Ben Foster (soccer player)

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Ben Foster
Ben Foster Manchester United v West Bromwich Albion 2017.jpg
Ben Foster (2017)
Personnel
Surname Benjamin Anthony Foster
birthday April 3, 1983
place of birth Leamington Spa ,  England
size 193 cm
position goalkeeper
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
2000-2001 Racing Club Warwick 18 (0)
2001-2005 Stoke City 0 (0)
2002 →  Bristol City  (loan) 0 (0)
2002-2003 →  Tiverton Town  (loan) 16 (0)
2004 →  Stafford Rangers  (loan) 1 (0)
2004 →  Kidderminster Harriers  (loan) 2 (0)
2005 →  AFC Wrexham  (loan) 17 (0)
2005-2010 Manchester United 12 (0)
2005-2006 →  Watford FC  (loan) 44 (0)
2006-2007 → Watford FC (loan) 29 (0)
2010–2012 Birmingham City 38 (0)
2011–2012 →  West Bromwich Albion  (loan) 37 (0)
2012-2018 West Bromwich Albion 172 (0)
2018– Watford FC 60 (0)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
2007-2014 England 8 (0)
1 Only league games are given.
As of January 14, 2020

Benjamin Anthony "Ben" Foster (born April 3, 1983 in Leamington Spa ) is an English football goalkeeper . He was only a substitute goalkeeper for a long time at Stoke City and Manchester United until the age of 27, before he was promoted to "number 1" in Birmingham, first with the "Blues" of Birmingham City and later at West Bromwich Albion . Regardless of the reserve role, he has sporadically played international matches for the English senior team since 2007 and in the course of his club career he won the league cup three times in a row - in 2009 and 2011 as a member of the final team and sitting on the bench in the final in 2010.

Club career

Beginning of professional career (2000–05)

Foster was in 2000 for the first time for a senior team between the posts and came in his native Warwickshire for the Racing Club Warwick, which was then playing in the Southern League . Due to the performances he showed there, he recommended himself for the not far away professional club Stoke City , which finally hired him shortly after his 18th birthday on April 25, 2001. The sporting breakthrough in the first team did not succeed there; instead he was loaned to five lower class clubs until 2005. This included a one-month stay at the third division Bristol City before the end of 2002. However, he was only used directly after the seventh division Tiverton Town , before a cruciate ligament rupture, which he had suffered while playing tennis with his brother in June 2003, for half a month Year incapacitated.

In 2004 he went briefly to the Stafford Rangers and later to the Kidderminster Harriers , before he achieved his first notable successes at the last loan club during his contract time in Stoke-on-Trent from January 2005 at AFC Wrexham . In Football League One , by the end of the current 2004/05 season, he not only played 17 league games, but also won the LDV Vans Trophy and was named the best player of the match in the 2-0 final win against Southend United (“Man of the match "). At the same time he noticed Alex Ferguson sitting in the audience , who was less in his role as coach of Manchester United , but wanted to see the performance of his son Darren in the ranks of the Wrexham AFC. With his style of play and the loud commands, Foster was reminiscent of ex-United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel , whom Foster had always regarded as a role model during his childhood in the 1990s.

Watford FC (2005-07)

Somewhat surprisingly, Foster finally moved in July 2005 for a million pounds to the "Red Devils" from Manchester, although he had never played in the professional team at his home club Stoke City in the entire four years before. At his new club he played two games for the reserve team in the summer and in August the club's management decided to loan Foster to the second-rate Football League Championship at Watford FC for the entire 2005/06 season . Under the coach Aidy Boothroyd , who was active there at the time , the newcomer quickly matured into a top performer and played 44 league games that ultimately led to promotion to the Premier League - in the decisive play-off final he won 3-0 with the "Hornets" against Leeds United .

