Forster - beginning to make his mark between the sticks with Southampton

http://worldsoccertalk.com/2014/10/30/fraser-forster-beginning-to-make-his-mark-between-the-sticks-with-southampton/

Not sure there is much meat in this article but this point caught my eye:

"Forster’s calmness has been infectious to the Saints’ backline, and his gigantic frame – he’s over two meters tall – makes the goal look tiny. Having saved 76% of the shots he’s faced, the England international has one of the best saves-to-shots ratio in Europe."

Sounds impressive. What is everyone's opinion of him?

A huge fan of his when he was at Celtic, was over the moon when we signed him.

But somethings not quite right with him so far. That stat is misleading - I'd wager we've faced the least amount of shots anyway.

It looks to me like he hasn't settled in, or is feeling nervous or under pressure. He definitely has the talent and he has made some good saves but some dodgy handling which never happened up in Scotland.

Stats like that can easily be inflated when teams are forced to shoot from outside the box.

He's looked shaky the last couple of games. In the 1st Stoke game there were 2 times the ball was played in and he should've called and taken it, instead of it cleared away by a defender - No communication? In the cup game he moved really slowly for the 1st and should've punched the ball away not long before the 2nd.

So far he hasn't exceeded the performance of Boruc but it's early days, he's a lot younger, and his focus/reactions in games could be slow because he has so little to do for long periods. Hard to pull out a top draw save when you've been standing around for 20 minutes.

I'm reserving judgement until January when the club has to make a decision on Boruc though I suspect that decisions already made.

He's looked shaky the last couple of games. In the 1st Stoke game there were 2 times the ball was played in and he should've called and taken it, instead of it cleared away by a defender - No communication? In the cup game he moved really slowly for the 1st and should've punched the ball away not long before the 2nd.

I don't agree with this Forster on both occasions came for the ball, but on each occasion the defender chose to head away. They were both defender making the decision. I would expect this to be cleared up the trainers for the next match.

Seemed to me that both of Stoke's goals in the Cup game were down to failings by Forster. I thought their first goal was a fairly soft shot from a long way out that bounced at least once on its way towards the goal, but Forster simply didn't get to it quickly enough. The second happened because he failed to control his area allowing Stoke a ridiculous succession of corners. On about the third corner he came off his line but got nowhere near the ball and left the goal open. On the corner from which they scored, he was again indecisive. I'm sure Dave Watson will be giving him some advice at St George's Park but this is not the week to be praising him.

I disagree about the Stoke game.

N'Zonzi took the shot early and hit it pretty well, and he was also a bit unsighted, and the shot could not have placed it any further into the corner.

I feel much safer with him in goal than Boruc, who you never really know if he's going to make the right decision.

You don't want to be a keeper at Saints, the fans are so expert and expect everything saved. KD is a testament to that, Your best chance is to look a little unhinged and you are then forgiven for everything lol

Not been tested enough to form a conclusion but the one game in which we had to deal with quite a bit of pressure -Spurs away- he seemed very nervy. He has all the right attributes and the physical presence but doesn't always seem to use them.

Stats say he is better than Hart and De Gea this season, therefore our forum experts have deemed him to be a bit overpriced, and not as good as the previously constantly injured incumbent.

Hmmm. If, and I mean if there are any doubts, it is a shame that we could not retain Boruc because we have very little back up after Forster.

Really impressed, proper safe pair of hands.

Not been tested enough I think. He's had shaky moments. Spurs away mainly. To say he was at fault for Stokes first goal is stupid. What about the 3 defenders who didn't close him down?

The second he came from the middle of the goal to the near post incase it got flicked towards goal, instead it was flicked to the back post and he had to make a recovery dive. I can't remember the 3-4 corners before that to form an opinion of if he should have easily claimed the ball.

He's made a couple of decent point winning saves. One against West Brom and one at West Ham. Generally though he hasn't really been tested yet.

Apparently he's a brilliant character in the dressing room too.

Seemed to me that both of Stoke's goals in the Cup game were down to failings by Forster. I thought their first goal was a fairly soft shot from a long way out that bounced at least once on its way towards the goal, but Forster simply didn't get to it quickly enough. The second happened because he failed to control his area allowing Stoke a ridiculous succession of corners. On about the third corner he came off his line but got nowhere near the ball and left the goal open. On the corner from which they scored, he was again indecisive. I'm sure Dave Watson will be giving him some advice at St George's Park but this is not the week to be praising him.

The first bounced just the once. There was a second bounce just over the goal line right at the foot if the post. He did well to get anywhere near it.

Really impressed, proper safe pair of hands.

It is years since we have had a keeper that is this secure (Shilton). He is the most important signing we made in the Summer. Boruc did okay at times but was always likely to do something bonkers and defenders didn't have much confidence in him - not surprisingly. Forster has such presence and this has been very important in the improvement in our defence which in turn has given the rest of the team the space/scope to becoming a better attacking force. He is still pretty young for a keeper so will get better still. Money extraordinarily well spent.

The Professor, an oxymoron if there ever was one, believes that our England international keeper should be dropped for the Blades game to give him a wake up call.

Forster is a step up from Boruc and if you can't see that then you seriously know sweet FA about football.

Great keeper who I feel will also improve with time.

Only issue I have are shots from a distance- maybe cos of his height he can't get down quick enough?

Good god there are some absolute planks out there. Anything a gk does will be magnified as there is no hiding place and any little mistake is seen by everyone.

Foster is calm, the defense has confidence in him and he does not have boruc type moments of insanity.

A great signing who will only get better and people saying he looks nervous don't understand goalkeeping.

Anyone would look nervous playing against stoke.....As joe hart did

We have been spoilt for keepers at Saints - Shilts, Beasant, Tim Flowers, Maik Taylor, Paul Jones, Antti Niemi, KD, Boruc and now Forster. Therefore any keeper that performs slightly less than world class in a game and he is instantly written off by some people. I'd hope that other clubs have a more realistic view of keepers, but I'm probably kidding myself there as football fans are mostly the same everywhere.

Forster for me a top top class keeper who is only going to get better. That stat on SkySports news is incredible.

He is probably not as athletic as some keepers because he is a big unit, but the stats never lie. If you ever saw Shilton play you will know there are similarities between the 2 - sheer presence in the goalmouth. Actually, Saints fans used to make fun of Shilts with regard to his ability to come out for crosses. No goalkeeper is perfect, but Forster to me seems very, very good. The first goal at Stoke was a well hit shot through a crowd of players and the angle was spot on. I think criticism of Forster for that goal is a bit harsh.