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Is Forster carrying an injury?


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Well first of all I disagree that he was a big improvement on Stekelenburg, and second of all, Stek was only signed as a temporary stopgap anyway, so even if he was it wouldn't exactly be much of a mitigating factor.

 

Forster is crap. And that's the beginning middle and end of it. His abilities were vastly overrepped by getting to play for a high-profile club like Celtic, where of course, he didn't actually have to be any good.

 

Simple reality is that he's a massive weakness within the team and there's a hard limit to how far up the table we can go with him at the helm. We had a ****ing magnificent defence in front of him for the past two years with a defensively-minded midfield giving him a world of protection.

 

For me, the thing that gives things away with Forster was VVD's reaction to his **** up at Palace.

 

He doesn't look shocked, or put his hands behind his head and shout "OMG :O", he just instantly spins angrily and shouts what's very clearly "oh... Fuuuuck Off" with impatience and irritability - almost as if he's always known that Forster was a fairly crap keeper and he's been waiting for/expecting something like that to happen - rather than it being a total surprise.

 

I would like to disagree with this. But I can't - he really is an average goalkeeper.

 

Yeah I don't want any of it to be the case, but its true.

 

I'm telling you. Have a look at Van Dijk's reaction to the goal at Palace. If that were De Gea or Courtois you'd see the United/Chelsea players gasping with their mouths agape in shock.

 

VVD instantly spins round and you can see the angry "why-do-I-bother?" snarl on his face.

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Boruc is showing Forster up right now. Bournemouth has done well as a unit to be fair.

 

People are focussing way too much on the United game - he's been poor for a long time now. And that's coming from someone who was raving about him before and when he signed for us.

 

Forster has been absolute ****e this season. Quite clearly the worst keeper in the Prem. He isn't good enough for the Championship right now, let alone the Prem. He's been an embarrassment between the sticks all season long.

Edited by FriendlySaint
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And Ramirez and Boufal looked like world-beaters in their youtube compilations. As every player does.

 

He was a decent keeper when he played for Celtic. I saw them play a lot in the Champions league when he was their keeper.

 

When he was inform for Celtic against Barcelona (and against other opponents for them) he looked unbeatable from outside the box. He had a spring, could actually move side to side, could actually dive. Was actually alert and determined to protect his goal. He has always had no confidence to come off his line in any situation however. Which bewilders me. A keeper of his size should be looking to get off his line at every possible opportunity. A small keeper is desperate to get off the line early to close down the angle. If a big keeper does it he is very difficult to beat.

 

He looks completely immobile right now and forgotten all the basics of keeping. When he played for Celtic he might have kept all three shots out against Man United. He's declined at a ridiculously rapid rate. I can't believe how bad he's been this season. He's potentially riddled with injuries and/or forgotten completely how to play goalkeeper.

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Boruc is showing Forster up right now

 

 

 

Forster has been absolute ****e this season. Quite clearly the worst keeper in the Prem. He isn't good enough for the Championship, let alone the Prem. He's been an embarrassment between the sticks all season long.

 

All those people who got slammed for daring to say Boruc was a better keeper....

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LOL no he isn't.

 

God people are so stupidly over dramatic, he's just not in great form, happens to all players.

 

No i'm pretty sure if you look at the shots on target to saves made ratio then Fraser has the worst percentage. Obviously doesn't automatically make him the worst keeper but he has been terrible this season.

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He was a decent keeper when he played for Celtic. I saw them play a lot in the Champions league when he was their keeper.

 

When he was inform for Celtic against Barcelona (and against other opponents for them) he looked unbeatable from outside the box. He had a spring, could actually move side to side, could actually dive. Was actually alert and determined to protect his goal. He has always had no confidence to come off his line in any situation however. Which bewilders me. A keeper of his size should be looking to get off his line at every possible opportunity. A small keeper is desperate to get off the line early to close down the angle. If a big keeper does it he is very difficult to beat.

 

He looks completely immobile right now and forgotten all the basics of keeping. When he played for Celtic he might have kept all three shots out against Man United. He's declined at a ridiculously rapid rate. I can't believe how bad he's been this season. He's potentially riddled with injuries and/or forgotten completely how to play goalkeeper.

 

Would that not indicate that he is either

 

A) injured

 

B) low on confidence due to poor form?

 

Why are so many ready to say he is finished as a Saints keeper?

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This wholesale criticism of FF is ridiculous. Whilst not he very best, he is a very good goalie.

 

Shots to saves stats are meaningless. Taking the last game as an example, there was nothing he could have done for any of Watfords three goals. If you want to trade stats then I'll give you the fact he's 4th in the clean sheet stakes despite the defensive line not being as stable as the last few seasons.

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This wholesale criticism of FF is ridiculous. Whilst not he very best, he is a very good goalie.

 

What's he good at then? His distribution is awful, he looks seriously clumsy half the time when clearing (see the goal at Palace); he doesn't come off his line particularly well to sweep behind the back 4; he NEVER comes more than a couple of yards off his line to claim a cross; and the stats show he isn't making saves most weeks, in fact practically every other keeper in the league is making more than him.

