The new goalkeeper will be ....

[david in sweden]

Someone ...capable enough of being ....as good as / better than ..  Bazunu, (whose predicted return date may not be until  

we're past the halfway point in the season)... by which time GB will have been out of the game for the better part of one year.

No amount of training can be guaranteed to bring him upto the necessary Prem. standard by next spring.

 

I'm pleased that we kept Alex McCarthy on the books, as his contribution to our promotion should not be under-rated,

and was probably his most valuable contribution to the club, when he was rarely the long term first choice keeper. 

 

With a view to (the paragraph above) we need a top class keeper capable of DAJFU behind our new / makeshift back line. 

Clearly Lis will return to Turkey, and Brighton may not be happy to let Jason Steele leave the club for another Prem. side.

Although it may break the bank, I'd be in favour of getting Ramsdale in.  He may not be up to the standard than Arsenal wanted (?)

but his occasional England performances were fairly good - if not entirely equal to " the Pickford standard "..

 

The other alternative would be some " foreign import ".. (we are keeping very quite about) with international experience / suitable credentials .

At any rate ..whoever it will be, we won't be needing 4 keepers, and so it would seem that Joe Lumley will end up drawing the short straw. 

 

[SNSUN]

1 hour ago, david in sweden said:

 

Clearly Lis will return to Turkey, and Brighton may not be happy to let Jason Steele leave the club for another Prem. side.

 

Clearly? I’ve seen no reports about this. We need 3 fit keepers for a Prem season (so excluding Baz) and currently we have Lis, Alex and Lumley. While we all agree we need an improvement in the goalkeeper department, even in the short term, it may not be beyond the realms of possibility that Lis may be in the manager’s plans if we can’t bring one in. He had a good season for Goztepe and is taking part in the pre-season, has gone to Spain and played in the friendly against Eastleigh, and financially the club may feel it’s better to have a GK who is already on the books and is coming off the back of a good season in Turkey than spending big to bring in someone like Ramsdale who, despite being a huge improvement, would be expensive. As I say, we hope for a better GK but it’s possible.

We have been linked with Steele and now Ramsdale, so there’s probably no smoke without fire and we are looking.

[kitch]

...ficticious?

[Son Of Eric The Red 2]

Unless we sell one of Lis or Lumley (I doubt we will), I very much doubt we will get another keep in. I think we have to deal with the fact Alex is number one. Martin even something the other day about how well Alex done at the end of season making himself number one. I think we need to worry about scoring goals, that is still my biggest worry.

[Miltonaggro]

Personally, as I've been saying for many years, Saints need to budget, scout and sign a goalkeeper who is an immediate starter with some character, not an youngster or a unpolished obscure league prospect.  A significant part of the current transfer budget should be allocated for this, and funds spent on the central spine of a team tend towards the most 'value' in terms of points return.  The position is the most scrutinised on a football field, so it really shouldn't be overly taxing for Melton and the gang.  Ramsdale is the obvious choice if it's about foundation and ambition, but will likely represent our record signing.  Then again, had we signed him or his quality instead of Sulemana and Onuachu in the infamous Ankersen window we may well have stayed up.  

The situation with Bazunu is quite similar to that with Flowers back in the day, and if the club believes in him they will send him out on loan once he is fit to build his confidence, strength and positional awareness - time and space to learn his craft.  I don't see the potential myself as the flaws seem quite fundamental, but it's not my £12m plus grating the conscience. 

 

 

 

[Vancouver Saint]

I think the goalkeeper position is disproportionately important relative to other positions on the field - easily as important as a top goal-scorer is someone who can keep them out, organise and inspire defences and win points by making crucial saves when needed. I would go for a 'preventative' keeper..one who has already got top level experience, can command his penalty box, snuffs out crossed corners, knows how to narrow angles and block and comes out to catch crosses etc over spectacular shot-stopping.

In fairness, McCarthy did exactly this for us in the vital last few games last season...but he's not the answer for the Premiership.

I'd take Ramsdale any day. Pay for him.

Here in Canada, the national sport is hockey. The goalkeepers are the stars...everyone pays respect to the 'keeper at the end of the game. You simply can't win without a great goalkeeper because the rink is short and there are tons of shots 40-50 per game. The real telling thing is, you can have a pretty crap 'outfield' team and an outstanding goalkeeper and be incredibly hard to beat.

