Arsenal v Birmingham City: Ben Foster homes in on second winner’s medal after finding peace at St Andrew’s
Before anyone asks, Ben Foster would like to stress that he is not learning about Arsenal’s penalty-takers from an iPod.
Feeling at home: goalkeeper Ben Foster at St Andrew's Photo: GETTY IMAGES
By Oliver Brown 11:00PM GMT 26 Feb 2011
Oliver's Twitter
Comments
After his canny use of the device for Manchester United, absorbing a last-second primer on run-ups and ball placement to thwart Tottenham in the Carling Cup final of 2009, Birmingham’s technophile goalkeeper explains: “It’s all on an iPad now.”
So should Sunday afternoon’s repeat showpiece go the same way, look out for a tablet-shaped Apple device smuggled under his jersey.
Even after two years, Foster has total recall of the prescient saves that sealed the trophy for United. It is just a pity, he says ruefully, that he and his team-mates were not allowed to be wilder in their celebrations.
“We got straight on the train and had training the next day, as we had a Champions League game the same week. There was nothing. Another game won, another trophy won, and you move on.
"It was mad — a different world.” Foster, a straight-talking lad from Leamington Spa, expresses relief at being “back home” with Birmingham City, safely removed from United’s oppressive hot-housing. It is a safe bet that should he collect a second League Cup winner’s medal to mark his first season at St Andrew’s, he will toast the achievement more extravagantly.
But however casual he purports to be — “I don’t feel any pressure” is almost a mantra — the subject of United, and his unfulfilled promise there, never fades fully into the background.
Five years of exposure to the club’s “win at all costs” mentality, exemplified by Sir Alex Ferguson and captain Gary Neville, have left an indelible imprint.
Exhausted by the expectations upon him at Old Trafford, the 27 year-old claims he was happy to slip quietly away.
“When I left, a lot of people said to me, 'You’re leaving the biggest club in the world. It’s only a step down after United’. But I didn’t really care too much. I wanted to go and play football, and that’s what was on offer at Birmingham.”
Foster disputes an urban myth that Ferguson cut him adrift after a particularly ragged display against Sunderland in Oct 2009, but admits: “When you know that the gaffer has accepted a bid and realised it’s time for you to move on, that kind of tells you, somewhere along the line, that you’re not wanted.
If that’s the case I’m not going to kick up a fuss. I’ll go. It is win at all costs at United. It is the end of the world if you draw.
“If you didn’t win and you didn’t perform amazingly well every single game, I felt everybody was thinking, 'Well, they should be doing better, pumping teams four or five-nil.’
"I thought it was too much. It gets out of hand, a little bit ridiculous. I’m not one of those people who likes all the celebrity of football, either. I just love playing and going home.
“It was very, very intense. You would just be playing practice matches and you would see tackles flying in and little scuffles breaking out all the time. That is what United are.
"They carry that on to the pitch on a Saturday. It’s definitely a higher tempo compared to what we do at Birmingham. Every player at United is on the ball 100 per cent of the time.
“There’s definitely a different way of looking at football at United. You’re expected to be in big events and cup finals every season. Some people there have the 'win at all costs’ mindset. Take Gary Neville. It was everything to him. That’s why he has been so successful.”
And why, perhaps, Foster, who freely admits he forgets about a defeat the second he steps off a pitch, has not. His very gentleness, his blankness of demeanour, invites whispers that he does not care enough.
Reflecting on his stuttering run in the England team, which has yielded five caps in four years, he says: “You meet up with the lads, you play your game and that’s it. Any little thing that goes wrong gets hugely scrutinised. But I never thought it was the be-all and end-all.”
The arrival of two children in two years has helped. Any lapses, not least his blunder in letting a goal through his legs in last month’s semi-final against West Ham, are forgotten in an instant.
“I never think about the past. When I’m home, I completely switch off about football. If builders come around my house all they want to do is talk about the game. But I don’t care.”
Foster does care, acutely, about his career at Birmingham. His appreciation of being a first choice again has found expression in a series of formidable performances, including a 32-save masterclass against Chelsea last November.
He seems, at last, content.
“I love it. I go into each game full of confidence. I love being part of a team that’s going to be battling in their games. It’s just a really friendly club, too, family-orientated. It’s nice to be home.”
sir alex ferguson, leamington spa, getty images, alex ferguson, gary neville, penalty takers, safe bet, finding peace, oliver brown, captain gary, team mates, feeling at home, ipad, ben foster, unfulfilled promise, cup winner, technophile, carling cup, showpiece, foster homes
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น