Gavin Bazunu

[sambosa75]

Sincerely hope the lad makes a full recovery.  Also hope he’s played his last game for the club.  He’s a poor goalkeeper and I’d expect us to sign a better one this summer regardless of our league status.

[ChristopheVAFC]

A speedy recovery to Gavin and I hope the other goalkeepers in your team will do their utmost!

[Dr Who?]

7 hours ago, HarvSFC said:

I was surprised McCarthy was picked ahead of Lumley given he has been non-existent this season, but you've got to pick the goalkeeper who has played for England and been a below average Premier League goalkeeper, which probably makes him serviceable in the Championship over the below average Championship goalkeeper. Remember Lumley's stats at Reading weren't much better than Bazunu's, if they were, from what I can remember. Fortunately, we've only had to see the Watford FA Cup howler from him and that wasn't too costly. Feel more confident with McCarthy in the sticks, we know his drawbacks and deficiencies, while I don't think we've seen enough of Lumley to get the full experience, but I remember that lowlights video of him when he signed.

Now, knowing our luck with McCarthy, he'll have a good end to the season and we'll offer him a new contract and a wage increase.

If he saves some of those balls flying into our net, or even makes the save to get us to the promised land, then he will perhaps deserve that new contract. I still think signing a proven keeper is why we are not already in the top 2. Someone like Fraser Forster that used to get so much stick on here, was great at organising his defence. It is not just the saves you make, but sorting out and communicating with that shambles in front of you. That back 4 of ours should be solid at Championship level, and I put this down to the keeper for the season so far. 

[Galway saint]

Hopefully this means we are more direct with our play out from the back - certainly looked so last night 

 

[FarehamSaintJames]

21 minutes ago, Galway saint said:

Hopefully this means we are more direct with our play out from the back - certainly looked so last night 

 

I mean if I was a defender I certainly wouldn’t want to play it back to McCarthy. 😂

If it means we play forward passes and run at the opposition then I’m all for keeping him between the sticks.

[OldNick]

Ive seen McCarthy make some match winning saves, so much so he was player of the season one time.

I cant recall which game it was now as was a few seasons back but we were winning in a season where we were struggling against relegation when he made an incredible save a pushed the ball over the bar.

I understand that he is poor with his feet but call me old fashioned but I like a keeper to save the ball.

He IMO was harshly treated by the football academics on here, but I suggest most of his critics could not save anything in a Post Office account let alone on a football pitch.

Time will tell but I feel Macca is an upgrade on saving the ball, obviously not at passing it out.

 

 

[Whitey Grandad]

17 minutes ago, OldNick said:

Ive seen McCarthy make some match winning saves, so much so he was player of the season one time.

I cant recall which game it was now as was a few seasons back but we were winning in a season where we were struggling against relegation when he made an incredible save a pushed the ball over the bar.

I understand that he is poor with his feet but call me old fashioned but I like a keeper to save the ball.

He IMO was harshly treated by the football academics on here, but I suggest most of his critics could not save anything in a Post Office account let alone on a football pitch.

Time will tell but I feel Macca is an upgrade on saving the ball, obviously not at passing it out.

 

 

And there’s the problem. We can only base our opinions on more recent performances.

[hypochondriac]

18 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

And there’s the problem. We can only base our opinions on more recent performances.

There haven't really been any recent performances to speak of. Besides, this is a step below where he was. Plenty of players look a fair bit better when they take a step down (look at Vestergaard and Hoedt for example.)

[stknowle]

1 hour ago, OldNick said:

Ive seen McCarthy make some match winning saves, so much so he was player of the season one time.

I cant recall which game it was now as was a few seasons back but we were winning in a season where we were struggling against relegation when he made an incredible save a pushed the ball over the bar.

I understand that he is poor with his feet but call me old fashioned but I like a keeper to save the ball.

He IMO was harshly treated by the football academics on here, but I suggest most of his critics could not save anything in a Post Office account let alone on a football pitch.

Time will tell but I feel Macca is an upgrade on saving the ball, obviously not at passing it out.

 

 

Bournemouth at home in the Pelegrino/Hughes season. He was outstanding that day.

Edited 17 April, 2024 by stknowle

[Nordic Saint]

12 hours ago, ErwinK1961 said:

Find it quite amusing that there are people actually celebrating the fact McCarthy is back playing in goal. 

Even though we've got the 3 worst goalkeepers in the Championship, we keep hoping that one of the other two isn't quite as bad as the one currently playing but it's probably just wishful thinking.

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

1 hour ago, hypochondriac said:

There haven't really been any recent performances to speak of. Besides, this is a step below where he was. Plenty of players look a fair bit better when they take a step down (look at Vestergaard and Hoedt for example.)

