The whole Fraser Forster thing - Rant number 432

Firstly well done on FF for getting his call up to the senior England squad.

His display for Celtic against Barca was sublime.

What riles me is that we let this lad go for £2m.

He is black and white through and through, born in Hexham and several reports at the time suggested he never wanted to leave.

Our club had other ideas.

Fatty made a few quick quid from the sale of a local lad and brought in Elliot, a player who isn't half the player FF is.

Now we are scrambling around looking for another goalie.

It's criminal that we let a black and white daft prospect leave for peanuts it really is.

We should have loaned him for another season or two at worse.

His call up to England now means his fee would be around £7-8 million at LEAST right now so the chances of him putting on our shirt again have pretty much evaporated.

It's just another example of our buffoonery at this club.

I wish FF all the best. By all accounts he is a lovely, soft spoken lad with a sensible head on his shoulders.

It's just a shame we won't get to see him develop between OUR goalposts over the next decade.

 

I must've read different reports, matey. I thought he didn't want another loan spell, and wanted his shot in the first team, which we obviously couldn't give him. I also heard that he'd never shown anything like the quality he's now giving Celtic and was a bit of an immobile lump in goal, so trying to give him first team game time with the exceptional Tim Krul ahead of him just wasn't going to happen. From a development perspective, I also understand that both Alnwick and Woody are considered to be quite a distance ahead of him.

As he's nothing more than a reserve goalie who we don't rate, how the hell are we supposed to ask for a lot of money?! Happens all the time, just one of them things. Man U could look at Pilkington, or Morrison, or Pogba - I'm all for ranting, but when it's one day to a massive fixture I think there's better ways to use our energy. Fair play to Forster, but no-one can say for a fact that he'd be a top class Prem keeper every week just because he's had a couple of blinders against Barca.

 

I saw him with my own eyes for the reserves 3-4 times and he was a complete class apart- I always bigged him up on here too.
Part of a coaching job is to look at potential as well surely?. Hell, if I saw it surely Woodman could (who has his son coming up through the ranks BTW....)
I always rated FF big time and for me he was always the second best goalie at our club.

Apparently it was the Shields Gazette who ran quotes from him saying he wanted to be 'involved' in the first team (as a number 2 he would have had that chance, at least in the cups).

Agree there's a massive fixture tomorrow..... but if that's all we ever talked about there would be a one thread board with the MDT taking prominence.
We all have equally valid opinions though but I'm convinced we've ballsed up big time with FF.

 

Two factors were the main reason for that measley transfer fee I believe.

One is that Krul was in the form of his life and made himself appear streets ahead of Forster.

Another is that Forster did himself no favours by making horrible schoolboy errors when he was given his chance in friendlies for us (as I recall).

 

I would have at least hoped we would insert a buy back clause etc.... but I have a feeling this wasn't sanctioned.

 

We got the same for Martyn Waghorn! Dreadful price that like. Saying that, We paid 2m for Mannone! Mannone or Forster? No brainer isn't it? Forster all day long. Fees don't make sense anymore.

 

Can't see this as the clubs fault.

FF wasn't going to be another Harper - - he wanted to play. Krul was clearly the better keeper. If we'd loaned him out for another couple of seasons his contract would have expired and we would have got nothing.

Lots you can criticise Ashley for but not FF leaving.

 

I think you chaps were linked with FF at one point.

 

A few years ago aye. Don't think there was anything in it as we were fine for keepers. We were also linked after Mig left. That was bollocks too as we were always going to sign Westy's understudy. Wish we'd gone for Forster. Both our keepers now are gash. A Krul or a Mig can keep you in this league on their own and have done. Westie has cost us points left right and centre already. If you Lose Krul in Jan it would be a disaster.

 

I believe he wanted out. I'm not sure but did he not only have a year left on his contract too? If so you'd have lost him for nothing or development fee. Tricky one because we could have down with over the last two seasons but I have a feeling this was one where it was out of the clubs hands. Nolan, Barton, Carroll, Simpson you can argue either way but with a goalie you are kinda limited.

 

Sad thing here is even if he had of made No 1 ahead of Krul he still wouldn't have been sniffed at for an England berth