This won't be a popular viewpoint, but I believe that now is the time to keep faith with Gavin Bazunu and back him to make the number 1 jersey at Southampton undisputed come the end of the season.

If you want to put a youngster into the Premier League, whatever his position, then you have to make sure that he has quality and experience around him to help him progress, this is perhaps even more pertinent for a goalkeeper.

But from the very start of his Southampton career, Gavin Bazunu has had a car crash of a defence in front of him and more to the point it has been one that has never been settled or consistent in terms of those who were in it week to week.

That being the case then it should come as no surprise that Bazunu has struggled a little to show his quality.

He is not the first Saints goalkeeper to suffer this fate, when he joined Southampton in 1982 Peter Shilton was the undisputed best goalkeeper not just in England, but the whole World, yet he had a torrid time in his first months at the club, a 4-1 defeat at home to newly promoted Watford was followed by a 6-0 defeat at Spurs and that soon saw another drubbing, this time 5-0 at Liverpool.

In his first 7 League games Shilton conceded 18 goals, yet things were turned around and in the remaining 35 games of the season we would concede just 40.

Perhaps a more direct comparison though would be Tim Flowers, he was 20 when he arrived at the Dell, he too had played in the lower leagues in this case for Wolves, his debut would see him concede 5 goals at Old Trafford, his second game in for the injured Shilton saw Saints beaten 4-0, although he did not concede any of them having fractured in cheekbone on the hour mark conceding a penalty for the opener.

At the end of that season he got into the side and although his progress was slow and he shared duties with John Burridge at one point, he eventually became the undisputed number one and became a veteran of over 200 games for the club and an England goalkeeper.

Goalkeepers are all about confidence and self belief , they more than any other position in the team can be destroyed by the crowd on their back.

In his first season Gavin Bazunu was exposed a lot more than he should have been, his critics will point to the shots on target/goals against ratio, but that is a simplistic viewpoint, read back on my reviews of last season and they tell the tale of goals continually conceded from unmarked players from dead ball situations, many of these goals could not be put down to Bazunu's inability to stop a free header from 6 yards out.

When he was dropped, the situation remained the same, in total Saints conceded 73 goals a ratio of 1.92 a game, Bazunu played in 32 of those games and conceded 56 goals at a ratio of 1.75 per game , whilst Alex McCarthy played in 6 games, conceding 17 goals a ratio of 2.83 per game, things did not get better when Bazunu was replaced, in fact they got worse.

That tells you the problem was not the goalkeeper but the defence, nothing improved, we still left people unmarked and we still conceded soft goals, we just conceded more than the.

So dropping Bazunu last season was not the answer and it is not the answer this season.

I will not stand up and say Bazunu has been outstanding, but he has not been as bad as some would have you believe, yes there have been some goals that he should have stopped, but these are a small fraction of those conceded, the issue again has been poor defending, at Sunderland he could do little with 4 of the goals, he should perhaps have done better with one of them, but then again he made several crucial saves to ensure that the situation was not a lot worse.

Indeed he started to look the part, his ability to play the ball out from the back is a vital part of the game, certainly not a part of the game that Alex McCarthy excels in, against QPR he made a couple of vital saves that ensured that we won the game.

Yet at Sunderland he was exposed again by his defence and he gets the blame.

But before we demand he be dropped, we should look at the alternatives, Alex McCarthy as mentioned is not suited to our style this season, that style is not going to change as long as Russell Martin is in charge so we have to live with that and accept it.

Joe Lumley arrived on a free transfer and has now overtaken McCarthy in the pecking order, but I doubt whether there is a Saints supporter that knows much about him, let alone seen him play, a journeyman keeper whose main job has been as a solid back up, only our coaching staff know whether this is a viable option.

So in my opinion and this is my viewpoint and I appreciate it is not going to be shared by a large proportion of those who read this article, we have to accept the situation and in doing so back all of our players to succeed, not just Gavin Bazunu.

However it is Bazunu who needs that backing more than most, he needs to be judged on his displays this season and not on the last one, then he was a 19 year old behind perhaps the worst back four in living memory and more to point one without a leader or organiser in it.

So far this season little has changed in the centre of our defence, a new men came in against Sunderland and Mason Holgate endured a nightmare debut, that is done and dusted now, going forward we have to hope that Holgate shows the form he did for several seasons at Everton and that Tyler Harwood-Bellis is the talent that many think he is.

We have to back our players and not turn some of them into scapegoats, again some out there will froth at the mouth and say how dare he tell me what to think, I am not telling anyone to do anything, I am not demanding that anyone unequivocally support the team, all I am doing is offering my opinion and asking people to think a little about the overall situation.