[Weston Super Saint]

..... Someone without crisp packets for hands or twiglets for wrists?

[The Left Back]

...new

 

 

 

 

 

and a goal keeper

[SaintsBarry74]

On 26/07/2024 at 02:11, Vancouver Saint said:

I think the goalkeeper position is disproportionately important relative to other positions on the field - easily as important as a top goal-scorer is someone who can keep them out, organise and inspire defences and win points by making crucial saves when needed. I would go for a 'preventative' keeper..one who has already got top level experience, can command his penalty box, snuffs out crossed corners, knows how to narrow angles and block and comes out to catch crosses etc over spectacular shot-stopping.

In fairness, McCarthy did exactly this for us in the vital last few games last season...but he's not the answer for the Premiership.

I'd take Ramsdale any day. Pay for him.

Here in Canada, the national sport is hockey. The goalkeepers are the stars...everyone pays respect to the 'keeper at the end of the game. You simply can't win without a great goalkeeper because the rink is short and there are tons of shots 40-50 per game. The real telling thing is, you can have a pretty crap 'outfield' team and an outstanding goalkeeper and be incredibly hard to beat.

For sure, it cannot be stressed enough how important the GK position is.

In our relegation season, the three teams that got relegated were also the teams with the worst goalkeepers, measured by xG (most goals let in that should have been saved).

These goalkeepers were Bazunu, Ward (Leicester), and Meslier (Leeds).

Bazunu, in fact, broke the record for the worst xG recorded in the Premier League since they started recording this stat.

[Saint Billy]

McCarthy's display against Montpellier makes it absolutely imperative to get a new number 1 GK.

[haddock24]

Wow damning stat regarding bazunu.unfortunately I would regret it if he ever played for us again.let him restart his career elsewhere

[aintforever]

On 26/07/2024 at 01:11, Vancouver Saint said:

I think the goalkeeper position is disproportionately important relative to other positions on the field

This, especially for a team like Saints in the Prem. Even when we have a good season our keeper is generally busier than most, I would push the boat out for a top keeper.

[S-Clarke]

24 minutes ago, haddock24 said:

Wow damning stat regarding bazunu.unfortunately I would regret it if he ever played for us again.let him restart his career elsewhere

He was equally well on course to win the same award in the Championship.

I'd love for him to restart elsewhere, but we know that won't happen. His place will be kept warm by a filler until he's back fit, then we'll have to suffer his inadequacies again - let's hope we're prolific up the other end when he returns, as we'll need to be scoring 3 to win games with him in the goal - at any level.

[Pwoite]

27 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

He was equally well on course to win the same award in the Championship.

I'd love for him to restart elsewhere, but we know that won't happen. His place will be kept warm by a filler until he's back fit, then we'll have to suffer his inadequacies again - let's hope we're prolific up the other end when he returns, as we'll need to be scoring 3 to win games with him in the goal - at any level.

I live in hope. The club has been extremely effective so far this summer, and seem to be addressing the major concerns shared by most fans. I do wonder whether this breathe of fresh air will be continued where Bazunu is concerned. Unfortunately, he is a valuable asset, because we paid so much for him, so he won’t ever be cast aside cheaply, but I believe there will be a new number one arriving in the next month.

[Hawkswood]

15 hours ago, SaintsBarry74 said:

For sure, it cannot be stressed enough how important the GK position is.

In our relegation season, the three teams that got relegated were also the teams with the worst goalkeepers, measured by xG (most goals let in that should have been saved).

These goalkeepers were Bazunu, Ward (Leicester), and Meslier (Leeds).

Bazunu, in fact, broke the record for the worst xG recorded in the Premier League since they started recording this stat.

There's a stat I heard a few months ago about the rep of Ireland letting in more goals from outside the box in the last 18 months ( approx) than they have in the last 10 - 15 years or something like that. It was an awfully damning stat and you know who was in goal for most of that.

[Charlie Wayman]

Yet another Bazunu bashing thread, you guys really are pathetic. Saints fans? I think not!

[Disco Stu]

I see Chelsea have signed their 6th senior goalkeeper. They'll surely be looking to off-load some.

[Convict Colony]

1 minute ago, Disco Stu said:

I see Chelsea have signed their 6th senior goalkeeper. They'll surely be looking to off-load some.

