Gavin Bazunu

[Harry_SFC]

He should've saved the first one for sure. It's that low shot down to the left he seems to really struggle with. 

I thought the second was a foul personally.

Made one very good save and a couple of other half decent stops but he can't keep letting in these goals from range. 

We badly new a keeper in January. 

[stknowle]

Made a couple of decent saves tonight and yes there has been a moderate improvement generally but I remain utterly unconvinced. Bag of nerves, never looks properly in control. 

[tdmickey3]

4 minutes ago, Crab Lungs said:

You sound prejudiced, just like me 😂

No just honest and factual but let the delusional carry on

[Crab Lungs]

Just now, Saint86 said:

You're on the match thread slating him for "not saving anything", yet completely ignore the fantastic 3 saves he made back to back that had the commentator waxing lyrical about him. His ball play at the back is tactically very important to how we draw teams on to us and led directly to the first goal where we broke away, and the first goal he is utterly unsighted for. The 2nd goal he could command the box better, but equally it's about 6 saints players Vs 2 west brom attackers, and once again a case of 3 cbs that cannot win headers. Ditto we seem unable to effectively stop crosses even with a 5 man back line.

So we need him to be a part of the passing around at the back otherwise it all goes wrong? Thats a new excuse to me.

It’s not as if we haven’t got 10 other players on the pitch who could conceivably do that, instead of involving a goalkeeper who barely saves anything.

And people are literally wetting themselves over a couple of saves. Other goalkeepers make good saves too, not just Bazunu. For all McCarthys flaws, I’ve seen him make many brilliant saves. 

If you took the bloke out of this league and plonked him in Junior football he’d still perform at exactly the same level. 

[Crab Lungs]

Just now, tdmickey3 said:

No just honest and factual but let the delusional carry on

I’m saying that tongue in cheek. Apparently people who criticise Bazunu are prejudiced.

[Lord Duckhunter]

Fucking hell, Warwick Davies would have jumped higher than Baz for that second goal. Weak as piss, AM would have come and punched that, no bother. I can’t believe anyone thinks he’s not put us under more pressure than was necessary tonight. It’s every fucking week, first one, debatable, second one 100% on that fucking useless clown…

[Crab Lungs]

Just now, Lord Duckhunter said:

Fucking hell, Warwick Davies would have jumped higher than Baz for that second goal. Weak as piss, AM would have come and punched that, no bother. I can’t believe anyone thinks he’s not put us under more pressure than was necessary tonight. It’s every fucking week, first one, debatable, second one 100% on that fucking useless clown…

You’re not allowed to say that. Only Bazunu makes saves. No other keeper is capable. He is the pinnacle, and we should be thankful for that.

[tdmickey3]

1 minute ago, Crab Lungs said:

I’m saying that tongue in cheek. Apparently people who criticise Bazunu are prejudiced.

Let em get on with it mate, the penny will drop eventually 

[S-Clarke]

He saved 1 or two efforts, but they weren't worldies. 

Let's not ignore the 2nd goal though, he was bullied out of the way. He has no presence in the box. He makes everyone nervous. This is another huge limitation in his game, ignoring the first limitation in that he struggles to make saves.

We will rely on pure luck to win games if we continue with him. But we've all said this for 4 years, so what's the point. Broken record, he'll get a new contract soon.

Edited 15 hours ago by S-Clarke

[Crab Lungs]

2 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

Let em get on with it mate, the penny will drop eventually 

I’m not sure it will. It’s almost militant 😂

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

I thought we were rid of this guy after mccarthy got us through the playoffs and then we signed Ramsdale, and yet here we are. Just don't understand why we persevere with him. He is a liability.

Mind you, I thought we would be rid of stephens years ago so what do I know

[Crab Lungs]

Just now, Golac's Cunning Stunts said:

I thought we were rid of this guy after mccarthy got us through the playoffs and then we signed Ramsdale, and yet here we are. Just don't understand why we persevere with him. He is a liability.

Mind you, I thought we would be rid of stephens years ago so what do I know

You’re not allowed to criticise him. He’s the pinnacle of goalkeeping.

[Lord Duckhunter]

I’m looking forward to the photo of his position when the guy heads it in. 
 

One thing for sure, other sides will notice his lack of presence and ownership of his 6 yard box. Peter Schmeichel used to spread himself and look massive, he changed goal keeping with his revolutionary star fish approach. Baz takes the opposite approach,he’s perfected  the jelly fish technique….

[Miltonaggro]

Just now, Lord Duckhunter said:

I’m looking forward to the photo of his position when the guy heads it in. 
 

One thing for sure, other sides will notice his lack of presence and ownership of his 6 yard box. Peter Schmeichel used to spread himself and look massive, he changed goal keeping with his revolutionary star fish approach. Baz takes the opposite approach,he’s perfected  the jelly fish technique….

The fucking penguin.

[saintant]

He was flailing like a weakling for their second goal. For the first he is, as normal, not positioned correctly and has his angles wrong. We need to replace him asap.

[Crab Lungs]

Just now, Lord Duckhunter said:

I’m looking forward to the photo of his position when the guy heads it in. 
 

