I know what you're thinking, Alex Bass, we've barely got to see him anyway and he couldn't even get a game for Portsmouth in League One, surely we should improve that area of the squad, sound about right? Here's why I think you might be wrong. Whilst it's true we signed Alex from Portsmouth for a relatively modest fee (£135K makeweight from the Denver Hume transfer, officially undisclosed) and he was not being selected by Pompey manager Danny Cowley at the time, there are indictors that Alex Bass was previously a highly regarded Goalkeeping prospect. The 6ft 3in stopper is currently 25 which places him as one of the more experienced heads in the squad, this does not exactly make him the finished article though as Goalkeepers usually peak later than outfield players and are often seen playing at the top deep into their 30's. Alex's first taste of senior football came on the opening day of the 2014/15 season as he sat on the bench as a 16-year old to see Pompey beat Cambridge 2-1, interestingly Sunderland drew our opening day fixture 2-2 away at West Brom that day also, goals from Cattermole and Seb Larsson. This should put into perspective the length of time this relatively young keeper has been around the game. Keepers that young do not get the nod unless they're showing specific attributes. He had to wait until the aborted 2019/20 season however before being given a chance to regularly start games, starting and performing well in his 25 outings until the season was cut short due to the pandemic. Portsmouth finishing 5th that season, 3 places above Sunderland. Bass played in both legs of Pompey's playoff semi-final defeat via penalty shootout. Alex's impressive performances in the run-in saw him linked with a 'multi million pound' transfer to the likes of Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough, young English keepers playing well being an increasingly rare commodity in football. There were even some tenuous hints that he might be called up to the England u21 squad for their upcoming qualifiers. Source: https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/...-raid-for-portsmouth-keeper-alex-bass-2910143 Source: https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/...sbrough-in-race-for-portsmouth-keeper-2928489 The following season (2020/21) was all set to be a big one for Bass until a pre-season injury meant the previously usurped Craig MacGillivray (who was considered one of the better League One keepers at that time anyway) started on the opening day and was able to keep the shirt for the full season. Alex now being regarded as Pompey's future number one was seen as a bit too good for the bench so they sought to loan him out to Southend, however an injury on his debut made the season a write-off. New season, new manager. The 2021/22 season started well with a solid performance from Bass and a 1-0 win on the opening day, however manager Danny Cowley brought in hot prospect Gavin Buzunu in on loan from Manchester City (he is the current Southampton and Ireland number 1) and the rest is history. A demoralised Alex Bass finished the season up on loan with Bradford who were in free fall and he didn't really impress like expected. A transfer to Sunderland last summer was a fresh start he needed and although minutes on the pitch were difficult to come by, I remain convinced that if and when Alex Bass gets the chance to show his quality he will be considered more than good enough to provide competition and cover to Anthony Patterson.
Thanks for the info, I was just saying the other day that I did not know much about him which made me nervous that we maybe did not have enough cover but this gives me a bit more confidence than I previously had
Don’t really disagree but he’s at an age where he definitely needs regular games. Wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him leave permanently or go on loan.
I can't believe, after writing off Hume, Clarke, Amad, Roberts, Patterson, Gooch, Ekwah, etc etc etc, I'm surprised people are writing off Bass without actually having seen him play ... ... if the club like him then I like him until proved otherwise.
I think he'll stick around. There's a realistic chance we could receive a big offer for Patto in the next 12 months and I imagine he'd want the chance to plead his case for the number one shirt.
Never seen the kid play so no opinion at all. Mad that some have given him grief when we have nee idea if he’s any good.
This is my thought as well. Keep seeing lots of people saying we need a better/more experienced keeper to push Patterson but not sure what they base that on. However, the club see him every day in training and if they didn't think he was up to it then they have had plenty of time to replace him. So, imo, there are more important positions to improve before reserve goalkeeper.
