Gavin Bazunu G Southampton b.2002

**ontheotherhand** · 18/08/2021, 2:57 AM

Glowing reports so far from his 2 games at Portsmouth. 2 clean sheets and a worldy of a save today. Probably not as good as it looked though eh stu?

**pineapple stu** · 18/08/2021, 7:43 AM

Hard to know from the link you didn't provide!

**liamoo11** · 18/08/2021, 11:13 AM

God we really are lucky to have bazunu and kelleher. That ability to play 10 yards outside your box and be comfortable with such a high starting position will be so helpful to us to let us push our defence higher to allow our midfield actually close the space to our front players. Randolph has been a super keeper but he just can't do that and his deep starting position encourages the likes of Duffy to sit way too deep(for his own comfort) dragging everyone else deeper and leaving us with no obvious attacking threat

**Kingdom** · 18/08/2021, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by liamoo11

God we really are lucky to have bazunu and kelleher. That ability to play 10 yards outside your box and be comfortable with such a high starting position will be so helpful to us to let us push our defence higher to allow our midfield actually close the space to our front players. Randolph has been a super keeper but he just can't do that and his deep starting position encourages the likes of Duffy to sit way too deep(for his own comfort) dragging everyone else deeper and leaving us with no obvious attacking threat

Agree totally Liamoo. The combination of a goalkeeper uncomfortable off his goal-line, and defenders that are prone to sitting deep (for different reasons - comfort, speed (lack of), poor turning) is something we've struggled with for many years, and has been a massive reason (for me) in how we've ended up in the position we are in.

**Kingdom** · 18/08/2021, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Hard to know from the link you didn't provide!

Excellent one-handed save, but the forward (sort of looks like Jonnie Williams) should have finished the rebound.

**pineapple stu** · 18/08/2021, 11:50 AM

Tweet is gone now I think?

**ontheotherhand** · 18/08/2021, 2:36 PM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Hard to know from the link you didn't provide!

I assumed you'd seen it. You're usually right up to speed stu. Reports say he didn't have much to save in the first game but was pivotal in moving the ball for them. Second game sounds like he was a lot busier and made some good saves. Portsmouth forum is full of praise so far. Early days though of course. Hopefully he keeps it up and Kelleher gets a few cup runs as first choice. Then we will have 3 good keepers, 2-3 good right backs and.......that's about it for the foreseeable future........

https://twitter.com/carlofooty/statu...133511172?s=20

**John83** · 18/08/2021, 2:41 PM

Looks a very good save. I hope he has a great season and starts to fulfil his undoubted potential.

**pineapple stu** · 18/08/2021, 2:51 PM

Originally Posted by ontheotherhand

I assumed you'd seen it. You're usually right up to speed stu.

I get my info from here otoh!

It's a good save alright. I'd be more interested to see if he's ironed out the decision making/distribution errors from his game though. I know from personal experience a couple of good saves very quickly get forgotten when a rush of blood comes along to cost a goal.

But he's six months older than the last qualifiers and is (I presume!) still improving, so touch wood we'll see that come through in his performances over the next while. From what I've seen in an Ireland jersey, I'd still have Kelleher to start next month, but Kelleher needs games and Kenny has already said League One isn't international level. Making exceptions for teenagers like Bazunu and Parrott is fair enough of course, but I think we're still a year away from where we could really call the keeper crisis over.

**ontheotherhand** · 18/08/2021, 6:18 PM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

I get my info from here otoh!

It's a good save alright. I'd be more interested to see if he's ironed out the decision making/distribution errors from his game though. I know from personal experience a couple of good saves very quickly get forgotten when a rush of blood comes along to cost a goal.

But he's six months older than the last qualifiers and is (I presume!) still improving, so touch wood we'll see that come through in his performances over the next while. From what I've seen in an Ireland jersey, I'd still have Kelleher to start next month, but Kelleher needs games and Kenny has already said League One isn't international level. Making exceptions for teenagers like Bazunu and Parrott is fair enough of course, but I think we're still a year away from where we could really call the keeper crisis over.

Yeah all fair although if Randolph is available we don't have a keeper crisis for me. I wish he played more but he hasn't let us down. As I said before I think we were just judging Bazunu with a different set of criteria i.e. as a prospect versus a nailed on starter. Signs are bright though. And young Parrot seems to be finding a level he can get games and goals at as well.