Adam Armstrong is a good example too

[Lighthouse]

10 minutes ago, Nordic Saint said:

Even though we've got the 3 worst goalkeepers in the Championship, we keep hoping that one of the other two isn't quite as bad as the one currently playing but it's probably just wishful thinking.

We don’t though, people are just being overly dramatic. Keepers let in goals against us all the time that people would be howling about if Baz conceded them. Even last night, people would have been furious that Baz was caught with his pants down off his line twice and didn’t even attempt to dive for the third goal (which was hit from further out than any of the Ipswich goals or Watford’s equaliser). Then there was Stu’s shot which hit the inside of the post - useless Baz beaten low to his left again.

[Lord Duckhunter]

Big blow…I was hoping we’d sell him at the end of the season. Now I doubt we can. After all what sort of club buys someone who’s injured. 🤔 

[notnowcato]

30 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Big blow…I was hoping we’d sell him at the end of the season. Now I doubt we can. After all what sort of club buys someone who’s injured. 🤔 

Great work, stick the knife into one of our players and our club at the same time - if only you'd do this more regularly, what a time to be alive that would be.

[RedArmy]

My biggest criticism with McCarthy has always been that quite often when he does make a save, he parries it straight back into the path of someone for a tap in. 
 

Hopefully that’s not going to be the case for the run-in. 

[pimpin4rizeal]

It’s never nice to rejoice in a player  getting injured .... But this might actually be just what we need .. 

we have been having to defend with any decent shot on tarrget resulting in a goal I can’t see how former player of the season McCarthy can be worse tbf .

this injury could be the difference between  going up or not so whilst I feel for bazunu it’s a change that needed to happen 

Edited 17 April, 2024 by pimpin4rizeal

[pimpin4rizeal]

16 hours ago, Huffton said:

Its so great that so many posters are at training every day without fail so they can see how bad McCarthy is, I mean who would trust the professional opinion our coaching team and manager?🙄

Who could trust managers picking  elyounoussi countless times last season even though every man and their dogs knew he was shit.. managers can get it wrong too 

majority on here have been moaning how piss poor bazunu is .. 

I don’t wish injury on him but him being out of the team will be good for our promotion hopes 

Edited 17 April, 2024 by pimpin4rizeal

[Dr Who?]

Baz scores the late leveller at Preston and a snipper takes him out from the away end at SMS last night. 

Edited 17 April, 2024 by Dr Who?

[Chez]

2 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

We don’t though, people are just being overly dramatic. Keepers let in goals against us all the time that people would be howling about if Baz conceded them. 

Could not agree more. When we score a goal how many Saints fans look at it from a defensive point of view and question the keepers position, speed off their line or ability to get down to save etc. None. We all look at the parts played by our own players in the goal being scored. Watch the other championship keepers closely and most are equally terrible/good. 

[Weston Super Saint]

3 hours ago, notnowcato said:

Great work, stick the knife into one of our players and our club at the same time - if only you'd do this more regularly, what a time to be alive that would be.

Great work.  Total loss of sense of humour.  What a fun time to be alive for you.

[Lord Duckhunter]

3 hours ago, RedArmy said:

My biggest criticism with McCarthy has always been that quite often when he does make a save, he parries it straight back into the path of someone for a tap in. 

That’s not something you can accuse Baz of doing.

[Saint_clark]

2 hours ago, Chez said:

Could not agree more. When we score a goal how many Saints fans look at it from a defensive point of view and question the keepers position, speed off their line or ability to get down to save etc. None. We all look at the parts played by our own players in the goal being scored. Watch the other championship keepers closely and most are equally terrible/good. 

How do you explain Bazunus keeping stats being so terrible compared to everyone else then?

[SaintsBarry74]

The issue with Bazunu extends beyond the occasional obvious howler, which is expected from an average keeper from time to time. It's his consistent underperformance over two seasons. Despite this, fans perceive his performance as adequate, when in reality, it's quite poor. The statistics back this up - last season, he was the worst shot stopper in the league, setting a record for worst -xG EVER recorded by a keeper.

This season mirrors the last, indicating no improvement. Why not consider playing an outfielder in goal instead?

I wish Baz a speedy recover but I count this as a blessing in disguise, despite our poor back-up options.

[Whitey Grandad]

2 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

How do you explain Bazunus keeping stats being so terrible compared to everyone else then?

Stats?

We all know that they are meaningless 🤤

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

Bazunu is a shite keeper who has cost us more than a few points. Not sure how anyone can argue anything different

[Wade Garrett]

How the fuck he got a contract from Man City is beyond me.  How they got a transfer fee for him staggers me.