Found this crazy image yesterday where someone had listed all the positions chelsea have players for so far this season.

they are never going to keep those guys either happy or with them.

[Fabrice Fernandes no.1 fan]

1 hour ago, Convict Colony said:

Found this crazy image yesterday where someone had listed all the positions chelsea have players for so far this season.

they are never going to keep those guys either happy or with them.

Surely worth the question to see whether they want to send us one of Sanchez, Lavia, Casadei, Chukweuemeka or Fofana on loan to us. 

[Dellyears]

6 minutes ago, Fabrice Fernandes no.1 fan said:

Surely worth the question to see whether they want to send us one of Sanchez, Lavia, Casadei, Chukweuemeka or Fofana on loan to us. 

It must be difficult to feel you belong at Chelsea. Perhaps that's why managers come and go so quickly. We may  be poor but at least we have a strategy that promotes player's careers with the result I bet the players are happier here than there. And in the long run that will pay us.

[Wade Garrett]

18 hours ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Yet another Bazunu bashing thread, you guys really are pathetic. Saints fans? I think not!

Why?  He’s the goalkeeping equivalent of Ali Dia.  Maybe someone called the club saying he was Buffon’s cousin.

[Wade Garrett]

17 minutes ago, Dellyears said:

It must be difficult to feel you belong at Chelsea. Perhaps that's why managers come and go so quickly. We may  be poor but at least we have a strategy that promotes player's careers with the result I bet the players are happier here than there. And in the long run that will pay us.

Chaotic club.  Their manager will be gone by Christmas.

[S-Clarke]

27 minutes ago, Dellyears said:

It must be difficult to feel you belong at Chelsea. Perhaps that's why managers come and go so quickly. We may  be poor but at least we have a strategy that promotes player's careers with the result I bet the players are happier here than there. And in the long run that will pay us.

I guess in a way they do also attract the wrong sorts of players - players seemingly happy to just take the cash and not at all bothered if they don't play lots. They signed a young CM from France last summer for around £35m, 120k p/w apparently, barely features in any capacity. 

Lavia slightly different because he's just been injured for a year, but even with the injury I cannot help but think he picked the wrong club. I think a combination of the injury and the club he's at will stop him ever fulfilling the potential he could reach.

[SaintsLoyal]

There is no goalkeeper on the wanted list, just a midfielder and winger. It does leave us exposed if he gets injured and the only way one is going to appen is from a departure.

Edited July 31 by SaintsLoyal

[Convict Colony]

New goalkeeper will be 8ft tall and a dong like king kong

[ErwinK1961]

2 hours ago, Fabrice Fernandes no.1 fan said:

Surely worth the question to see whether they want to send us one of Sanchez, Lavia, Casadei, Chukweuemeka or Fofana on loan to us. 

How did Fofana do at Burnley last year? 

[trousers]

I'm no football expert (does it show...?! ) but why is it obvious to me that we desperately need a new first choice keeper, whilst the club (who are no doubt blessed with "football experts") are seemingly oblivious to this critical shortfall in our squad? Season after season...

Edited July 31 by trousers

[Gloucester Saint]

On 30/07/2024 at 13:19, Saint Billy said:

McCarthy's display against Montpellier makes it absolutely imperative to get a new number 1 GK.

I hope you didn’t see his display v Oxford tonight. Made the Montpellier game look like Gordon Banks.

Astonishing they gave him a new contract and seem determined to restore Gavin ‘’Vanarama’ Bazanu in Alex’s place as soon he’s off crutches.

The outfield recruitment on paper has been sensible, shrewd even but when it comes to keepers, the club reverts to the decision-making coherency of a drunken tramp. It’s been the same ever since Les gave Fraser that enormous contract extension. 

[Saint Billy]

30 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

I hope you didn’t see his display v Oxford tonight. Made the Montpellier game look like Gordon Banks.

Astonishing they gave him a new contract and seem determined to restore Gavin ‘’Vanarama’ Bazanu in Alex’s place as soon he’s off crutches.

The outfield recruitment on paper has been sensible, shrewd even but when it comes to keepers, the club reverts to the decision-making coherency of a drunken tramp. It’s been the same ever since Les gave Fraser that enormous contract extension. 

