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Gazzaniga Signs New Deal ! All We Are Saying Is Give Him A Chance
Friday, 11th Sep 2015 18:31

Paulo Gazzaniga has put pen to paper on a new four year contract that will take him through to the summer of 2019 at St Mary's if he sees it through.

Some people have always had it in for Paulo Gazzaniga and will not be pleased that the 23 year old keeper has signed a new deal, but they would be very short sighted.

In fairness to Gazzaniga a couple of errors early in his career have blotted his copybook with some and they have not been able to forgive him, although there are many mitigating circumstances as to why he should be cut some slack.

Firstly there is the fact that when he was signed in the summer of 2012 he was very much brought in with the intention of nurturing him slowly and bringing him on, however the performances of Kelvin Davis in the first four games of the Premier League season of 2012/13 meant that Gazza was thrown in at the deep end and this has been a pattern that has followed throughout his time at Saints, he always seems to get called on in times of crisis, never when he can have an easy ride.

His Premier League debut was against Aston Villa when with the Saints defence in tatters and Kelvin making errors, he was thrown in a 20 year old rookie behind the leakiest defence in the league and with only 20 League games to his name, In that game he made several vital saves as Saints won 4-1.

He had a break whilst Artur Boruc had his ill fated two game spell and then came in again and played a good part in some vital points gained, not least a relegation six pointer at QPR won 3-1, but some supporters could not cut him some slack for the job he was doing and how raw he was, they slaughtered his every mistake, just as they had done with Boruc in those first two games, the Pole was experienced enough to play through it, Gazza was 20 years old and his confidence was shot.

In 2013/14 he came back in again after Boruc was injured, but it was another baptism of fire, but the fans remember only the odd error of lack of confidence and not some solid displays he put in as Saints drew with Man City at home and beat Cardiff away, ironically he was back for the Cardiff home game and the 1-0 defeat does not show what a fine game he had that day.

But some will only remember the bad times, last season he played only twice, yes he had a bad kick out, but he didnt deserve to be slaughtered for that given that far more experienced defenders that day were more culpable but did not get slated by the fans.

Against Villa at home he looked more confident and his display that day suggests that if the crowd get off his back then he cold turn into a decent keeper, he has the height and command of the box, he has good reflexes, all he needs is experience and confidence and that cant be gained when a sizable minority are ironically cheering every time he catches a cross, what that achieves in supporting a football team i will never know.

What Gazza needs now is a spell on loan at a Championship club, a chance to shine without supporters still holding a grudge about an error in 2012, f he gets that thn he could come back to St Mary's a different player, one with confidence and ready to challenge for a first team spot.

He is still young for a goalkeeper and has the chance to get his career back on track, Saints fans should remember that Kelvin Davis was slammed by the supporters in his first two seasons at the club, back then he even made obscene gestures at the crowd who were on his back, they gave him the chance to show his worth and he went on to play a vital part in our climb up the leagues.

Likewise Artur Boruc, if some had their way he would never have played another game for the club after his first two.

In the past few years a worrying trait has set in to football, not just at St Mary's and that is to have a scapegoat, Gazza can console himself that the same people who screamed at him in his games so far also spent long periods last season screaming blue murder at Graziano Pelle, Shane Long, Sadio Mane & Dusan Tadic, yet all played major parts in our season and didn't deserve that stick, ironic now that some of those same people will claim that Sadio Mane is the best striker in the Premier and that Man United stay away.

In conclusion Im not asking anyone to like Paulo Gazzaniga, all im asking is that Saints fans give him a chance, his only crime has been to be the only man available in a crisis when far more experienced players have let us down, let him develop without prejudice, personally I want a great keeper on our hands not a gibbering wreck, a great keeper will help this club march on, a gibbering wreck will not help us at all and only convince the likes of Ronald Koeman and other star names that this is not a club whose supporters back their team through thick and thin, but one that always has a scapegoat, ask Matt Targett !!!


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codge added 19:07 - Sep 11
Well said Nick, l remember as a young lad playing in goal and being on a run, then one mistake and all the good work went for naught, the problem being as a goalie you always remember the mistakes not the great saves that made the difference. So get behind Gaza and l believe he will turn out to be a very good goalkeeper.
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ChristchurchSaint added 21:08 - Sep 11
Totally agree Nick, Gazza has the potential to succeed, but needs regular games on loan to get his confidence. If they think he is worth a new contract, then let's back him and hope he repays the trust shown in him.
1

saintsnutcase added 21:27 - Sep 11
Well said Nick. Gazza must be much better than we think. Give him a chance.
1

Hugh_Jarce added 21:38 - Sep 11
You don't offer 4 year deals to muppets. Totally agree with all the above
1

SaintBrock added 07:33 - Sep 12
Makes sense. Kelvin surely will retire at the end of this season. Gaz will be our only back-up to Fraser next season unless Stekelenburg stays beyond his one year deal.
0

A1079 added 10:23 - Sep 12
He is getting better and pleased that he has been offered and he has accepted another contract. Goalkeepers generally get better with age.
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dinnerdog added 13:40 - Sep 12
Really don't agree with the premise of this article. I've heard people say for the last few years that Gazzaniga is still young, was bought for his potential, and will improve. The fact is, he's 23 now, more or less the same age as De Gea, Courtois, Ter Stegen, Bernd Leno, Mat Ryan and Szczesny. The position of GK is essentially no different from any outfield role - a player's ability can be ascertained at a young age, and while the aforementioned keepers have been proven for club and country, Gazzaniga looks like a horrible liability every time he plays. Don't believe me? Here's some stats. Last season, he had the 5th worst save/goals ratio from any keeper to have played at least one game in the league (out of 45 in total). The year before? The worst save/goals ratio in the league. So yeah, maybe he is getting better.
-1

darthvader added 22:48 - Sep 12
Personally I'm glad he has signed ,, I like him and will continue to learn .
0

birminghamsaint added 08:46 - Sep 13
After his poor kick out at Leicester last year, which lead to the 2nd goal, I fully expected him to go to pieces. Instead it did not faze him at all and he seems to have found a bit of mental toughness now. Lets hope he continues to improve.
0

SaintBrock added 10:32 - Sep 13
The statistics that dinnerdog quotes worry me as well especially as the lad we just signed is only 17. I don't buy the line that goalkeepers mature later either if Gazz was the real deal then he would have made it by now and no amount of wishful thinking will change that fact. OK so not everyone is a budding de Gea but the gulf in class is there for all to see.

Maybe Dave Watson sees more in him than meets our eye but with Dave that usually means "with England in mind" and Gazz most definitely isn't English.
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SonicBoom added 09:58 - Sep 14
I'm not convinced. Obviously givinh gim stick is wrong but so far he is just one of those keepers that doesn't command confidence in the crowd or the players. Even when he was playing OK, he looked shaky and like he had a big mistake in him.
The only way to turn a crowd is to play well and show you are up to it. Other players and keepers have done that so it's entirely possible.
I just wonder at this stage if he is one of those that looks good in training but simply cannot translate that into performances for the first team. By all means support him, but if he's to change people's opinion then he needs to do that on the pitch. You can't blame the crowd forever.
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