[notnowcato]

4 hours ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Great work.  Total loss of sense of humour.  What a fun time to be alive for you.

The same lines repeated ad nauseum. It’s boring. 

[Lighthouse]

5 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

How do you explain Bazunus keeping stats being so terrible compared to everyone else then?

No, one stat, his saves as a percentage of shots on target. I explain that the exact same way as I’d explain Papis Cissé being better than Messi when the reverse stat was analysed a few years ago. If you want to cling to that, you’re going to have to agree that Angus Gunn, who I know we all love on here, is better than the Rotherham keeper everyone has been raving about.

https://fbref.com/en/comps/10/keepers/Championship-Stats

[St. Neil]

Get David de Gea in on a free for a few games, with a massive promotion bonus and then never play him like we did with Cáceres.

[Galway saint]

time will tell how AM does but I can’t see we are losing much in goalkeeping terms as Baz was performing well below standard and it might mean we are now more direct from the back

[Wurzel]

19 hours ago, Dr Who? said:

Baz scores the late leveller at Preston and a snipper takes him out from the away end at SMS last night. 

Really 🤯 That's a hell of a weird time to get that done. To be fair to Baz I could walk without crutches after my vasectomy but no way would I have been playing a match 30 minutes later.

Edited 18 April, 2024 by Wurzel

[danjosaint]

12 hours ago, St. Neil said:

Get David de Gea in on a free for a few games, with a massive promotion bonus and then never play him like we did with Cáceres.

But he is shit with his feet, very bizarre how he's not joined anyone 

[John Boy Saint]

16 hours ago, Wade Garrett said:

How the fuck he got a contract from Man City is beyond me.  How they got a transfer fee for him staggers me.

Proves that lighting does strike twice out of the same Sky Blue cloud - shame we didn't get the Cole Palmer of keepers despite 2 raids on City.

[pimpin4rizeal]

It’s pretty funny how so many people get upset with those happy by this news 

it’s not like we are wishing pain on bazunu .: it’s just it means that he now can’t be selected and he was a regular liability..

im pretty damn confident our goals against are gonna  be far better now .. feel free to requote  this  post if I’m wrong

[Holmes_and_Watson]

2 hours ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

It’s pretty funny how so many people get upset with those happy by this news 

it’s not like we are wishing pain on bazunu .: it’s just it means that he now can’t be selected and he was a regular liability..

im pretty damn confident our goals against are gonna  be far better now .. feel free to requote  this  post if I’m wrong

I'm not saying I did. But I might have had a similar thought when Macca finally got back into the side last season. Sadly, or thankfully, lots of therapy sessions have managed to blur whether it was the side in front of him, trying to absorb pressure to release Charlie on the break, or if he was just... tactfully... not at his best.

[Hodgey]

6 hours ago, John Boy Saint said:

Proves that lighting does strike twice out of the same Sky Blue cloud - shame we didn't get the Cole Palmer of keepers despite 2 raids on City.

And if you listen to Burnley fans - it’s happened 3 times as Trafford has been dropped after being found out (unsurprisingly) in the Prem.

I cannot fathom how scouts are getting away with this nonsense - everyone knows keepers don’t mature until at least mid 20s, quite how prem clubs with their wealth of cash and resources are doing this is ridiculous (of course we’ve actually done it twice) 

[S-Clarke]

7 minutes ago, Hodgey said:

And if you listen to Burnley fans - it’s happened 3 times as Trafford has been dropped after being found out (unsurprisingly) in the Prem.

I cannot fathom how scouts are getting away with this nonsense - everyone knows keepers don’t mature until at least mid 20s, quite how prem clubs with their wealth of cash and resources are doing this is ridiculous (of course we’ve actually done it twice) 

Yeah Trafford is very much the Bazunu of this season, how Man City got around 40m combined for Gunn, Trafford and Bazunu is insane. We've been bitten twice by them.

They'll all have decent careers without doubt, but they were blooded in the top league too soon. I'm all for signing a young keeper as backup to an experienced lad but it's hard to justify spending £15m on a backup keeper, so he kind of has to play by default.

Edited 18 April, 2024 by S-Clarke

[Mr X]

Joe Lumley must be seriously pissed off a keeper that initially wasn't even on the team sheet (Mcarthy) suddenly chosen above you.... Martin obviously has no trust in him 

[Dusic]

Confirmed out for 9-10 months. Also causes a problem for the summer as will need to find a starting keeper when probably not budgeted for, who might not be needed by the end of the season when Bazunu gets back.

Edited 19 April, 2024 by Dusic

[S-Clarke]

15 minutes ago, Dusic said:

Confirmed out for 9-10 months. Also causes a problem for the summer as will need to find a starting keeper when probably not budgeted for, who might not be needed by the end of the season when Bazunu gets back.