In the meantime Foster had been promoted to the extended circle of the English national team, but since Edwin van der Sar was still the undisputed regular goalkeeper at United , a second "practical year" followed at Watford, which was also made possible because Ferguson took the service of the Polish national goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak had secured. Although Watford FC had to return to the second division after just one year, Foster's performance remained at a consistently high level and brought him in the end the award for Watford's best player of the 2006/07 season. Hopes for continued employment in the south of England had meanwhile been dashed, as United coach Ferguson had already announced Foster's return to Manchester in January 2007.

Manchester United (2007-10)

Shortly after his arrival, Foster underwent cruciate ligament surgery in June 2007. The necessary rehabilitation phase lasted until spring 2008 and on March 6, 2008 he celebrated his comeback in the reserve team against Middlesbrough FC. Nine days later, after the injury to van der Sar and the red card for Tomasz Kuszczak on the previous Saturday, he made his first game for Manchester United in the Premier League in a 1-0 away win against Derby County - despite the good performance it stayed this only professional assignment in the season.

On November 5, 2008 Foster played in the Champions League his second mandatory encounter for the first team of United and came against Celtic Glasgow to a 1-1 draw. A planned participation in the Club World Cup 2008 shortly thereafter failed because Foster broke his finger the day before departure and he was replaced by Ben Amos . From then on, Ferguson relied primarily on Foster in the league cup , who was then also in the starting line-up for the final against Tottenham Hotspur on March 1, 2009 . After a goalless 120 minutes, he saved a penalty from Jamie O'Hara . David Bentley also missed for the "Spurs" and United won the trophy and Foster the award for best player. It later became known that Foster had accessed information about the opposing shooters via an iPod during the penalty shoot-out , which briefly sparked a discussion about the admissibility of such technical aids in football. For the rest of the season's games, Foster should be promoted to "number 2", but through an operation after a torn ligament on his right thumb, he missed both the title race for the English championship and the way to the final of the Champions League against FC Barcelona . Despite this mishap and additional speculation about the signing of a high-profile goalkeeper successor for van der Sar, Foster signed a new four-year contract with United in July 2009.

Foster represented van der Sar, who had been injured until October 2009, in the Community Shield defeat against FA Cup winners Chelsea , made mistakes that led to two goals conceded and had no chance on penalties. During the following meetings in the Premier League, Foster also showed some weaknesses and slipped in the ranking behind Tomasz Kuszczak in the next phase of injury from van der Sar. It was not until February 23, 2010 that he was able to draw attention to himself again with a "clean slate" in the 3-0 win against West Ham United .

Foster kicking off in October 2010

Birmingham City (2010-11)

At the beginning of the 2010/11 season, Ben Foster moved from Manchester United to league rivals Birmingham City for four million British pounds - plus another performance-related two million pounds . He signed a three-year contract with the "Blues". Furthermore, Ben Foster showed a rock solid performance despite the relegation of Birmingham City after the 2010/11 season from England's elite division and was associated with various clubs from the Premier League. Finally, West Bromwich Albion was able to prevail in the negotiations and loaned the keeper for the 2011/12 season.

West Bromwich Albion (since 2011)

The loan deal included a club purchase option for the English goalkeeper. In the 2011/12 season, Foster replaced Boaz Myhill , who was loaned out to Birmingham in exchange, and with 37 league appearances (ten without conceding a goal), he helped the club to a surprisingly good tenth place in the Premier League - the best club placement since 1981 . With this recommendation, "WBA" used the option and Foster signed a three-year contract at the end of June 2012 plus another club-owned option for two additional years. From then on, Foster confirmed his status as the goalkeeper of West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League and in the 2012/13 season the club improved again to eighth place . Apart from an intermittent injury break shortly after the start of the 2013/14 season until mid-December 2013 as a result of a fatigue fracture in his foot, he was now an established member of the team. Meanwhile back in the focus of the English national team, he showed some achievements that found great recognition in the professional world, including his rescue acts on February 2, 2014 at 1: 1 against the title contender Liverpool FC and especially his behavior in so-called one-offs. one-on-one situations with top scorer Luis Suárez or Daniel Sturridge .