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felly1 added 11:44 - Sep 8 In the stadium the fans do back him. The Northam end sings his name. I certainly back him when I'm down there and wish him all the best. After the game when you look back at the goals we concede, he never seems to save long shots, unless they are close to him. I appreciate most keepers won't save all long shots that Baz has faced but most half decent ones would get a strong hand or fingertips to at least some of them and this can win or save a point and make the difference between a top 2 /6 place in this league or mid table obscurity. I agree with you though that we should back him as the club are going to clearly stick with him for the time being.

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TimSaint added 12:21 - Sep 8 We all know we have 3 poor keepers. Despite both having international caps, Baz and McCarthy are not up to the required standard in the Championship. Both have awful save ratios and neither seem to be able to control their 6 yard boxes, let alone their 18 yard boxes. They are both players who now tend to stand back on their goal line (perhaps coached?) making it easier for the opponents to score, as the angles aren't narrowed and both are prone to letting in howlers and being beaten at their near posts. I appreciate the defence has not helped out their stats, but the keeper should also be barking orders out and organising the defence. Our defence is lacking a leader, so hopefully the lad from Man City or the one from Arsenal can start becoming that missing link in our defence. The Keeper situation should have been addressed in the summer, with the signing of a new number 1. Instead we got a 2nd or 3rd choice Championship keeper, who spent a lot of last season with a club that got relegated. This will end up costing us many points and league positions.

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SaintPaulVW added 12:28 - Sep 8 As a young keeper he's on a hiding to nothing in a team without a settled back 5 and with no experience of all playing together. It's clear he isn't the leader ATM so until someone steps into that role he's going to be left too exposed at times. He's still a project but we don't really have a decent back up. I agree Back! COYR
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Slacker added 13:03 - Sep 8 When the defence is settled. I.E. when the manger knows his best back four or three and who operates defensively in midfield then we might have a better idea about any keeper.
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Ifonly added 13:16 - Sep 8 "we have to hope that Holgate shows the form he did for several seasons at Everton" You must be joking. He was terrible. Everton tried him at CB and realised he would never make the grade and did the same at right back. He will probably always be a terrible defender. The reason we bought him is because he's comfortable on the ball.
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ElSanto added 13:17 - Sep 8 Agreed. Back him.
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JoeEgg added 13:32 - Sep 8 Bazunu is our goalkeeper so inevitably is always in the spotlight. Any bad mistake and its a goal against us. He doesn't have the confidence or experience to dominate key areas in front of his goal - and in all honesty he probably isn't good enough anyway. In front of him the so-called unsettled defence is composed mainly of players who look modest even by Championship standards and once again we failed to bring in experience and leadership. The last thing you need with a defence like that is the Russell Martin playing method which requires hundreds of short delicate passes with the primary aim of keeping possession and I presume, frustrating the opposition. First of all we bought a wealth of defensive talent and then followed that by signing a manager who didn't want this type of defender anyway and started to bring in his own cheaper favourites. What a disgraceful waste of money. And now we also have players like Tall Paul! Brought in to do a job for someone - and then rejected because the Martin style doesn't suit a forward like Paul anyway. Yet another total waste of money and really so unfair just to blame the player. All in all this has been a total shambles and in my opinion, since we are all offering opinions! we are left with probably the poorest playing squad that I can remember.

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highfield49 added 13:34 - Sep 8 There is absolutely zero point in any supporters giving him a hard time and eating away his confidence. How would these individuals react at work if colleagues were blatantly and consistently negative to their efforts? Let's not forget he is still a young man learning his trade, needing encouragement, not a veteran like McCarthy who is never going to progress.
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Jesus_02 added 13:40 - Sep 8 The reason we have been and will continue to ship goals is the tactics employed by the club. We are effectively playing without fullbacks and we don't press in the midfield. This means that we don't stop the first ball coming in and players waltze through the middle and have acres of time to take pot shots. The shots to goals ratio is about the time and space tha opposition get to to take shots

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saintmark1976 added 14:03 - Sep 8 Another dereliction of duty by our management. It’s not Bazunu’s fault that at the moment he is not good enough. We had all of the close season to sign a replacement and did nothing. Par for the course when you try and run a football club by using spreadsheets. Very much reminds me of the current Prime Minister, looks good on paper but nothing actually works properly anymore.

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Monksway added 14:28 - Sep 8 Good goalkeepers tend to be part of a good defence or they are desperate keepers behind a chaotic backline. Bazunu has to become part of the wider solution to our defensive frailties. No point not backing him and undermining his confidence.
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Block8 added 15:18 - Sep 8 A keeper is only as good as his trust in his defenders & most of ours are at the other end of the pitch! Corners and free kicks must be a nightmare, our zonal marking & complete lack of any defensive aerial ability leave him pretty helpless. I suggest he will improve when our defence does. Which might be a while if we continue the mindless advances upfield with no cover for the CB's.