One thing for sure, other sides will notice his lack of presence and ownership of his 6 yard box. Peter Schmeichel used to spread himself and look massive, he changed goal keeping with his revolutionary star fish approach. Baz takes the opposite approach,he’s perfected  the jelly fish technique….

I think teams have noticed it tbh. 

[Willo of Whiteley]

I’m going to say this very politely but seriously fuck off if you think he was the issue tonight. 😂

He didn’t do anything wrong in the first half.

From watching from the Northam End; the first goal was through a crowd of players. He then pulled off three or four good saves to keep us in it before the second goal went in.

I’d put the majority of the blame solely on the defenders the rather brilliantly invited all the pressure in that second half to West Brom’s attack.

Is he the best keeper in the world, no.
Is he one of the best in the league, no.
Would I replace him as a priority in the next window, yes I would.

But Jesus Christ he was not the issue for us tonight. Some people’s agenda against him is laughable.

(Based on what I watched in game having not seen highlights yet).

Edited 14 hours ago by Willo of Whiteley

[Galway saint]

7 minutes ago, Crab Lungs said:

I think teams have noticed it tbh. 

It’s a legitimate tactic against a small and physically slight keeper. If the ball beats the first man on the front post we are in trouble and teams have clearly spotted that and teams will continue to target that until he is replaced. If the new guy is all he’s cracked up to be he will see that. It’s like having a weak scrum in rugby - teams will exploit it and you struggle to have a platform to play from. 

It’s one of the reason we get deeper and deeper as he can’t command his box so the CBs have to compensate and fill the space he should be commanding. It must be a nightmare to play with him as a CB as he has no presence in the six yard box.

If there are any CBs on here who would you rather have in goal Baz or McCarthy ? 

[SaintsBarry74]

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.

[die Mannyschaft]

56 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

I’m going to say this very politely but seriously fuck off if you think he was the issue tonight. 😂

He didn’t do anything wrong in the first half.

From watching from the Northam End; the first goal was through a crowd of players. He then pulled off three or four good saves to keep us in it before the second goal went in.

I’d put the majority of the blame solely on the defenders the rather brilliantly invited all the pressure in that second half to West Brom’s attack.

Is he the best keeper in the world, no.
Is he one of the best in the league, no.
Would I replace him as a priority in the next window, yes I would.

But Jesus Christ he was not the issue for us tonight. Some people’s agenda against him is laughable.

(Based on what I watched in game having not seen highlights yet).

He's actually doing very well. If you take the saves which opposition should have scored from then saves more than lets in. Our defence really needs upgrading in Jan window or we don't make any subs. 

[skintsaint]

First goal I am assuming he didn't see it until late as he doesn't move until its at that bunch of players in front of him by which time its too late...Did note that both Quarshie and Manning tried to stand and block the shot to no avail.

2nd goal he has fallen for the block and couldn't get to a near post cross, which should have been easily punched away if he had just managed the block better.

Edited 10 hours ago by skintsaint

[Lord Duckhunter]

7 hours ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

I’m going to say this very politely but seriously fuck off if you think he was the issue tonight

If you don’t think the second goal was down to him, then there’s no hope for you. That second goal meant an incredible nervy last few minutes, and that was 100% down to his weak and pathetic “effort” to defend that corner. 

Edited 7 hours ago by Lord Duckhunter

[Miltonaggro]

8 hours ago, Crab Lungs said:

I think teams have noticed it tbh. 

Mid September 2022 on. 

[Crab Lungs]

Honestly, if people can’t believe their own eyes they just need to see the goalkeeping stats for the Champ. He’s abysmal 

[LegalEagle]

8 hours ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

I’m going to say this very politely but seriously fuck off if you think he was the issue tonight. 😂

He didn’t do anything wrong in the first half.

From watching from the Northam End; the first goal was through a crowd of players. He then pulled off three or four good saves to keep us in it before the second goal went in.

I’d put the majority of the blame solely on the defenders the rather brilliantly invited all the pressure in that second half to West Brom’s attack.

Is he the best keeper in the world, no.
Is he one of the best in the league, no.
Would I replace him as a priority in the next window, yes I would.

But Jesus Christ he was not the issue for us tonight. Some people’s agenda against him is laughable.

(Based on what I watched in game having not seen highlights yet).

Spot on. It was our central defenders for four corners in a row that simply didn’t do their job. That second goal was so utterly predictable.

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

9 hours ago, S-Clarke said:

He saved 1 or two efforts, but they weren't worldies. 

Let's not ignore the 2nd goal though, he was bullied out of the way. He has no presence in the box. He makes everyone nervous. This is another huge limitation in his game, ignoring the first limitation in that he struggles to make saves.

We will rely on pure luck to win games if we continue with him. But we've all said this for 4 years, so what's the point. Broken record, he'll get a new contract soon.

Exactly this. He has absolutely no presence, particularly in the six yard box - and what I don't understand is that after years in goal, he is not getting any better.

Second goal was his main clanger. Punch the guy who's blocking you or fall on the floor and claim obstruction but don't waft around. Quarshie also needs to be in the centre headering those type of crosses clear. 

