Foster is best by far, boasts Fergie
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Ben Foster is determined to put his injury worries behind him and prove his worth for club and country in the coming season.
The goalkeeper has suffered a raft of injury problems in the last few years, while the commanding form of Dutch veteran Edwin van der Sar has also restricted his progress somewhat.
Nevertheless, a Man of the Match display in the 2009 Carling Cup final and a host of other confident performances between the sticks during 2008/09 prompted Sir Alex Ferguson to offer the England international a new four-year deal earlier this month.
And with the 2010 World Cup fast approaching, the 26-year-old is desperate to make his mark in the upcoming campaign.
"It's a big 12 months for me. I've just got to kick on and start playing a few games," he told MUTV.
"The key thing for me is to stay fit and play more matches. I've just got to stay focused, do my best and hopefully I'll get my chance.
"Of course, the World Cup is a big motivation for me. You don't get too many chances to play in a World Cup and I feel, providing I can play some games for United, that I've got a realistic chance of getting in." -
for one moment, thot this is jamie carragher
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If, as Sir Alex Ferguson and everyone else at Old Trafford believes, Ben Foster's season will end keeping goal for England in South Africa, it was not an auspicious beginning.
A routine back-pass from Darron Gibson was not controlled, Foster was dispossessed by Malaysia's best player, Amri Yahyah, who was presented with an empty net. The 85,000 in the Bukit Jalil Stadium exploded, there was another cascade of flashbulbs from the stands and, even though it may only have been a friendly, Foster took the familiar stance of a humiliated goalkeeper, hands on hips, talking to no one in particular. It will take more, much more, for Ferguson to lose faith and in a 2–0 win over a Malaysia XI yesterday there was a more familiar clean sheet. "This was Ben's first game for four months. He dislocated a finger at the end of last season and we had to operate," said the United manager. "I have said it before and I will say it again, there is no question in my mind that he will be England's goalkeeper. There is nobody better. I am absolutely convinced of that.
"But he has two challenges. One is to take the position of Edwin van der Sar, who as everybody accepts, is one of the great goalkeepers of all time." The other, Ferguson accepted, was in the hands of fate. "We have to hope and pray that he stays free of injury and consistency will be everything for the boy." For someone who has suffered a cruciate ligament injury and missed eight weeks of last season with a twisted ankle, this is not an idle prayer.
Very rarely does any England manager, especially one as fastidious as Fabio Capello, select anyone who is not first choice for their clubs. There was a time, around December 2007, when it seemed Van der Sar's days were done. There had been mistakes and the Dutchman began publicly questioning his own form and longevity. Then came the rediscovery of his touch that ended in his saving Nicolas Anelka's penalty to win the European Cup for Manchester United in Moscow. Ferguson remarked that Van der Sar was so confident he actually broke out into a smile as he dived across.
"It is a big 12 months for me," Foster said today. "I have just got to kick on and start playing a few matches. Of course the World Cup is a big motivation for me. You don't get many chances to play in a World Cup and I feel that provided I can play some games for Manchester United, I have a realistic chance of going."
Should Foster, now 26, make it to South Africa, it will mark the end of one of the more remarkable journeys in modern football. In the days when young players are cosseted in academies, there will not be many internationals who can boast spells at Stafford Rangers, Tiverton Town and Kidderminster Harriers on their CVs.
There are not many who would listen on their iPods to descriptions of where opponents would place a penalty that gave him a critical edge as Manchester United engaged in the shoot-out with Tottenham that decided an otherwise dreadful Carling Cup final.
Foster's path to Old Trafford began in the 2005 LDV Vans Trophy final, where Foster, officially on Stoke's books, though he had yet to play for them, was turning out for Wrexham against Southend at the Millennium Stadium.
"I remember it as massively important because three or four months before I don't think I had played in a competitive league match," Foster recalled. "It was a good time to perform because halfway through that game the cameraman, who was filming for the big screen at the Millennium Stadium, zoomed in on Alex Ferguson's face and I thought to myself, 'Oh, he's watching is he'.
"He was obviously there to see his son Darren [who was then playing for Wrexham] and he got man of the match and I was devastated because it had gone to extra time, we'd won 2-0 and I thought I'd done enough."
Ferguson certainly thought so and paid Stoke £1m for Foster's services and immediately loaned him out to Watford. Again he ended the season in Cardiff, as part of the side that demolished Leeds 3–0 in the 2006 play-off final. Ferguson may call him the best goalkeeper in England but his then manager, Aidy Boothroyd, stated he had the potential to be the best in the world. This season those statements will be put to the test.
