This was one of the features in the Villa game programme. Once again the Blues have kindly given us permission to publish the article here.
BEN VOWS TO BOUNCE BACK
By Andy Walker
Ben Foster could have easily gone to ground after Tuesday night’s Carling Cup semi-final first-leg at West Ham United. The England man could have switched off his mobile phone and crept on to the players’ coach outside the Boleyn Ground feeling sorry for himself following the 2-1 defeat. But Foster is made of tougher stuff.
The 27-year-old knows more than most that it can sometimes be a cruel world being a goalkeeper at the top level. It says a lot about the Blues favourite’s character that he emerged from the away dressing room on Tuesday night with his head held high and a ‘bring it on’ attitude to any flak that might have come his way.
When Carlton Cole’s shot agonisingly slipped beyond his grasp in the 78th minute, Foster would have been forgiven for wanting the ground to swallow him up. However not one critic could justifiably put Foster down after the tremendous season he’s having for Blues. The Leamington Spa-born shot-stopper’s superb form between the sticks has helped Alex McLeish’s side gain many a Barclays Premier League point this season. McLeish, his colleagues and Bluenoses have rightfully backed him all the way, which is why you won’t find the confident character beating himself up too much ahead of this afternoon’s fixture.
“I didn’t know whether to go with my feet or my hand,” said Foster, reflecting on Cole’s goal for West Ham. “In the end it just went straight through everything. It’s just one of those things and I’ve just got to move on. Nothing like that has happened to me before, not even in training. When you’re doing really well and everything seems to be going your way sometimes you get a little bit too comfortable and you might take your eye off the ball a little bit.
“You need to respect every ball on its own merits and deal with everything. He (Cole) scuffed it and I even remember thinking: ‘this is taking a while to get to me’. I could have thrown a cap on it. You’ve just got to move on and you can only learn from these things really, if you let it get to you then it will only have a negative effect. You can analyse it but there’s not a lot to analyse. It’s just one of those freak things, I’ve forgot about it and I’m looking forward to Villa.”
As for the delicately poised Carling Cup semi-final, Foster remains confident that Blues can book a date at Wembley at the end of February. Relatively speaking, it’s half-time in the two-legged affair and Blues will more than fancy their chances in front of a packed out St. Andrew’s crowd. It’s also not to be forgotten that Big Eck’s boys have gained a reputation as comeback kings from their heroics this season.
Talking up Blues’ chances of progressing to the Carling Cup final, Foster continued: “West Ham have got to come back to our place and everybody knows how handy we are at home. We’ll be going into the game full of confidence and thinking that we’ll be the team going to the final. There’s plenty of life left in the tie.”
However the club’s Carling Cup quest will be pushed to the back of the players’ minds for the next week with two important Barclays Premier League fixtures to contend with. It’s a trip to Manchester United on the cards next weekend, but not before this afternoon’s match-up at home to Aston Villa – the third chapter of the Second City derby this season.
Despite being a midlander himself, Foster only really got a true feel for the fixture this season following his summer transfer from the Red Devils. So the two-time Carling Cup winner is all too aware of the importance of keeping the bragging rights in the royal blue half of Birmingham after last month’s victory.
“Villa have got a few suspensions hanging over them at the moment which is a boost for us,” added the former Watford loanee. “I know we lost at West Ham on Tuesday but we’re full of confidence at the moment. We played really well in the second half and the last couple of results, Millwall and Blackpool, were very positive for us. Hopefully we can keep pushing on, picking up points and climbing up the table. We’ll certainly need to get the fans behind us today and we’ll be going all out to beat Villa.”
Don’t worry Ben. Your the greatest and I am sure you will redeem yourself in next weeks return.
ivar roth – “you’re the greatest” comment is pathetic and sychophantic. Are you trying to tell me that Foster is better than Banks, shilton, Zoff, Maier, Clemence, Seamen, Cech, Reina the list is endless he’s not even better than Maik Taylor in his prime, get a grip of yourself for crying out loud.
he’s not even better than Maik Taylor in his prime
your opinion is worthless if you think that’s true
Let’s keep this in perspective shall we ? Foster’s as good as any of the ‘ great ‘ keepers that I’ve seen at St Andrews during the last 45 years , with the potential to surpass them all , and that includes the over rated Seaman , and the equally under rated Tony Coton .
As far as comparing him to Banks , Cech et al , it’s too early , but one thing’s for sure , he’s going to have to prove himself on a weekly basis from here on in .
Maik Taylor did a fantastic job for us during his 1st choice years , and shouldn’t be used in a derisory way , as in , ” He’s not EVEN better than etc “