**pineapple stu** · 18/08/2021, 8:12 PM

Yeah, good point on Randolph. He's an interesting one. He's one of those fairly middling club players who's always been excellent for us. But 10 club games in the past 18 months isn't enough - no more than it's enough for Kelleher - and yeah, there's the worry (sorry Kingdom!) that he's a bit Packie Bonner-like with the ball at his feet.

I think if you view Bazunu and Kelleher as prospects, then it makes sense to start Randolph in Portugal - yet I'd be less comfortable about it than usual. (Also, you can't rule out Travers, who's starting for Bournemouth a division higher)

And yeah, as you say, if we have a couple of keepers and a couple of full-backs - and let's add in Parrott there to make us feel good - then that's still a poor team. We still need a few other players to come through.

**Eirambler** · 18/08/2021, 9:47 PM

We're looking good at centre back as well if that helps. Midfield remains the big issue and has been for a while.

**paul_oshea** · 18/08/2021, 11:10 PM

I'm not sure if Randolph has let us down but I feel there were times when he could have done better for us. So I'm not really bothered at this stage who plays in goals especially as we don't have anything to play for again and missed out on two campaigns.

**OwlsFan** · 09/09/2021, 12:51 PM

OK Mr. Cynical here. I have been watching football a long time and some of the stuff I've read and heard about Gavin is a bit ott. He's pretty much made at least one almost fatal error in each of the last three games and arguably might have saved the Serbian goal. Some great saves in between and I love the way he's not stuck to his line for corners and gets out to punch the ball clear but he's still only learning his trade and has got to cut out those mistakes because if we concede a goal as a result, we'll struggle to score 2 in most games. Great prospect but not the finished article and I hope Kelleher is also given a chance to show what he can also do.

**Fixer82** · 09/09/2021, 1:06 PM

I really like Bazunu but I've felt, having watched both, that Kelleher seems less likely to make a mistake with ball at feet.
Both great to have coming through though. If only we had such talent up front to choose from.

**seanfhear** · 09/09/2021, 2:42 PM

Bazunu has that bit of a feel of a Lucky General that Napoleon Bonaparte was so fond of. He could have given up 2 or 3 goals if he did not have that lucky goalkeeping bit going for him. Mind you he hasn’t let the slip ups affect him.

I must say though that like Napoleon with Lucky Generals I like Lucky Goalkeepers and Lucky Players overall.

**Trequartista20** · 09/09/2021, 3:29 PM

I really like Bazunu, he certainly has something about him. It's a long time since I last had such a positive feeling about a young Irish goalkeeping prospect, inconsistent and occasionally slightly lacking judgment though he may be

Would you describe Kenny as a lucky general?

I wouldn't have said so at all before, but his luck certainly seems to have turned with the really rather fortuitous home draws with Azerbaijan and Serbia that have probably kept him in a job.

**seanfhear** · 09/09/2021, 3:39 PM

Originally Posted by Trequartista20

I really like Bazunu, he certainly has something about him. It's a long time since I last had such a positive feeling about a young Irish goalkeeping prospect, inconsistent and occasionally slightly lacking judgment though he may be

Would you describe Kenny as a lucky general?

I wouldn't have said so at all before, but his luck certainly seems to have turned with the really rather fortuitous home draws with Azerbaijan and Serbia that have probably kept him in a job.

Kenny must be a bit lucky that the FAI are completely on their Uppers. His position would be under much more immediate threat if they had some cash.

**Trequartista20** · 09/09/2021, 4:52 PM

How many times have we conceded the first goal under Kenny? Even against Azerbaijan, Luxembourg and Andorra this has been the case.

I'd love to see us score the first goal in the next round of games and hopefully the confidence will flow and maybe we'll really see what we're made of. Something's still holding us back.

I do agree that Kenny has, thus far, faced an incredibly placid and patient media.

Who knows what Kerr and Staunton, also billed as a progressive and transitional team-builder for the future, might have achieved were they afforded a similar luxury, rather than the brickbats and derision directed their way.

You can't help but recall Steve Staunton's tenure when considering Kenny, and I always felt Staunton was unlucky in the way that his appointed mentor, Bobby Robson, fell so seriously unwell. This isn't remembered now, and instead that great servant, 'Stan', was reduced to a figure of fun, and never quite recovered. Sad.