It's odd. That is really the first game where I truly felt like Forster was really good and made a difference. Which isn't to disparage Forster. It's really that he hasn't been called on. For the most part our defense has been really good. And when it hasn't been really good, it's been bad. You know what I mean? I wouldn't argue that Forster is better than Steklenberg, but if you look at say, Liverpool-- we might have lost 4-1 instead of 6-1. It wouldn't have mattered. Similarly, I think Steklenberg would also have kept clean sheets the two wins prior.
This post tells me that you are only considering "saves made" and giving zero credit to Forster for his organising of the defence, let alone the unquantifiable confidence he gives his defenders. You may be right, but it is a post that carries an uneccessary negative tinge to it. As TSS pointed at you this week, you often naturally manage to find a negative view of things.
Come the summer, assuming The Big Man remains fit and on form, I would be looking to up and extend his contract to try and keep him at SMS as he hopefully will spend the summer in the England squad and we know that this is the recruiting environment for the big paying clubs to nick our players with offers of doubling wages etc
Or we might have gained so much confidence from his fantastic display at the back that we went on to win. I don't believe we would have lost 6-1 if we hadn't lost our fight. We will never know. We could have lost 3-0 to Arsenal but we didn't with him in goal.
Several players have mentioned the confidence that he gives them...in football, any 'edge' can make a real difference. That extra bit of confidence can help defenders stay calm and make the right decision. He should be called Fraser Fortress from now on. A goalkeeper can be easier to keep than others as he would rather play than be back up at another club....so it reduces the teams he would want to go to. There can only be a couple of teams that we need to fear.
Celtic supporters called him The Wall. It's pretty apt. One commentator said the other day that Fraser is one of those sportsman who can stand in a doorway and no light gets past him. I thought was quite good too.
No way would Foster have let in 6 vs Liverpool. I said at the time that you couldn't really hold Stek responsible for any of those goals individually; but you'd expect a top class keeper to have kept at least some of them out. Fraser might have kept us in the game the night. Or he might not have done. But im pretty sure we wouldnt have lost 6-1.
More importantly than helping prevent a trouncing...Forster may have prevented a couple of close losses in the League, Could be in a stronger position if just one draw was a win or a couple of losses became draws. Unproveable of course, but likely.
I agree. For one thing, he'd have been constantly on Caulker's back telling to keep in line with Jose, so maybe Sturridge's first goal wouldn't have happened and the rot wouldn't have set in.
Whilst I'm the last person to criticise Stekelenburg, because he came in and did a fine job while Forster was away, recent performances from Fraser shows just how much we've been missing. So much so that the difference between the confidence the defence show now and the confidence they displayed before Fraser's return is like day and night. Stekelenburg might be a perfectly capable shot stopper, but Fraser exudes a calm confidence which transfers to the players in front of him. How else would one explain it ? Can't be luck or random chance.
Stek would be a perfect second keeper if he would agree to a contract, but Fraser has an aura. Do you remember in the recent Matchday video when the mascot told Fraser that he was huge (just in case he hadn't noticed), then told Jose that he was nearly as tall (so as not to hurt his feelings).
Knew someone would call me on that one. Obviously a home match (so Watford or WBA)....they are standing in the tunnel and Jose looks back at Forster whilst stifling a smile. You can't see the mascot, but can hear him piping away if you listen hard.
I think it was the Uncovered for Fraser's first game back. For some reason, I'm always surprised at how tall VvD is.
Yep, I looked it up. It was against Watford. For future reference: Forster is 6'7", [Stek is 6'6" incidentally], Jose is 6'2" [but looks taller] and VvD is 6'4". Maya is 6'2½" and poor forgotten Florin Gardos is 6'4½" So that's quite a selection of tall defenders. For comparison, Graziano is 6'4"
Absolutely spot on, FLT. On Tuesday you could almost touch the confidence he was exuding. Like I said on the match thread, this was a game where we should have really been tonked. Arsenal were buzzing, and Ozil was having one of his good games, but we simply kept our belief and the players clearly played for each other. So much of that came from that back 4 which included Fraser. Yes he made some very good saves, but it was his encouragement of those in front of him that was equally impressive and it ran through the team.
I was led to believe that Fonte was the heart and soul of the defense... that is why Lovren was bad once he left. And why Alderwiereld and VVD both slotted in so easily. So are you saying that our defense has actually been **** this entire time and it's really only Forster's rock-solid presence in goal that keeps us steady? Or that we have the wrong team captain, because Fonte is not actually very resolute but actually panics quite easily without the right GK behind him? Three weeks ago, Wanyama was mailing it in and needed to be moved. Now suddenly Wanyama has to be re-signed because he's vital. Two games ago, it was Davis who was inspiring this bunch of lazy no-gooders through sheer effort and desire to win. Except we just played well twice without him. That's really confusing. Is it possible that all our midfielders actually suck, and the difference between us losing 6 out of 7 or whatever and us doing well now is all Forster? Then I wonder how we managed the first two months of the season? Or how we ever did anything under Pochettino under Boruc?