Yep, we seem to have a mental block regarding keepers. I didn’t need to see the game tonight to work out that McCarthy is not fit for purpose. I can only hope that saints aren’t burying their heads in the sand regarding a keeper and will bring in someone of quality.

[Patches O Houlihan]

5 hours ago, Convict Colony said:

New goalkeeper will be 8ft tall and a dong like king kong

This guy looks handy, has all the attributes you state. BUT he still looks slow to get down to his left; which we know is a problem traditionally suffered by Saints keepers...

 

Edited July 31 by Patches O Houlihan

[bpsaint]

2 hours ago, trousers said:

I'm no football expert (does it show...?! ) but why is it obvious to me that we desperately need a new first choice keeper, whilst the club (who are no doubt blessed with "football experts") are seemingly oblivious to this critical shortfall in our squad? Season after season...

This baffles me as well. I know as fans we like to think we know better than the coaches at times, but when it comes to the keeper situation at this club I’m genuinely mystified how the relevant people cannot see that our GK department is the weakest part of our squad, and has been for a few years now. 

[6ft8saint]

On 30/07/2024 at 13:19, Saint Billy said:

McCarthy's display against Montpellier makes it absolutely imperative to get a new number 1 GK.

Even more so with tonight 

[Lighthouse]

I can’t for the life of me understand people saying stuff like, “we only got promoted because of Bazunu’s injury,” after McC put in three competent playoff performances. He made an error today which was easily as bad as Baz’s against Plymouth and conceded a low shot from as far out as that Watford goal. McCarthy has replicated Bazunu’s two worst moments from last season in just half a friendly against Oxford. He's not a better goalkeeper in any capacity, Christ knows what we’re going to be saying after 35 games.

[Hawkswood]

On 30/07/2024 at 23:16, Charlie Wayman said:

Yet another Bazunu bashing thread, you guys really are pathetic. Saints fans? I think not!

Dude, there's really nothing pathetic about pointing out ANOTHER damning stat about our keeper and you don't get to  choose what does and does not make a saints supporter. You don't have that right so please take your insults elsewhere.

[chiknsmack]

23 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

I can’t for the life of me understand people saying stuff like, “we only got promoted because of Bazunu’s injury,” after McC put in three competent playoff performances. He made an error today which was easily as bad as Baz’s against Plymouth and conceded a low shot from as far out as that Watford goal. McCarthy has replicated Bazunu’s two worst moments from last season in just half a friendly against Oxford. He's not a better goalkeeper in any capacity, Christ knows what we’re going to be saying after 35 games.

It's not that McC is any better than Baz. It's that the whole gameplan and formation changed with us being less able to play out from the back due to McC's shortcomings, and the changes that were made are the reason we were promoted.

"We only got promoted because of Bazunu's injury" doesn't mean "Bazunu got injured and a better keeper came in". It means "Bazunu got injured and a worse keeper (wrt playing out from the back) came in, so the gameplan changed to involve the keeper less and play three CBs".

[skintsaint]

Just get this guy in :

 

 

 

[Disco Stu]

55 minutes ago, chiknsmack said:

It's not that McC is any better than Baz. It's that the whole gameplan and formation changed with us being less able to play out from the back due to McC's shortcomings, and the changes that were made are the reason we were promoted.

"We only got promoted because of Bazunu's injury" doesn't mean "Bazunu got injured and a better keeper came in". It means "Bazunu got injured and a worse keeper (wrt playing out from the back) came in, so the gameplan changed to involve the keeper less and play three CBs".

That enforced change of system got us over the line. Completely agree.

Edited August 1 by Disco Stu

[SaintsBarry74]

McC is worse than Bazunu at everything else but shot-stopping, and that isn't saying much considering how low the bar was to begin with.

[Miltonaggro]

On 01/08/2024 at 23:51, skintsaint said:

Just get this guy in :

 

 

 

Ex Man U youth keeper, 27 years old and been with Torino since 2017.  You'd like to think if we were interested ours scouts would have had a good look when Adams signed for them. 

[Disco Stu]

10 minutes ago, SaintsBarry74 said:

McC is worse than Bazunu at everything else but shot-stopping, and that isn't saying much considering how low the bar was to begin with.