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Ben Foster is crossing his fingers that his body will stand the strain of trying to become a Manchester United regular and earning a place at the World Cup.
Foster has endured a catalogue of injuries since he was signed from Stoke four years ago.
After two seasons on loan at Watford, a cruciate ligament injury wrecked his first season at Old Trafford, a broken finger then cost him a place at last year's Club World Cup in Japan before a thumb injury ended his hopes of appearing on the bench for last term's Champions League final defeat to Barcelona.
The latter problem was particularly costly given Foster would almost certainly have won two more caps in the World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Andorra last month, adding to the couple he already has to his name.
Ahead of what is likely to be Edwin van der Sar's last year at United, Foster knows he needs to make a big impression, both on Sir Alex Ferguson and Fabio Capello, who share the opinion that the 26-year-old is one of the best English goalkeepers around.
And, as he assesses his past record, the Leamington Spa-born stopper admits the first part of his task may be harder than the second.
"If I want to go to the World Cup I need to be fit and I need to be playing for Manchester United," he said.
"It is the first part of that I have always found pretty hard to do.
"Unfortunately the way my career has gone I have picked up injuries here and there.
"The last one was a blow because I missed some important games for club and country. But I needed to get my thumb repaired.
"Thankfully the operation went well and I have been fit all pre-season.
"I feel good in myself and as long as I can stay fit I hope the gaffer gives me a chance to show what I can do.
"I have just signed a new contract so now I have to start pushing on."
Given the position he finds himself in, Foster could have done without the blunder that gifted Malaysia their equalising goal in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
Under little pressure as he went to control a Darron Gibson back-pass at the Bukit Jalil Stadium, Foster allowed it to bounce off his shin, straight to a delighted Mohammed Amri Yahyah, who tapped into an empty net.
Foster could only attempt to hide his embarrassment. Not that it was possible once he returned to the United dressing room, where no mercy was shown.
"Coming on in a game is always a bit more difficult for goalkeepers than starting but that was particularly disappointing," said Foster, who had replaced Edwin van der Sar at the interval.
"I got a bit of stick from the lads that's for sure.
"It was just one of those things. I wasn't paying enough attention and took my eye off the ball.
"I have to make sure that kind of thing doesn't happen again."
Although Foster did go on tour to South Africa three years ago before his second stint at Watford, this is his first experience of United fanaticism Asian-style.
It takes some getting used to as well.
Fans are camped outside the team hotel 24 hours a day. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was once pounced on by an autograph hunter when he merely put his head out of his room door on a similar tour a few years back.
And United's arrival in Seoul was even more frenzied given Park Ji-sung has joined up with his team-mates after an extended summer break.
"It is absolutely mad," admitted Foster.
"I missed the trip a couple of years ago but the lads came back and told me all about it. They camp outside the hotel, even when we go to training there are loads of people there. There are hundreds and the noise is unbelievable.
"We get mobbed at airports.
"It just shows you what a massive global brand Manchester United is.
"The other night we were playing the Malaysian national team in Malaysia yet the fans were cheering when we scored. You don't get that anywhere else."
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Ben Foster is hoping an injury-free pre-season is a sign of things to come.
The Manchester United keeper has been blighted by fitness problems since his arrival from Stoke four years ago.
However, with the number one slot at Old Trafford becoming vacant in 12 months' time when Edwin van der Sar retires, and a place in Fabio Capello's England squad at next summer's World Cup up for grabs as well, Foster knows he is entering a crucial period in his blossoming career.
"Unfortunately the way my career has gone I have picked up injuries," said the 26-year-old. "Thankfully I have been fit all pre-season.
"I feel good in myself and as long as I can stay fit I hope the gaffer gives me a chance to show what I can do.
"I have just signed a new contract so now I have to start pushing on."
Foster's most recent setback was an operation on his thumb, which prevented him being involved in either the Champions League final or England's World Cup double-header with Kazakhstan and Andorra, when he almost certainly would have played given David James was missing as well.
Given the position he finds himself in, Foster could have done without the blunder that gifted Malaysia their equalising goal in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
Under little pressure as he went to control a Darron Gibson back-pass at the Bukit Jalil Stadium, Foster allowed it to bounce off his shin straight to a delighted Mohammed Amri Yahyah, who tapped into an empty net.
Foster could only attempt to hide his embarrassment. Not that it was possible once he returned to the United dressing room, where no mercy was shown.
"Coming on in a game is always a bit more difficult for goalkeepers than starting but that was particularly disappointing," said Foster, who had replaced Van Der Sar at the interval.
