It is hard to believe that Paulo Gazzaniga is still so young, given that he has now completed four seasons at St Mary's

Paulo Gazzaniga is one of those players at St Mary's that a certain section of the crowd have taken against and will not give him credit whatever he does.

He joined the club in the summer of 2012 at the age of 20 and with only 20 league appearances for his former club Gillingham to his name.

The idea was that he would be nurtured along and in the first instance would be third choice , but the poor form of Kelvin Davis in that first season back in the Premier League and Saints failure to sign a true first choice meant that he was thrown to the lions behind a defence that had let in 15 goals in it's first four games.

Initially he did a fine job and helped the team win some vital points, but he was never going to be the long term answer given the appalling defending going on in front of him. Luckily Artur Boruc eventually got fit and found some form to take him out of the firing line.

Since that first season he has played sporadically, but has been unlucky that when he has been called on it has usually been in difficult circumstances ie Manchester City away and indeed this season when we were in our worst period of form, but for every City game there has been games that he has looked the part, if only some would give him that chance.

Since the arrival of Ronald Koeman he has been taken out of the firing line to rebuild his confidence, last season he played just two games and this season the same amount.

But in those games he showed that he has something about him and certainly the club feel that given that they have signed him to a new long term deal.

His two games this season back in December saw him finally win some fans over, he had a great game away at Palace and although we lost 1-0, he was not at fault and pulled off several vital stops to keep the score down.

A week later and it was Spurs at home, again another defeat, but again a solid performance from Paulo.

So where does he go from here ?

Well at 24 he is still young in goalkeeping terms, Fraser Forster did not make his league debut till he was 20 and did not play above league one level till he was 22, then it was four years at Celtic, hardly the greatest standard week in week out, finally making his Premier League bow at the ripe old age of 26.

That shows that a goalkeeper has to serve his time unlike an outfield player, he needs to gain experience and get his confidence up, that is why with a few notable exceptions that there are few top flight keepers who break through at an early age to become regulars, even Jack Butland spent several years on loan at various clubs before truly becoming first choice at Stoke this season at the age of 23.

So with Fraser Forster first choice next year and seemingly Maarten Stekelenburg here next season as his understudy, it is time for Gazza to go out on loan perhaps to a Championship club to gain that experience that the likes of Butland and Forster needed before they could truly be thrown in at the deep end.

Gazzaniga needs to get his confidence up and he needs to do that away fro St Mary's where the fans of the club he goes to look at him with an open mind.

If he does that and does it well, he will have the experience to take on the Premier League and to weather the storm from some sections of the Saints support and win them over.

At the moment with only 41 League games to his name, he does not have that experience, perhaps he will not turn out to be Premier class, but he needs to be given the chance to find out under the right circumstances, not being thrown into the deep end in games when far better and experienced players than him in the team are being found wanting.

Overall 7/10 for having two solid games and showing that he has the bottle to step into the firing line when asked.

Photo: Action Images

SonicBoom added 10:50 - May 19 He seems like a good lad and a decent keeper however I can't agree on your assertions that somehow his lack of form or confidence is down to lack of support from the fans. Goalkeepers are usually the nutters of the team and have more self confidence than any player. Nothing is ever their fault and they blame the defenders even if the ball slips through their hands and trickles over the line. Paula seems to lack this natural confidence. he just comes across as a little fragile and in the cut-throat world of the PL that makes him vulnerable. If the crowd did transmit their anxiety about him then that's down to his performances. You can't keep dropping him for a year just to get his confidence back. He seems very happy out the limelght and playing for the U21's. Big year for him. He needs to do something somewhere to convince people that he has the mentality to succeed. No one wants him to succeed more than the saints fans but as you say , he seems no nearer getting a start now than he did 4 years ago.

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SaintNick added 11:18 - May 19 When he has played a large section of our support has not been behind him, Im not saying that is totally down to making him lack confidence but it doesnt help. Some keepers are more assertive and have more self confidence than others, even Peter Shilton had issues in this area after blundering in 1974 to let Poland score, he had five years League experience then, yet it still took him 3 years and his move to Forest to truly get back to where he had been. I don't think he is happy playing for the U21's but the next natural move for him would be a loan to a Championship club

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Consigliere added 12:02 - May 19 I agree he needs to feel the love so it's up to us to give it to him. I recall one particular game (City?) where his performance visibly lifted after the crowd started to sing "Super Gaz". Give the guy a break, his devotion to the cause is obvious
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