There is no hiding place for a weak goalkeeper in the EFL Championship. Southampton have two of them. In a moment of gross negligence, Sport Republic let their best goalkeeper (Aaron Ramsdale) go out on loan for a season and didn't even think to replace him.
Now Saints find themselves selecting between Gavin Bazunu and Alex McCarthy for the number one spot. Tonda Eckert, it appears, prefers Bazunu. Will Still had veered towards McCarthy before he was sacked.
Most Saints fans would have said the same thing about Gavin Bazunu before a ball was even kicked in pre-season. He's a liability that Southampton cannot afford to have in the side. He makes calamitous errors that invariably result in a goal being conceded.
The problem with Bazunu is plain for all to see
It's not even that Bazunu is a wholly bad goalkeeper. He's very good with his feet and his distribution is better than most in his position. He has lightning quick reflexes and is agile enough to make saves that only the very best can make.
However, (it's a big however) Bazunu's howler to game ratio is ridiculously high. The evidence from the last two games should be enough to convince most fans.
At Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday evening the Republic of Ireland goalkeeper had what can only be described as a rush of blood for Rangers' first goal.
Whether his starting position was poor, or whether he misjudged the flight of the ball, is not particularly clear. What is clear though is that what looked like a hopeful ball over the top ended up becoming a simple assist for Rumarn Burrell when he nicked it past Bazunu and rolled the ball into the empty net.
Then, after making a good save from Sam Field's powerful header, Bazunu gifted QPR a corner when he held on to the ball for more than six seconds as he tried to run down the clock.
It would be harsh to describe Bazunu's performance against Sheffield Wednesday as poor. He made some truly outstanding saves in the match.
The one that got past him though, he could perhaps have done better with. At first glance, Harry Amass' shot looked a little tame. On reflection, and with the benefit of a replay, it was clear that the shot was deflected and that the ball bounced awkwardly in front of the Saints stopper.
When Bazunu was loaned out to Standard Liege last season he didn't particularly cover himself in glory and ended up coming back injured. Prior to that, he had lost his place to Aaron Ramsdale and few would have expected to see him back between the posts at St Mary's.
Alex McCarthy has been a solid player for the club but his better days are sadly behind him now. If he is not content to be second or even third choice, he should perhaps begin to look elsewhere.
It's obvious what needs to happen next
It is painfully obvious now that Saints need to find and recruit a keeper who can play consistently well at this level.
There is no point in dominating games and getting leads only to throw away points through poor goalkeeping.
It is time for Southampton's scouting network to find a capable goalkeeper. If they had been aware enough, they might even have found somebody before the summer transfer window had closed.