McCarthy is considerably better at collecting crosses. And lets not downplay shot-stopping, the single most important attribute for a goalkeeper. Neither are at the required level but McCarthy is better at the fundementals.

Edited August 3 by Disco Stu

[Bad Wolf]

1 minute ago, Disco Stu said:

McCarthy is considerably better at collecting crosses. And lets not downplay shot-stopping. They're both poor but McCarthy is better at the fundementals.

You'd bloody hope so with the age gap.

[Disco Stu]

Just now, Bad Wolf said:

You'd bloody hope so with the age gap.

You would.

[Bad Wolf]

Just now, Disco Stu said:

You would.

There are probably a massive number of keepers that are better than McCarthy. I doubt whether that many of them are 22.

[Disco Stu]

Just now, Bad Wolf said:

There are probably a massive number of keepers that are better than McCarthy. I doubt whether that many of them are 22.

I also doubt that.

[Kristian Loekkegaard]

On 22/07/2024 at 14:52, Miltonaggro said:

Personally, as I've been saying for many years, Saints need to budget, scout and sign a goalkeeper who is an immediate starter with some character, not an youngster or a unpolished obscure league prospect.  A significant part of the current transfer budget should be allocated for this, and funds spent on the central spine of a team tend towards the most 'value' in terms of points return.  The position is the most scrutinised on a football field, so it really shouldn't be overly taxing for Melton and the gang.  Ramsdale is the obvious choice if it's about foundation and ambition, but will likely represent our record signing.  Then again, had we signed him or his quality instead of Sulemana and Onuachu in the infamous Ankersen window we may well have stayed up.  

The situation with Bazunu is quite similar to that with Flowers back in the day, and if the club believes in him they will send him out on loan once he is fit to build his confidence, strength and positional awareness - time and space to learn his craft.  I don't see the potential myself as the flaws seem quite fundamental, but it's not my £12m plus grating the conscience. 

 

 

 

An Antti Niemi eqivalent would be most welcome 👍. He was affordable and bought when we already had, imo, an ok first keeper in Paul Jones.
The keeper position is without doubt extremely important and I would be surprised if we are not looking with Bazunu out.
That said - Alex M. was player of the season back in 2017/2018 (when he played cirka half the season) and he did very well in the play offs , so it's ok with me that he is still with us. 
 

[Miltonaggro]

21 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

McCarthy is considerably better at collecting crosses. And lets not downplay shot-stopping, the single most important attribute for a goalkeeper. Neither are at the required level but McCarthy is better at the fundementals.

With Bazunu physicality and strength does seem to be an issue, and McCarthy's ability coming for crosses and dominating penalty box was very evident at the end of last season.  Watching the warm ups from my old seat both AM and Lumley seemed to tower over Bazunu.  Not essential to have a unit in goal of course, but can help other attributes.   

[Disco Stu]

11 minutes ago, Kristian Loekkegaard said:

Alex M. was player of the season back in 2017/2018 (when he played cirka half the season) and he did very well in the play offs , so it's ok with me that he is still with us.

I think the concern is we haven't seen that version of McCarthy for 5 years. He was an upgrade on Bazunu in the play-offs but I wouldn't trust him as a first choice option in the Premier League. He's decent backup.

Edited August 3 by Disco Stu

[Miltonaggro]

Just now, Disco Stu said:

I think the concern is we haven't seen that version of McCarthy for 5 years. He's decent backup.

Agree.  If we are priced out of Ramsdale, be good to approach Palace for Johnstone and have him as number one with AM back up.

[Kristian Loekkegaard]

12 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

I think the concern is we haven't seen that version of McCarthy for 5 years. He was an upgrade on Bazunu in the play-offs but I wouldn't trust him as a first choice option in the Premier League. He's decent backup.

Agreed. I hope RM sees it the same way - Alex M as a decent back up. Because why would Big Al peak now?
It happens that a keeper peaks in his mid thirties, we've seen that before, but still...  

[Weston Super Saint]

1 hour ago, Kristian Loekkegaard said:

Agreed. I hope RM sees it the same way - Alex M as a decent back up. Because why would Big Al peak now?
It happens that a keeper peaks in his mid thirties, we've seen that before, but still...  

He already does see it that way.

AM is the backup to Baz. Get used to it, once Baz is fixed he'll be pre-populated on the team sheet again.