Blog: Big Ben strikes no.1
After Ben Foster's new four-year contract, Caroline
Hunt says it's time to step up for United's England
shot-stopper...
Ben Foster has had to bide his time since
joining from Stoke City four years ago. Plucked from relative
obscurity, Ben soon made inroads into the England team and fast
became the new long-term hope for club, and indeed country.
Impressive loans spells coupled with a few stints on
the sidelines through injury followed, while there have been only
fleeting, yet highly promising, moments in a United shirt.
Things could, though, soon be looking up for United’s young English
stopper, after the Reds’ current incumbent of the no.1 jersey at OT
announced that the coming season will be his last. In different
circumstances, of course, that might have been cause for glum
faces. After all Edwin van der Sar has been the first man to stand
comparison to Peter Schmeichel despite a raft of attempts by the
likes of Fabien Barthez and Tim Howard.
Foster's new contract, and Sir
Alex's comments that he is a "genuine successor" to Edwin are
promising to say the least for Ben, who's still young in
goalkeeping terms at 26.
On the rare occasions United’s seemingly no.1-in-waiting has got
the nod from the gaffer, he’s looked every bit the real deal,
making van der Sar’s exit a less traumatic prospect.
Stepping in and stepping up from time to time is one thing, though.
Doing it week in, week out, against the finest strikers in the
land, not to mention Europe’s most fearsome marksmen, is a stiffer
challenge. And until Edwin has said his final farewells, a
sustained spell in the side seems unlikely for his challengers (it
shouldn’t be forgotten that Tomasz Kuszczak is also still in
the running). But the prospect of the Reds’ no.1 jersey coming
up for grabs in August 2010 should be enough to keep Foster focused
for the new season even if he is set, once again, to play second
fiddle.
A sustained run in this season’s domestic cup competitions,
following on from last term's Carling Cup triumph, would clearly be
high on Foster’s wishlist. In the Reds’ victorious 2008/09 effort,
he was the keeper of choice at the business end of the competition,
and waltzed off as Man of the Match after United’s spot-kick win
over Tottenham. That still wasn’t enough to dislodge the immovable
Edwin, but it was encouraging to see Foster stand tall on the big
stage.
There’s no reason to think that Sir Alex will refrain from using
Ben more often this season as a potential transition begins. And
having made the most of his fleeting opportunities so far in the
red (well, yellow, green, blue, and soon-to-be white) shirt, now is
the time Foster to not only continue that, but really step up to
the plate. Now could be the time that the real jockeying for pole
position starts. The shirt for United, and England for that matter,
is up for grabs...
