the way he directs his defence, the way he congratulates himself when he makes a telling save says he feels better about himself this year.

If I'm being critical, there's still work needed on getting down low to his left (aka the one that hit the post against Ipswich, the penalty possibly) and his long kicks have found the touchline a couple of times, but overall it's great to see his transformation.

He did extremely well getting down to his left to make the match winning save v Wrexham towards the end of that game and effectively helped win us the three points with a bit of help by the often maligned Manning and Capt Jack.

[maysie]

On 18/08/2025 at 11:09, Whitey Grandad said:

Too trivial to be called statistics,  which is a serious analytical subject. Adding up a few numbers doesn't even require an abacus.

Does anything, anymore?

[Whitey Grandad]

2 hours ago, maysie said:

Does anything, anymore?

Still used in many countries. 

[Lord Duckhunter]

See what happens with a proper keeper. Swap those 2 yesterday & Stoke lose that game. 

[S-Clarke]

Another game where you come away thinking ''Should he have saved that?'' - the answer is probably yes.

[Badger]

2 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

See what happens with a proper keeper. Swap those 2 yesterday & Stoke lose that game. 

Yes. Johansen cost them c£900,000. Someone on here suggested he now has a release clause of £2m.

How much did we pay for Bazunu (and all his obvious potential)? 

[S-Clarke]

1 minute ago, Badger said:

Yes. Johansen cost them c£900,000. Someone on here suggested he now has a release clause of £2m.

How much did we pay for Bazunu (and all his obvious potential)? 

I think Bazunu was a £12-14m project signing.

But we won't die on our sword. The only reason we got Ramsdale is because Bazunu was injured, had he been fit we would have 100% not signed Ramsdale.

[AlexLaw76]

2 minutes ago, Badger said:

Yes. Johansen cost them c£900,000. Someone on here suggested he now has a release clause of £2m.

How much did we pay for Bazunu (and all his obvious potential)? 

Johansson was there for the taking, probably is if there is such a ridiculous release clause.

He is brilliant

[Badger]

Just now, AlexLaw76 said:

Johansson was there for the taking, probably is if there is such a ridiculous release clause.

He is brilliant

How can over 20,000 supporters see this but not the dickheads in charge if recruitment ? 

[Lighthouse]

9 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Another game where you come away thinking ''Should he have saved that?'' - the answer is probably yes.

The second one? No, it was struck low from about ten yards out, Ramsdale lets that in nine times out of ten.

[Saint_clark]

26 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Johansson was there for the taking, probably is if there is such a ridiculous release clause.

He is brilliant

If he still has a £2million release clause we should go and get him tomorrow. Loads of us on here said after the Rotherham game 2 years ago we should sign him, here we are and he's made all the difference between the two sides. 

[bugenhagen]

He is still one of the chinks in our armor. It’s just harder to see, as there are so many of them right now…

[benjii]

2 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

The second one? No, it was struck low from about ten yards out, Ramsdale lets that in nine times out of ten.

From a tight angle, with no other options on and ages to get set, and a good yard inside the far post. I'd say a top Champ and competent PL keeper saves that at least 50% of the time.

[Whitey Grandad]

11 minutes ago, benjii said:

From a tight angle, with no other options on and ages to get set, and a good yard inside the far post. I'd say a top Champ and competent PL keeper saves that at least 50% of the time.

Nope.

But a competent defender blocks it.

Edited Sunday at 13:47 by Whitey Grandad

[Saint_clark]

18 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Nope.

But a competent defender blocks it.

So the defender 2 yards away should block it but the keeper 10 yards away shouldn't? 

[Polegategavin243]

40 minutes ago, benjii said:

From a tight angle, with no other options on and ages to get set, and a good yard inside the far post. I'd say a top Champ and competent PL keeper saves that at least 50% of the time.

Therefore, half the time he/they don’t. Bazunu is judged (as are many of our other players) with such a high bar. Effectively, everyone here is saying Bazunu must save everything on target otherwise he is useless, yet other keepers are given a 50/50 chance. All very Saintsy this and partly why the players feel they have to try too hard (to impress our unrealistically) to do things as the fans get on their back quicker than most other fans. Clearly it has been a frustrating last 18 months but we have a squad, with a few final pieces of the jigsaw to be added this week, to become amongst the best in this league.

