Both of themOriginally Posted by pineapple stu
I was only counting the one who played for us at senior, but still, fair point!
McCarthy's first real act was to take a risky touch on his own goal line and duly slip, necessitating a slide tackle recovery to send the ball out for a corner I think. Not much else to do, Bournemouth's shooting was awful. The goal was the type of goal we've seen Bazunu concede a few of this season, a well-placed low but not particularly firm shot just inside the post.
Last edited by Stuttgart88; 28/04/2023 at 10:30 AM.
The best outcome for Bazunu now is that he is first choice in the Championship next year and looks the part. I don't think we've any reason to think he couldn't do that, but it's a crap time to lose his place. Let's hope McCarthy fumbles his opportunity.
Rice, Grealish, and who? Bamford?
my mind went to Kane... never with us but Galway father.
Michael Keane??
He has played underage for Ireland, so it probably is him alright.
He undoubtedly has done so, as Southampton have lost all their matches since Bazunu was benched, their defence doesn't look one iota improved, and their relegation was officially confirmed today.
I'm not sure you can blame either goalkeeper for this season. The team was absolutely awful, and the defence was one of the worst I've ever seen in many years of watching football.
Kelleher seems to be linked with a few Premier League teams, but I don't get why he's rated higher than Bazunu. I'd like to see them both play a full season next year, regardless of which division.
Bazunu will surely be back starting next season cause. If they're planning on starting McCarthy they might as well sell Bazunu to get their money back and reinvest the money into the team.
Not sure they would get their money back at this stage. Probably better off keeping him as a backup and hoping he comes good. I think he could do well in the Championship but they may not trust him now.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
The intelligent thing to do for Southampton is to have Bazunu as the starter next season and build up his value again. I don’t think any reasonable person would blame him for the relegation although I don’t think Bazunu was innocent. He’s an incredibly young goalkeeper by Premier League standards and this was a tough situation for any keeper, let alone one his age.
He's considerably devalued. Anything less than a stellar Championship campaign will terminate thoughts of an EPL career for the foreseeable future. While this year's disappointment leaves the door ajar (he's young, gained experience etc) nothing will save him from a floppy Championship experience.
On the simple coefficient of average goals conceded, Bazunu ranked 17th of the 20 EPL regular keepers. For a more detailed analysis of all the keepers who appeared in the EPL this season, see https://fbref.com/en/comps/9/keepers...r-League-Stats. it's not too implausible to think that all 5 candidates for the Ireland keeper's jersey will be playing in the Championship next season. That would settle a few arguments....wouldn't it?
Some of the other stats there are telling too. He's faced a lot fewer shots than others (Raya and Leno at Fulham and Brentford have faced half as many shots again, for example, yet conceded ten fewer). His save rate of 54% is comfortably the lowest of anyone with more than 15 games - 54%, compared to 59% for Meslier, the next lowest, and about 70% for the division average.
Of course, the defence plays a role in what sort of shots are faced, but that's where xG is supposed to come in (or technically, PSxG, which is supposed to look just at the keeper) and he's been consistently the lowest in the division there too. This link from the same site has advanced stats including PSxG and suggests he's conceded about 16/17 goals more than expected. It's a lot.
You can see how important Alisson and Leno were to Liverpool and Fulham's seasons (conceding about 9 goals less than expected), how Bournemouth were justified in getting Neto in to replace Travers, why Spurs are maybe looking to replace Lloris, and how McCarthy hasn't exactly staked a claim for the Southampton jersey either. Southampton could look to sign a new keeper in the summer? If nothing else, McCarthy is on a big wage and if they can move him on it may help the squad elsewhere.
Anyways, time is on Bazunu's side, but definitely a tough season. Next step is to get his spot in the team back of course. Mightn't be a gimme, and I've noted the similarities with Angus Gunn before, who had to move on to Norwich before finally establishing himself.
Spurs linked with a £15m move for Bazunu
That'd be quite the move. I suspect it's paper talk - expensive player in relegated team linked with big club who are expected to sign a player in that position is a handy story, and most transfer gossip is speculation at best - but it'd be interesting to be wrong!
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