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Surely the End for Foster | 
When it was announced that Edwin van der Sar was going to miss a large chunk of the first half of this season, as a Manchester United fan I found myself slightly excited. While van der Sar has been the cornerstone of United’s rock solid defense for a few trophy-full seasons now, the entire United fan base has long been aware of a hidden gem: Ben Foster.
The former unknown Stoke goalkeeper has always had potential and has always been full of promise. When Sir Alex Ferguson plucked the goalie from relative obscurity no one had any idea just how good Foster could be. Then, after some great early performances (remember his debut against Derby?), it was clear that Foster’s reflexes, concentration, and pure shot-stopping ability would take him straight to the top.
Because of this, Sir Alex Ferguson showed no hesitation when it came time to hand Foster the temporary number one jersey at Old Trafford. van der Sar’s absence represented a massive chance for Foster to stake his claim at United and plead his case for a starting spot in Fabio Capello’s World Cup side.
Instead, Foster has gone from mistake to mistake. Sir Alex Ferguson is infamous for replacing goalies after a single big-game mistake, and Foster has already been subjected to two big time errors. His biggest flaws were revealed in the Manchester derby in September as he was often out of position and exposed. Luckily for him, a Michael Owen goal rescued United and saved Ben Foster’s (and Rio Ferdinand’s) blushes.
Against Sunderland this past weekend Foster’s lack of experience came to the forefront again. The England hopeful set the tone for United’s bad day at the office as his miscommunication caused confusion amongst the United back four (most specifically Nemanja Vidic).
In the second half, with United finally gaining the upper hand, Foster’s indecisiveness and lack of aerial prowess allowed Sunderland to regain control. With a looping ball put into the box, Foster was slow off his line, allowing Kenwyne Jones to meet the keeper in the air. Jones proved to be too strong for the slow to react Foster, and while Jones comfortably headed back into the net Foster bounced off Jones’s body and fell to the ground. It was 2-1 to Sunderland, and once again it took a strong United attack to amend for Foster’s error.
After witnessing Sir Alex Ferguson dispose of Tim Howard following his error against Porto in the Champions League just years ago, Ben Foster should be worried for his future. His counterpart Tomasz Kuszczak impressed in the Carling Cup tie against Wolves and was even more impressive against Wolfsburg in the Champions League, and many United fans are now calling for the Pole to get his chance.
With Kuszczak breathing down his neck and van der Sar’s return getting ever so close, Ben Foster’s time is running out. If the 26 year old wants to keep his place in the side and book a trip to South Africa this summer, he’ll need to improve a lot and add to his three clean sheets this season. Otherwise he could soon be on his way out.
Is Ben Foster good enough for United or can he not handle the pressure? Have your say below!
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I have stand by him before the seasons start. However, i don't think he is the one for United and England. Every time, i mean every tme he gets the ball i feel fear that something bad will happen and i don't feel safe at all with him. Goalkeeper should be more flexible, but the look on foster, he looks clumsy and slow. Reflexes is not good. I'm not sure if he is too pressurized or stress, but he certainly is slow and not United first. I hope we can get another goalkeeper in the summer of January. He is not young anymore. This is his big years. If not, he won't be going to World Cup. If he wants to go, i think he needs to wait 4 more years with another club.