[benjii]

8 minutes ago, Polegategavin243 said:

Therefore, half the time he/they don’t. Bazunu is judged (as are many of our other players) with such a high bar. Effectively, everyone here is saying Bazunu must save everything on target otherwise he is useless, yet other keepers are given a 50/50 chance. All very Saintsy this and partly why the players feel they have to try too hard (to impress our unrealistically) to do things as the fans get on their back quicker than most other fans. Clearly it has been a frustrating last 18 months but we have a squad, with a few final pieces of the jigsaw to be added this week, to become amongst the best in this league.

Not really, it's just that he's been crap for most of the time he's been at Saints. Having said that, he earned us the points against Wrexham just as much as Manning did, so fair play.

[Lord Duckhunter]

12 minutes ago, Polegategavin243 said:

Effectively, everyone here is saying Bazunu must save everything on target otherwise he is useless

Nobody is saying that. 
 

All people want is him to make the occasional good save. I can count his decent saves on the fingers of one hand, and I mean fingers not thumb.. How many games has he played, got to be over 70, how many times has he done what the Stoke lad did and saved a certain goal, twice, 3 times? 
 

He’s either the unluckiest keeper ever, facing so many “unstoppable “ efforts, or he’s not very good. I know which one I think it is….

Edited Sunday at 14:33 by Lord Duckhunter

[Gloucester Saint]

22 minutes ago, Polegategavin243 said:

Therefore, half the time he/they don’t. Bazunu is judged (as are many of our other players) with such a high bar. Effectively, everyone here is saying Bazunu must save everything on target otherwise he is useless, yet other keepers are given a 50/50 chance. All very Saintsy this and partly why the players feel they have to try too hard (to impress our unrealistically) to do things as the fans get on their back quicker than most other fans. 

Cry me a river. If the darlings don’t want pressure and scrutiny, play part-time and have a job, and mortgage alongside.

What 90% of Saints fans say is that since 1966 we’ve only been outside of the top flight for 13 of 59 years, so 35-odd points in our last 76 top flight games is pathetic and totally unacceptable. Standards, focus and fitness need to increase exponentially or you will really not like what you are hearing at games.

Palace, Brighton, Forest, West Ham - none of their fans would accept the state Saints are in. Leicester are experiencing similar - take a look at the protests against Jon Rudkin.

Even in League 2, Michael Flynn is under pressure as Cheltenham boss after losing every league game so far. And this is sleepy Gloucestershire. 

Give Eastleigh or Basingstoke a whirl - no high bars or expectations. Just turn up and enjoy.

 

[Smirking_Saint]

1 hour ago, benjii said:

From a tight angle, with no other options on and ages to get set, and a good yard inside the far post. I'd say a top Champ and competent PL keeper saves that at least 50% of the time.

Id be surprised if he even saw it tbh

If the two Stephens should of blocked that angle off, allowing a shot there is criminal

But tbh… even blaming him is harsh.. how has a keeper set up Thomas there ? And even Stephens wasn’t set up correctly

Team was laughable defensively 

[Gloucester Saint]

14 minutes ago, Smirking_Saint said:

Id be surprised if he even saw it tbh

If the two Stephens should of blocked that angle off, allowing a shot there is criminal

But tbh… even blaming him is harsh.. how has a keeper set up Thomas there ? And even Stephens wasn’t set up correctly

Team was laughable defensively 

Not just defensively, Stoke were sharper, quicker and cut us to ribbons on the break. Midfield they were so much better it was untrue as the away team.

We looked so insipid and laboured on double their squad wage bill. We created some chances, and Robbo was unlucky with the double post, but far too much floaty diagonal crap with no focal point to aim them at. Starting players required on both wings, CM and 10 next week or the autos will fade away rapidly. GK - bearing in mind the OP - we do need a first team one to keep Bazunu on it and take over if he declines again, but it’s not as high a priority by the weekend as those four outfield positions to strengthen with standout first team quality. 

Edited Sunday at 15:21 by Gloucester Saint

[O_Lord_Marian]

Trying to get on side with Bazunu, but every time a shot is on target, tends to go in..

Not great when that is your number 1 job, it does not inspire confidence. 

Stoke's goalie, as mentioned in numerous comments, different class.

 

[danjosaint]

Yeah but he had a good game pre season

[Lord Duckhunter]

44 minutes ago, O_Lord_Marian said:

but every time a shot is on target, tends to go in..