Wow, that's horrendous for him. Same injury as Ross Stewart.

Don't forget that we have Lis coming back, so that issue may already be covered.

Edited 19 April, 2024 by S-Clarke

[Dman]

It'll be a tough one for him to come back from, in my opinon. Hopefully, by the time hes back, we'd have found a replacement who's consistently performing. 

Horrible injury for him personally but if it forces our hand to replace him, it could be a blessing for us. 

[rallyboy]

Really unfortunate, wish him a good recovery, he's young and has time to come back from it.

I look at what's to come and for me it's Lumley for the rest of the season.

[Dusic]

34 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Wow, that's horrendous for him. Same injury as Ross Stewart.

Don't forget that we have Lis coming back, so that issue may already be covered.

Possibly in the Championship if they feel Lis is able to be a #1 but if Goztepe get promoted then I expect he will stay there as was clearly signed for them originally.

If we do go up then no chance it will be Lis - will need a signing or loan of an established keeper.

Extremely unlikely Lumley would be a starter in any division.

Edited 19 April, 2024 by Dusic

[saintwbu]

Do we think there may be financial reasons for Lumley being on the bench all season ahead of McCarthy? But when push really comes to shove, McCarthy seen as the safer pair of hands. Can’t think of any other reason for putting him in ahead of Lumley.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

That's such bad news. Such a key part of our possession based game. Yet, even if we get promoted through the crunch part of this season, we'll miss seeing Martin's system at it's most fluid should we go up.

[VectisSaint]

14 minutes ago, saintwbu said:

Do we think there may be financial reasons for Lumley being on the bench all season ahead of McCarthy? But when push really comes to shove, McCarthy seen as the safer pair of hands. Can’t think of any other reason for putting him in ahead of Lumley.

Experience in a difficult situation. That is all. I think Martin made a good decision. Lumley will be OK when he has prepared to play from the start. Will be interesting to see what Martin does tomorrow, McCarthy got a clean sheet (admittedly with very little to actually do) so might feel aggrieved to be dropped, but if he hadn't done that I feel pretty sure that Lumley would be selected to start.

[Wade Garrett]

15 hours ago, S-Clarke said:

Yeah Trafford is very much the Bazunu of this season, how Man City got around 40m combined for Gunn, Trafford and Bazunu is insane. We've been bitten twice by them.

They'll all have decent careers without doubt, but they were blooded in the top league too soon. I'm all for signing a young keeper as backup to an experienced lad but it's hard to justify spending £15m on a backup keeper, so he kind of has to play by default.

I don’t think Bazunu will have a good career.  

[Midfield_General]

Awful news for the lad. Sounds from Martin's comments like he was in a pretty dark place on discovering the extent of the injury. 

I'm sure the club will support him well in every respect. Hopefully the fans can live up to the word 'supporters' and send him good wishes too at what must be a horrible time for him. 

Wishing him all the best for a full and speedy recovery. 

Edited 19 April, 2024 by Midfield_General

[david in sweden]

4 hours ago, Mr X said:

Joe Lumley must be seriously pissed off a keeper that initially wasn't even on the team sheet (Mcarthy) suddenly chosen above you.... Martin obviously has no trust in him 

I wonder if Lumley was surprised or simply upset, because with team out on the pitch training I'm pretty sure he wasn't ready to start at 10 minutes notice.

With his contract running out Macca isn't even second choice now., but at such short notice  I think his experience won the day in the moment of panic.

If this " buddy / buddy relationship " between keepers is all it's cracked up to be, then Joe should put the interest of the team first ahead of his personal feelings,

and not getting upset and throwing his toys out of the pram, especially at such a critical time of the season.

This whole episode should blow over and Joe should be choice keeper for the remaining games, and Macca can finish his Saints career with a clean sheet.

 

If this doesn't satisfy everyone, then Joe can leave along with Macca and we will be looking for THREE keepers during the summer, and ideally the  no.1 

choice for next season must be an international for some country, especially if we do get promotion. 

 

[david in sweden]

2 hours ago, Dusic said:

Possibly in the Championship if they feel Lis is able to be a #1 but if Goztepe get promoted then I  expect he will stay there as was clearly signed for them originally.

If we do go up then no chance it will be Lis - will need a signing or loan of an established keeper.

Extremely unlikely Lumley would be a starter in any division.

I think Lis was signed by Saints in the beginning... and then loaned out to Goztepe .  Not difficult as both clubs have the same ownership.

If he has improved enough to be our next season's no.1 , then we'll need a couple more names with some sort of quality about them, and he will need to be 

first choice keeper regardless of which country he ends up playing in.