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landsdownsaint added 15:19 - Sep 8 I’d stick Mcarthy in there just for experience coz RM hasn’t a clue about defenders or defending , I’m sure Bazunu has the potential too be a good PL keeper but RM is gonna destroy him in confidence … expecting lots of triangles tonight breaking down on the 18yrd & a blistering counter
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DellBoyWally added 16:18 - Sep 8 There are stats that measure a goalkeeper's abilities and performance based on specific circumstances of chances, i.e. they measure the chances of scoring from those specific chances thus taking into account defensive failing and frailties and increasing "difficulty" of saving. Under these metrics Bazunu was still the worst goalkeeper in the PL and is near the bottom in the the Championship. Basically he can't make saves, or make creditable attempts when he should. Example was against Sunderland where he got a full hand on a shot but it still went in the goal! The 2nd of the Sunderland player's long shots was a low-level chance in that Baz had plenty of time to see the ball but only made a half dive allowing the ball to go in the corner. Both those he should have saved, whatever the defence. Bazunu really needs taking out the fring line and properly coached. You compare to the Flowers situaltion. But did we have better coaches back then? Who is the senior gk coach now? And who comes in while Baz "learns"? We have no replacement!! Baz will become a top-class keeper, I have no doubt, but whilst we have the existing gk situation and poor coaches we have no alternative than to keep Baz in the side, possibly further eroding his confidence and self-belief. Just another example of SR's short-sighted (blind??) handling of the club and, particularly, the first team

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kingolaf added 16:18 - Sep 8 Our defence improving is not going to make him any better at shot-stopping. He is garbage. But the point of fans backing him while he is on the pitch is a good one.
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WestSussexSaint added 19:08 - Sep 8 In some respects there is no decision for RM to make - as others have mentioned our GKs are all generally flawed, so you have to look at the potential for change and improvement. From that perspective Bazunu has the potential to improve and given time I expect he will, which I don’t have the same belief in the others. Is Bazunu going to be a world beater- unlikely. But this season if he can show progression and get some consistency with the defensive players in front of him it will hopefully be enough to enable our potent strike force’s efforts not go to waste.

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cotswoldsaint added 21:38 - Sep 8 Anyone here seen the film called 'ARGO'? There's a memorable line on it: "Yes, well I'm afraid this is the best worst option we can come up with" What a mess.
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barry_sanchez added 06:08 - Sep 9 Why does the defence and the goalkeeper have to be exclusive in their lack of talent? Both can be equally below the standard at the same time and in this instance its the case.
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Saintly_Mix added 08:33 - Sep 9 I know there are some very good young goal keepers playing in top flights around the world, but last season I think we all knew it was likely to prove a huge mistake playing a 19 year old keeper in the Premier League. Coupled with a defence that has picked up where it left off, he will continue to struggle. Obviously he’ll have to improve, but looking at the alternatives, he’s our number one, so I’m backing him.

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AmericanSaint added 16:31 - Sep 9 Sorry but all the flack Baz gets for not saving every shot is ridiculous. Of all the goals conceded this season, he is realistically responsible for 4. All the other are due to our midfielders giving the ball away in horrible positions or our very poor defenders not doing simple things. 4 of the goals scored come from corner kicks with NOBODY marking the goal scorer, yet he gets blamed. He has made 4-5 saves in all our wins which would have resulted them to be ties. Sure, he can and should do better on some of the long shots, but not every shot can be saved. Unless you played as a goal keeper (I did for more than 20+ years, playing with/against former professionals), please dont think it is as easy as some of you are making it out.

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underweststand added 16:50 - Sep 11 Those contributors (above) who seem to think we have neglected to buy " a good keeper " ought to realise that no club is going to sell " a good keeper " even those who do concede goals, and it is the one position that take years of hard work to achieve -and no-one will attain perfection. Speaking of Leicester, few will forget that Angus Gunn was our keeper on that record-breaking debacle and at least on the night he wasn't anywhere good enough. Fast forward a few years and the same keeper is now first choice at Norwich and playing for Scotland. Joe Hart was one of the few "good young keepers" in the Prem. and went on to play for England - since when his career has gone slowly downhill, whilst others mature into better players-given time . It's easy to blame a keeper for obvious mistakes, but few will go out and criticise a striker who misses his chances in a game with a bad result.

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aceofthebase added 13:40 - Sep 14 We hounded out Forster, we hounded out Gunn, McCarthy is on the verge of being hounded out, and now Bazuno has to face the wrath of armchair know alls. Give him some support, he is not a bad goalie and even the likes of Shilton and Banks let in goals.
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