This is it in a nutshell. It’s either an easy save or a goal. The only one I can think of is Wrexham. That’s about it, 1 save where I thought it was a goal in 70 odd friggin games. There were 8 or 9 of them when Ramsdale was in nets. 
 

I doubt there’s one game where the opposing supporters thought “I wish we had Baz in nets”, not one. 

[Lighthouse]

4 hours ago, benjii said:

From a tight angle, with no other options on and ages to get set, and a good yard inside the far post. I'd say a top Champ and competent PL keeper saves that at least 50% of the time.

From a tight angle with no options only means it’s very hard for the striker to get it right, not necessarily that it’s easy for the keeper to save. If the strike is accurate, that goes in far more often than not. It was too far to his left to save with his feet and to close range to expect him to get down with his hand. If I could be bothered I could dig out a dozen similar goals that Ramsdale conceded last year.

[Whitey Grandad]

4 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

So the defender 2 yards away should block it but the keeper 10 yards away shouldn't? 

You got it. All Stephens had to do was put his foot in the way. He's a lot closer. He used his wrong foot. I can only assume that you've never been a defender. 

[Sheaf Saint]

8 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

From a tight angle with no options only means it’s very hard for the striker to get it right, not necessarily that it’s easy for the keeper to save. If the strike is accurate, that goes in far more often than not. It was too far to his left to save with his feet and to close range to expect him to get down with his hand. If I could be bothered I could dig out a dozen similar goals that Ramsdale conceded last year.

And therein lies the problem. The ball crossed the line nearer to the centre of the goal than the far corner. If it was too far to his left then all that proves is that his positioning was crap.

[Whitey Grandad]

4 minutes ago, Sheaf Saint said:

And therein lies the problem. The ball crossed the line nearer to the centre of the goal than the far corner. If it was too far to his left then all that proves is that his positioning was crap.

It proves nothing of the sort. Where, in your opinion, should he have stood? I think it was too close to him for him to get down to it. He might have done better but there wax a lot more wrong with defending that goal than just him.

[Lighthouse]

48 minutes ago, Sheaf Saint said:

And therein lies the problem. The ball crossed the line nearer to the centre of the goal than the far corner. If it was too far to his left then all that proves is that his positioning was crap.

That’s not really true though, is it. The ball was perfectly placed and hit the side netting just inside the right hand post. Bazunu did everything right, making the striker shoot across him, covering the near post and making sure he couldn’t just blast it over his head. If you’re going to allow players the space to shoot that accurately from that close, the chances are it’s going in.

[Lord Duckhunter]

It’s amazing how many perfectly placed shots he faces, more than any other keeper I’ve ever known. He is truly the unluckiest keeper that’s ever played the game.
 

The amount of unstoppable shots he faces is remarkable. I’ve not seen anything quite like it in 50 years of watching. The closest I can think of is the remarkable amount of world class Banks like saves from opposing keepers that dogged Shane Long during his career. 

Edited Sunday at 19:36 by Lord Duckhunter

[Whitey Grandad]

Some of the arguments on here completely ignore the fact that the attacker has a choice in where he places his shot and assume that shots come at the goalkeeper at random. If Bazunu had been standing in a different position then Thomas would have adjusted his shot accordingly. This is not Sunday morning football where the attacker just puts his head down and leathers it.

 

[Sheaf Saint]

1 hour ago, Lighthouse said:

That’s not really true though, is it. The ball was perfectly placed and hit the side netting just inside the right hand post. Bazunu did everything right, making the striker shoot across him, covering the near post and making sure he couldn’t just blast it over his head. If you’re going to allow players the space to shoot that accurately from that close, the chances are it’s going in.

The freeze frame right before that paints a different picture...

[Whitey Grandad]

4 minutes ago, Sheaf Saint said:

The freeze frame right before that paints a different picture...

"Crossed the line"? 

About the one-third point but that's not really relevant and only to be expected given the origin of the shot.

[Sheaf Saint]

2 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

"Crossed the line"? 

About the one-third point but that's not really relevant and only to be expected given the origin of the shot.

The one-third point is still closer to the centre than the post 😉

[Whitey Grandad]

27 minutes ago, Sheaf Saint said:

The one-third point is still closer to the centre than the post 😉

Depends which post

[Sheaf Saint]

9 hours ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Depends which post

No it doesn't 😉

[ErwinK1961]

11 hours ago, Sheaf Saint said:

The freeze frame right before that paints a different picture...

If the shot he faced was straight in front of the posts, you’d have a point. 