"I got a bit of stick from the lads that's for sure.
"It was just one of those things. I wasn't paying enough attention and took my eye off the ball.
"I have to make sure that kind of thing doesn't happen again."
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Glazer family has backed Sir Alex Ferguson's refusal to splash big-money on mercenaries.
There have been some suggestions a substantial portion of the £80million transfer fee received for Cristiano Ronaldo will go to paying off part of the near-£700million debt the Glazer family have loaded against United.
Those claims have been refuted on several occasions. Now Tehsin Neyani, official spokesman for the Glazer family, has spoken out.
"The manager has not been able to locate players that he believes fit the Manchester United mindset," he said.
"Ones that are motivated to play for United. You don't want to pay over the odds for players not willing to give their all.
"The manager has a significant amount of money to invest if he wants to. We do have debt to service and carry a significant amount of debt but our interest payments are around £43.3m a year while our operating profit was £80m topped by an extra £25m from transfer profits.
"We are talking about a net amount of about £60m. That cash can be reinvested in the squad. The point is there is money coming in."
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Sir Alex Ferguson is 100% certain Ben Foster will be England's World Cup keeper in South Africa next summer.
Foster has only played once for his country under Fabio Capello, coming on as a half-time substitute in the March friendly against Slovakia.
The Manchester United keeper would almost certainly have added another couple of caps to his tally last month, only for a thumb operation to prevent him facing Kazakhstan and Andorra as replacement for David James, who had undergone shoulder surgery.
It is a depressingly familiar story for Foster, who spent his first two years as a United player on loan at Watford and had his third wrecked by a cruciate injury.
Yet despite the catalogue of injury, Ferguson has never lost faith in the former Stoke man.
He has said often enough in the past that Foster will be England's number one at some point in the future. Now he has gone one step further by claiming the 26-year-old will oust James as Capello's first choice before the coming campaign is done.
"Ben Foster will be England's goalkeeper in South Africa, I have absolutely no doubts about that," he said.
"He is streets ahead of any other English goalkeeper.
"He has magnificent abilities. He is lightning quick, has excellent use of the ball and is exceedingly brave. He is a top drawer goalkeeper."
Ferguson does concede Foster needs his abysmal luck with injuries to end.
However, he has confirmed the Leamington Spa-born player, who is set to figure against Hangzhou Greentown in the final match of United's Far East tour tomorrow night after sitting out yesterday's victory over FC Seoul, will get enough chances to impress Capello.
"I have to keep an eye on him," admitted Ferguson.
"Ben has an opportunity with England, so I have to give him chances with us.
"I would not want to deny him the chance to play in South Africa so he will play a lot of games this season
"If he stays fit, he will be number one in South Africa. That is my prediction."
Ferguson is effectively confirming he intends to wind down Edwin van der Sar's career, even though the veteran Dutchman will start his final Old Trafford season as first-choice.
It is however bad news for Tomasz Kuszczak, who signed a contract extension last season but now seems set to play third fiddle under Ferguson.
"Tomasz deserves some recognition," he said.
"He has never complained and trains like a beast all the time.
"It is a very difficult situation because I need to get him minutes on the clock as well.
"Unfortunately Tomasz seems to have been bombed out by Poland for some reason.
"I don't understand why because I have to think about these things in terms of their careers."
If Ferguson is fairly clear about his intentions at one end of the field, the picture at the other has been clouded somewhat by the excellent form of Federico Macheda on tour, plus the contribution of new boy Michael Owen.
England's fourth highest goalscorer was a surprise capture for a club reeling at the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez from their title-winning squad.
At first, most United fans were seriously underwhelmed by the signing. However, with two goals in three games on the Red Devils' Far East tour so far, Owen has hit the ground running and looks fitter and fresher than at any stage during four seasons at Newcastle.
Ferguson does intend paying some heed to Owen's past fitness record.
But the Scot still expects Owen to figure in 25 games this term. And providing he reaches that figure, Ferguson sees no reason why his new forward should fail to hit the 15-goal mark.
"Michael has scored two already and I hope there are plenty more to come," said the Red Devils chief.
"If you look at his record over the years, even the last two years at Newcastle when they were going through a difficult time, he scored one in every two games.
"He is easily capable of reaching that level again.
"If he plays 25 games for me this season I think we'll get 15 goals."
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hope he stay clear of injuries.
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I think he can be man utd number 1 though if he stop getting injuries and stop making stupid blunders.
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I'm deciding to buy the keeper's jersey...
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wah you got so much $$ eh. grats.
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Becuase I work part time :P
Not much money tho.