Even though England were dumped out of the World Cup easily in the first rounds, it was a good experience for West Brom's goalkeeper Ben Foster. Ben, who like starter Joe Hart, had a key season on loan at Birmingham that helped cement his development into a solid goalkeeper, showed a mix of the simple and the elite in his outing against Costa Rica. Whilst it seemed an odd choice to start him in goal after Hart's struggles to reach his peak and Foster being closer to retirement age come the next World Cup tournament, he repaid the coach's trust in him with an outstanding performance.
Mixing a series of athletic diving saves to reach the ball, with some solid positioning that made his catches look easier than they are, he showed the hybrid approach of fulfilling multiple roles and jobs, which is needed of a goalkeeper at the highest tier of football. Commanding as well as calm and unfazed at the right times, he also showed a cool head and mental balance that is required to play at this level. Gone are the days when England fans would expect to hide under the sofa as the goalkeeper got on the wrong end of a humiliating blunder, and there were no mistakes or slip-ups Foster made that would have cost his team.
West Brom, who have a lot to thank Foster for, in keeping them in it for every game of the season, are in a great position going foward, starting out strong from the back. Whilst the numbers and stats might not have been in his favour in the league table, Ben did have a very strong outing last season and was one of the top performing goalkeepers in the Premier league as he gave them a chance to compete all season long.
So to summarise, here are some thoughts:
Mixing a series of athletic diving saves to reach the ball, with some solid positioning that made his catches look easier than they are, he showed the hybrid approach of fulfilling multiple roles and jobs, which is needed of a goalkeeper at the highest tier of football. Commanding as well as calm and unfazed at the right times, he also showed a cool head and mental balance that is required to play at this level. Gone are the days when England fans would expect to hide under the sofa as the goalkeeper got on the wrong end of a humiliating blunder, and there were no mistakes or slip-ups Foster made that would have cost his team.
West Brom, who have a lot to thank Foster for, in keeping them in it for every game of the season, are in a great position going foward, starting out strong from the back. Whilst the numbers and stats might not have been in his favour in the league table, Ben did have a very strong outing last season and was one of the top performing goalkeepers in the Premier league as he gave them a chance to compete all season long.
So to summarise, here are some thoughts:
- Foster has a very strong technical foundation that allows him to make the difficult saves look easy, as well as being able to make the simple saves without a mental barrier
- Has great self confidence and calmness which allows him to achieve clean sheets
- He is a leader, with a strong command of his area and his defenders
- A team player, he will fight for the win and compete intensively
- Can do the various aspects of being an elite goalkeeper
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