If only the two of them were exactly the same in every other way we'd have an experiment cooking that would prove one of us right! We need a control version of each.
I'd have liked Bazunu to go to the Championship first I think but we'll see. The more he plays the more he learns.
Still think last man back should be explored for Ireland.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
Yeah those were the two options we learned about but I'm just saying he might have been better going to a Championship club on loan or otherwise to adjust to that level instead of skipping it entirely. I've no idea if one was interested or whether the price tag would have been an obstacle of course.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
At the price tag Southampton paid, I doubt any Championship teams would have gone in for Bazunu. Sure the environment may be a bit overwhelming but maybe with a new manager they can grind out premier league survival. Regardless of what happens, I have confidence Bazunu will be fine in the long term. For whatever reason I suspect Kelleher will be sold for far less money than Bazunu -- perhaps the Ireland No. 1 tag helped with that bigger pay day for City.
Briefly out on loan to the Late Late Toy Show tonight, making some young lads year.
Author of Never Felt Better (History, Film Reviews).
Bazunu must have been injured.
Look, at least he's out there making the mistakes. He'll learn and grow from this. It's a gift really.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
Caoimhin Kelleher (6.9) earned the highest overall rating at the Etihad, as he again proved to be an able deputy to Alisson.
The Irishman was highly impressive between the sticks, making three important saves and doing nothing wrong all evening.
TIA’s Henry Jackson said it was an “assured” performance by Kelleher, adding that his handling was “immaculate.”
Meanwhile, the Echo‘s Ian Doyle highlighted the “good saves” made by the youngster, even though he was “almost caught out” in the first minute.
sounds like he did well last night. did anyone watch?
Yeah, he was confident and authoritative. Three or good saves and one excellent one at the feet of Man City attacker (can't remember who). Handling and distribution were very assured. I know people will say he should be playing more and move away, and that's a fair point. But for us, the issue is whether his bench warming makes him a risk for selection? The answer, on the all the available evidence, is a categorical no! At the risk of infuriating the Bazunu lobby, he looks more assured, composed and mature despite playing far fewer senior games.
I think Kelleher has moved into poll position for Ireland number 1.
He’s the wisest anyways, can’t make mistakes if he stays on the bench!
Did well in league cup. Always looks assured. Did make some mistakes during the World Cup break during the friendlies mind you, so remains to be determined where he will ultimately land. Looks good though
Each has risks. Match-rusty or short on confidence? If we were playing next week I'd pick Kelleher. I said it here last season, Kelleher now looks like he feels he belongs at the top level whereas two seasons ago I think he looked more afraid of messing up. I'd say deep down Bazunu feels confident about his ability but in the moment he's more afraid than confident.
Sometimes an international break can do a player good though. A change in setting, different personnel etc means you can leave some club baggage behind you. You see it often enough. In the 90s I played for both our Saturday team (AUL) and our Sunday team (LSL). Often I'd have a poor run of form for one while playing well for the other. Mad how the mind works. I felt my Saturday player manager / captain trusted me more than my Sunday captain and it was that simple. If I felt I had the confidence of my CBs and the captain then I'd play better, if I felt I was losing it I'd play worse. OK, that's just a sample of one but I'd be surprised if better goalkeepers than me didn't exhibit the same.
I'm not sure if I posted it on footdot (I tweeted it) but I saw a great quote from Modric about Croatia keeper Livakovic who had a great WC, not just from the pens but in open play too. Livakovic was on a poor run of form heading into the WC and was in danger of losing his place. Modric told him the team thought he was really good but he looked like a keeper afraid of making a mistake. He said the team expects him to make mistakes, that's part of a GK's life. But the fear of making mistakes, his nervousness, was affecting the team. From that point on he played much better.
And if you excuse me a little more self-indulgence I also remember what a teammate said to me in the early 90s after handling backpasses was outlawed. I was generally fine with backpasses. I wouldn't take a fancy first touch and play short passes unless it was very safe to do so but I never messed up either, usually getting a good connection to send the ball upfield. Job done. But my full back said to me in training one time "back passes needn't be anathema". Until then it had never crossed my mind that I had a problem with backpasses but you can guess what happened after that. Slices into touch, kicks upfield missing target by a mile...!
Anyway, in short, Kelleher over Bazunu if there was a match next week and maybe Bazunu will feel less under scrutiny in Dublin than for his club.
Also, I read on Twitter that Bazunu has a very good high ball claim rate and a few other good metrics, and some player assessment algorithm has rated him the second most valuable young keeper in world football. I read the methodology though and it was a bit suspect, but overall the message was his high level game time is really important.
Last edited by Stuttgart88; 28/12/2022 at 4:19 PM.
Was expected to be fit today, and Adrian selected ahead of him on the bench. Move in January imminent or injured again?
Could well be illness, a few squad members who were expected to br in the squad are missing:
Kelleher
Fabinho
Phillips
And they had players miss the city game and the Villa game with illness as well.
Otherwise must be injury. Unless they’re giving Adrian a chance to say goodbye. No chance Kelleher leaves before summer. Liverpool are chasing a midfielder and if it’s a non-FA academy player (like Amrabat), they need to get rid of a non-FA academy player. Lots of rumours Adrian is going to depart this window as a result (other likelihood is that Arthur Melo’s loan is cut short but that’s complicated). Kelleher being one of their homegrown players means definitely won’t depart this season
Bookmarks