And Baz is staying. Don't think we'll be shopping for a new goalkeeper in the January window.

[whelk]

Comical thinking Baz was the problem tonight. I don’t rate him but there are some real dopey fuckers who think we should never concede

[AlexLaw76]

He is a relatively crap keeper, who’s stats are usually near the bottom of the league whilst playing in a side who are one of the best 

[Bakovnetski]

I am a critic of Bazunu. I don't think his positioning in goal is optimal, he seems to always dive late and behind him, doesn't always command the 6 yard box (although last night did get to on a few noticable occasions), but...provided that the defensive line doesn't pass him a ball on the ground with little or no option to pass or clear out, he has some ball skills that can be used to our benefit. Often, when we were on the offensive and the ball needed a fast recycle he was available and assisted in getting the ball forward again in a structured move. That contrast of how he was used was there to see when considering both halves.

We just need to get that position play and positivity in the box coached and we could be acknowledging we have a good keeper rather than a dodgy one who is just a part time 11th outfield player.

[OldNick]

8 minutes ago, Bakovnetski said:

I am a critic of Bazunu. I don't think his positioning in goal is optimal, he seems to always dive late and behind him, doesn't always command the 6 yard box (although last night did get to on a few noticable occasions), but...provided that the defensive line doesn't pass him a ball on the ground with little or no option to pass or clear out, he has some ball skills that can be used to our benefit. Often, when we were on the offensive and the ball needed a fast recycle he was available and assisted in getting the ball forward again in a structured move. That contrast of how he was used was there to see when considering both halves.

We just need to get that position play and positivity in the box coached and we could be acknowledging we have a good keeper rather than a dodgy one who is just a part time 11th outfield player.

People knock Macca for his passing but last night Bazza found row Z a few times

[S-Clarke]

3 hours ago, whelk said:

Comical thinking Baz was the problem tonight. I don’t rate him but there are some real dopey fuckers who think we should never concede

I don't think people are saying he was the direct problem yesterday as such, but he does create problems for us. Luckily it didn't actually harm us yesterday. But we won't keep getting lucky with quick fire 3 goals in the first halves.

I'd want my goalkeeper to compete for that 2nd goal, every single time. It was awful, so, so bad from a professional goalkeeper. We don't often talk about his lack of presence as being a flaw, it's usually his shot stopping, but the lack of presence is certainly up there too.

[Saint86]

9 hours ago, skintsaint said:

First goal I am assuming he didn't see it until late as he doesn't move until its at that bunch of players in front of him by which time its too late...Did note that both Quarshie and Manning tried to stand and block the shot to no avail.

2nd goal he has fallen for the block and couldn't get to a near post cross, which should have been easily punched away if he had just managed the block better.

First one absolutely isn't his fault. He doesn't see it till late, so unless it was straight at him he's never reacting in time.

Command of the box is a weakness for him - but i also do not understand why (at set peices) we don't protect him and allow the opposition to just stand on top of him and jostle him (get another body in there to deal with that player).... but no... we seemingly go, "we know baz struggles with this, lets let the opposition maximise that advantage".... Similarly, we play in such a way so as to invite crosses - and our defenders simply do not deal with them... we struggle to win defensive aerial challenges well, and even when we do, the clearances are often weak and don't clear the ball properly.

He has his limitations, and he has his advantages... when we attack, we either use him to draw the opposition onto us by recycling the ball through him, or by using his distribution for a release. This pattern of play is what led to the first goal vs WBA and has been important to much of our most dangerous play under Ekert. This is why Macca was dropped - he just can't do this job. Baz also is a very effective sweeper keeper and comes out almost to centre circle on occasions. This is playing to his strengths.

But then (second halves currently under Ekert) when we decide to stop attacking we drop deeper and deeper, invite pressure, invite balls into the box -  which means we are directly playing to his weaknesses of having a poorer than average command of his area, and a slight weakness on some shot positions - particularly in crowded boxes where that extra split second reaction time of seeing a shot late etc makes a difference. But in those cases, its also down to our defence not doing the basics that exposes us/bazunu - i.e., not winning the first ball, not stopping the cross, not closing someone down... the Gray goal for brum the other night (which was a fantastic hit that you don't expect a champ keeper to save frankly), the two ranged hits for millwall (again, he isn't saving those)...

Fact still remains, he is the best keeper at the club.

He is also a young keeper that has had limited game time / injuries in recent years, and was thrown in the deep end too early into a terrible premier league season, and then suicide football under martin... But he will develop if coached properly, and there is a good keeper in there.

Edited 1 hour ago by Saint86

[beancounter saint]

According to most of the sages on this thread if Bazunu was any good we’d keep a clean sheet every single game. 

[OldNick]

10 minutes ago, beancounter saint said:

According to most of the sages on this thread if Bazunu was any good we’d keep a clean sheet every single game. 

Fair point but he does let in more goals than he should. 

[Chez]

14 hours ago, Crab Lungs said:

You’re not allowed to criticise him. 

Defending him seems a more hazardous occupation on here.