[pimpin4rizeal]

20 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

If he still has a £2million release clause we should go and get him tomorrow. Loads of us on here said after the Rotherham game 2 years ago we should sign him, here we are and he's made all the difference between the two sides. 

Even if we had to pay 10 million I’d be all over it .. as we saw yesterday having him in goal instead of bazunu would change losses into wins in tight games ..worth every penny and also we wouldn’t need to upgrade iif/when we get promoted 

[Football Special]

12 hours ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

It’s amazing how many perfectly placed shots he faces, more than any other keeper I’ve ever known. He is truly the unluckiest keeper that’s ever played the game.
 

The amount of unstoppable shots he faces is remarkable. I’ve not seen anything quite like it in 50 years of watching. The closest I can think of is the remarkable amount of world class Banks like saves from opposing keepers that dogged Shane Long during his career. 

Bazunu often puts himself at a disadvantage with poor positioning giving himself too much to do to make a save 

[Saint Fan CaM]

Don’t agree with the ‘he’s shit’ or indeed the ‘he’s sufficient’ opinions. Bazunu is a mid-low table quality keeper playing for a mid-table team. And irrespective of release clauses, why would Johansen come here if he doesn’t want to? He’s better off playing for a club that looks like it has a shot at promotion.

[Weston Super Saint]

3 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Don’t agree with the ‘he’s shit’ or indeed the ‘he’s sufficient’ opinions. Bazunu is a mid-low table quality keeper playing for a mid-table team. And irrespective of release clauses, why would Johansen come here if he doesn’t want to? He’s better off playing for a club that looks like it has a shot at promotion.

The stats from his last stint in the Championship say he's a rock bottom keeper.

[Saint_clark]

51 minutes ago, ErwinK1961 said:

If the shot he faced was straight in front of the posts, you’d have a point. 

The shot went right next to him. No idea why he tried to dive down when he could have stuck a foot out.

Edited 16 hours ago by Saint_clark

[Saint Fan CaM]

4 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

The stats from his last stint in the Championship say he's a rock bottom keeper.

Maybe - he didn’t play the full season of course and I feel certain his stats were tainted by the kamikaze passing around in defence that RM insisted upon. He’s certainly not a great keeper, but then he’s also not worthless either.

[RedWillie]

Really can't see us getting another keeper. Baz is here to stay, Ramsdale still belongs to us and we have Mccarthy as back up. I'm more concerned as to what the lot on the pitch in front of him appear to be doing.

[S-Clarke]

4 minutes ago, RedWillie said:

Really can't see us getting another keeper. Baz is here to stay, Ramsdale still belongs to us and we have Mccarthy as back up. I'm more concerned as to what the lot on the pitch in front of him appear to be doing.

We're not looking at replacing Bazunu though, sadly. It's a backup keeper we'll bring in.

We only have Bazunu and McCarthy as senior keepers this year, so we 100% will bring on in - probably a freebie after the window has closed. Hopefully they're good enough to challenge Bazunu though, that's all I want. I accept that the club are still wedded to this project and that won't change, so we just have to hope the backup is good enough to put some actual pressure on him.

[vectraman]

1 hour ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Don’t agree with the ‘he’s shit’ or indeed the ‘he’s sufficient’ opinions. Bazunu is a mid-low table quality keeper playing for a mid-table team. And irrespective of release clauses, why would Johansen come here if he doesn’t want to? He’s better off playing for a club that looks like it has a shot at promotion.

💰💰💰💰💰 normally is the answer. We could comfortably pay him more than Stoke. Moot point though because we aren’t going to try and sign him anyway. Baz is our 🥇and that has always been the intention. 

[Badger]

43 minutes ago, vectraman said:

💰💰💰💰💰 normally is the answer. We could comfortably pay him more than Stoke. Moot point though because we aren’t going to try and sign him anyway. Baz is our 🥇and that has always been the intention. 

I fear you’re right in that summary. We’re living in cuckoo land thinking Spurs or someone will offer us £35m for Bazunu at some point and staying on that path. 

[Whitey Grandad]

2 hours ago, Weston Super Saint said:

The stats from his last stint in the Championship say he's a rock bottom keeper.

"Stats" 😅😅😅😅

[Whitey Grandad]

2 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

The shot went right next to him. No idea why he tried to dive down when he could have stuck a foot out.

Too close to him. It's passed before before any human can react. That's why you see so many shors go through a keeper's legs.