 

So what is he good at?

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It will be interesting to see if he is included in the England squad when it's announced in a couple of weeks, he tends to drop out anyway and in my opinion Hart, Heaton and Pickford are all ahead of him currently. I think Pickford looks like a great prospect would like to see us try to sign him if Sunderland go down.

 

Such a shame that McCarthy has been injured for most of the season, he'd have given us an excellent back up option.

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What's he good at then? His distribution is awful, he looks seriously clumsy half the time when clearing (see the goal at Palace); he doesn't come off his line particularly well to sweep behind the back 4; he NEVER comes more than a couple of yards off his line to claim a cross; and the stats show he isn't making saves most weeks, in fact practically every other keeper in the league is making more than him.

 

So what is he good at?

 

He's really good at kicking the ball in anger back into the net after conceding.

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It will be interesting to see if he is included in the England squad when it's announced in a couple of weeks, he tends to drop out anyway and in my opinion Hart, Heaton and Pickford are all ahead of him currently. I think Pickford looks like a great prospect would like to see us try to sign him if Sunderland go down.

 

Such a shame that McCarthy has been injured for most of the season, he'd have given us an excellent back up option.

Pickford is IMO going to be like so many young English keepers over the years. Hyped up and will be just another keeper in time. Richard Wright was one as an example in the past who looked good while young and then became just an also ran.

Anyway I wouldnt want to risk having our goalkeeping coach lt loose on a promising keeper

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LOL no he isn't.

 

God people are so stupidly over dramatic, he's just not in great form, happens to all players.

 

Well it's good to know that at least we have established he is not on form and hasn't been all year - now what? Do you propose we do nothing or pop him in Ressys for a while to 'regain his confidence' as they used to say and do.....?

What is precisely the length of time given to out of form players before they are dropped? Is there a formula you would use? A goalie is pretty critical when it comes to carrying out of form players.... I would suggest 5 or 10 games but no more ....... Are you suggesting a couple of seasons?

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What's he good at then? His distribution is awful, he looks seriously clumsy half the time when clearing (see the goal at Palace); he doesn't come off his line particularly well to sweep behind the back 4; he NEVER comes more than a couple of yards off his line to claim a cross; and the stats show he isn't making saves most weeks, in fact practically every other keeper in the league is making more than him.

 

So what is he good at?

Apart from making saves, everything else.

Edited by Dark Munster
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There was a moment in the first half at Watford when the ball went in the saints end and was being thrown around before being returned to Forster. I swear Forster must have been a second behind things as he tracked the ball's movement in the crowd.

Edited by shurlock
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There was a moment in the first half at Watford when the ball went in the saints end and was being thrown around before being returned to Forster. I swear Forster must have been a second behind things as he tracked the ball's movement in the crowd.

 

Without wishing to drone on too much about this but.....

FF just has to be dropped now. He is all over the press and radio as well as both of the major forums as being poor at the moment. He will have read and heard all this which will further dent his form and confidence. This renders him an increasing risk whilst playing for the first team. He now needs to regain confidence in a secure environment away from pressure, this can only be achieved by a few games playing for the under 23s. To continue playing him with most people starting to agree he is poor at the moment would be a bad management decision.

Give him a rest there is nothing to lose and probably lots to gain both for him and the team.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Each game now the comments about Forster are either over the top defending him, or over the top blaming him for all things. I suppose it's like that on most subjects now though.

 

Watched him closely and it's the same old problems. I wouldn't judge him for the big mistakes like Palace away, I'm more interested in his actual ability. Since day 1 he's struck me as incredibly slow to move his feet. Watch the goals he concedes and the saves he makes, more often than not he's stretching, diving without taking any steps with his feet. Due to his size he can cover a reasonable amount of the goal that way, but not enough. The best keepers have very quick feet to move around the goal. Size, agility and quick feet would be great, but very few have it.

 

Erikson's goal yesterday was much like Coutinho's for Liverpool at St Mary's last season. A good shot, but not a great shot, not that powerful, not right in the corner. It's not a mistake to let it in, but it's the sort that produces a fairly good save from many keepers. With both, Forster's feet are still and he stretches for the ball, not quite getting there.

 

His saves, like the one from a corner yesterday, often involve no movement of his feet. He moved his hand quickly, good reaction stop and he's done that plenty of times. But being that flat footed requires the ball is going reasonable near you.

 

I'm not worried about his form because I don't think it is that. I think he's just got some severe limitations. Clearly with a good defence he's sufficient to be a top half keeper as he already has been. But I don't see how the slow movement around the goal is going to improve now. Yet pointing it out is usually just met with 'oh it's all forster's fault again is it'. We'd have lost regardless yesterday I'm sure, but based on a couple of years or so watching him, too many shots go in that I see other premier league keepers save.

Very, very few keeps would have saved Ericsson's shot. You have unrealistic expectations of what keepers can do.

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