English national team

After Robert Green was injured , Foster was on a “stand-by list” for the upcoming World Cup in Germany at the end of May 2006 , so he was in the extended squad of the English national team . Shortly after the tournament, he received his first official nomination for a friendly against Greece under the new coach Steve McClaren . On February 7, 2007 Foster made his first A international match in the shirt of the "Three Lions" and was in the 0-1 home defeat against Spain for the first time - although under contract with Manchester United - in the Old Trafford stadium . It was only more than two years later that McClaren's successor, Fabio Capello, rewarded Foster with an international match after his good performance in the league cup final when he came on as a substitute for the second half during the 4-0 win against Slovakia .

After inconsistent performances at Manchester United at the beginning of the 2009/10 season and a rib bruise, Foster was initially no longer part of the squad in the last two World Cup qualifiers, but then returned after Robert Green's red card against Ukraine . When David James injured himself warming up before the game against Belarus , Foster unexpectedly made his third international match and stayed clean in the 3-0 win.

At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa , he was not considered, mainly because Joe Hart had won the race for the position of third goalkeeper. In May 2011, he announced his retirement from the English national team and justified the move by saying that he needed the breaks between club games to heal minor injuries and did not want to interrupt them with international appointments. In February 2013 he changed his mind and was called up again for upcoming tasks against San Marino and Montenegro. On May 29, 2013, he completed his sixth international match against Ireland .

Title / Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "Dr Martens Southern League Season 2002/03" ( Memento from January 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (Tiverton Town FC)
  2. ^ "Gloves are on as Ben Foster's battle against injury gathers speed" (TimesOnline)
  3. ↑ "Ben Foster is aiming to become the Manchester United and England No.1" (Mirror.co.uk)
  4. ↑ "United finalize Foster move" (SkySports)
  5. ^ "Fergie confirms Foster return" (Sky Sports)
  6. ↑ "Knee surgery for Man Utd's Foster" (BBC Sport)
  7. ↑ "Foster set for Reds comeback" (ManUtd.com)
  8. ↑ "Foster's bow impresses Boss" (ManUtd.com)
  9. ↑ "Celtic 1-1 Man Utd" (BBC Sport)
  10. ↑ "Man Utd 0-0 Tottenham (aet)" (BBC Sport)
  11. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who . Mainstream Publishing, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0 , pp. 152 .
  12. ^ "Foster in the clear after using iPod" (Reuters)
  13. ↑ "Injury blow for Foster" (ManUtd.com)
  14. ^ "Foster pens new Reds deal" ( Memento from September 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (ManUtd.com)
  15. ↑ "Chelsea 2-2 Man Utd" (BBC Sport)
  16. ^ "Foster's testing future" (BBC Sport)
  17. ↑ "Man Utd 3-0 West Ham" (BBC Sport)
  18. ↑ Birmingham sign Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster (BBC Sport)
  19. ↑ Birmingham complete signing of Ben Foster from Manchester United (Telegraph.co.uk)
  20. ^ "Ben Foster signs for West Brom from Birmingham City" (BBC Sport)
  21. ^ "West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Ben Foster shows England credentials in 1-1 draw with Liverpool" (The Telegraph)
  22. ^ "Carson promoted to England squad" (BBC Sport)
  23. ^ "Ashton receives England call-up" (BBC Sport)
  24. ↑ "England 0-1 Spain" (BBC Sport)
  25. ^ "England 3-0 Belarus" (BBC Sport)
  26. ↑ "Ben Foster: Goalkeeper available for England again" (BBC Sport)
personal data
SURNAME Foster, Ben
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Foster, Benjamin Anthony (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English football goalkeeper
DATE OF BIRTH April 3, 1983
PLACE OF BIRTH Leamington Spa , England