Birmingham's Ben Foster switches on for the big occasion

Posted Sunday, February 27, 2011 by theguardian.com

He doesn't like watching football, so it is just as well Ben Foster expects to be kept busy by Arsenal at Wembley

Birmingham's Ben Foster switches on for the big occasion
Ben Foster is aiming to help Birmingham upset the odds against Arsenal in the Carling Cup final at Wembley.

Ben Foster doesn't watch much football on television. With a couple of children aged two and one the Birmingham City goalkeeper says he can't find the time, though that is not the only reason. "If I am honest I enjoy playing football and that's about it," he says. "When I get home I just want to switch off, chill out. I can't be bothered watching football, I don't even like talking about it. The main thing in my life is my family and my kids. I've just had builders round my house wanting to talk about football all the time, and, honestly, it does my head in. I don't care."

Arsenal should therefore take it as a compliment that Foster tuned in for their game against Barcelona. "I was impressed with Wojciech Szczesny," he says. "He seems very capable and composed for his age and he made some good saves, and Jack Wilshere was absolutely fantastic. The first time I saw Wilshere with England he struck me as a brilliant player, and in the Barcelona game he was so calm on the ball. He almost looks casual, yet he was taking charge against Barcelona. He reminds me of Paul Scholes, and I don't think I can give anyone a bigger compliment than that, because Scholesy is a legend in my eyes."

Foster will be able to continue his admiration from close quarters during the Carling Cup final on Sunday afternoon. Whether Wilshere starts or not Arsenal will be firm favourites and, though Foster can point to Leyton Orient's recovery last Sunday as evidence that anything can happen in football, he is prepared for one of his busier afternoons at Wembley. "I don't mind that," he says. Being kept busy is something I quite enjoy. You know you'll get your fair share of it as the Birmingham goalie, you know you're going to have quite a bit to do, but I love it.

"All I've ever wanted is to be playing every week, and now I am. I go into every game full of confidence, and I love being part of a team, even if every single game is a battle. Playing is the most important thing for me, and I have enjoyed this season as much as any in my career."

Perhaps that is not as big a claim as it might sound. Though famously spotted in the 2005 LDV final by Sir Alex Ferguson who had turned up because his son, Darren, was also appearing for Wrexham, Foster made 23 appearances for Manchester United spread over five years. His international career suffered through not playing regular club football, with just five caps to show for Ferguson's assertion that he would be "England's next goalkeeper". At 27 Foster can boast only three seasons of more than 25 appearances, the present one and two loan spells with Watford. Small wonder he values being part of a team as well as a regular participant. He has spent the best part of his 20s wondering when his career would properly start, so much so he admits he was glad to get away from United.

"I was happy to go in the end because I wasn't playing," he says. "There was no big bust up, nothing like that, but when you know the gaffer has accepted a bid and is willing to let you move on you get the message somewhere along the line that you're not wanted. I'm not the kind to kick up a fuss, I'll just go. It has worked out pretty well for me at Birmingham. I asked Joe Hart about the people here and he said I'd love it. Everyone said the same thing."

Foster subsequently used the expression "cut-throat" to describe the first‑team culture at United, where a zero-tolerance policy towards anything getting in the way of winning meant a draw would feel like the end of the world. That in turn drew accusations that Foster did not have the necessary steel to survive at Old Trafford, but that is the goalkeeper's point. Not everyone can. "It gets out of hand, ridiculously so," he explains. "You have to perform amazingly well in every single game. You could win and people would still say Manchester United should be doing better than that, should be winning by four or five goals. I just thought it was too much.

"I see myself as a winner, I am competitive even if I am only playing a video game, but United is another step up the ladder of mental toughness and strength. There is not as much pressure even with England, where every little thing gets scrutinised. United have their own ethos that comes from within. Winning is all. Even practice matches were very intense, win at all costs. You'd see tackles flying in and little scuffles all the time, but that is what United are.

"That is what they carry on to the pitch on a Saturday and you've got to admire them for that. When they were 2-0 down at Blackpool [on 25 January], for instance, I knew they would come back and win. They have that toughness. It's expected. The manager doesn't tend to sign players if he doesn't see it in them. You don't get that anywhere else, not even at Chelsea.

"You wouldn't see United throwing away a four-goal lead like Arsenal did at Newcastle. It just wouldn't happen. United would have won by six or seven goals, but with Arsenal a few cracks appeared when Newcastle scored. Then it was all panic, whereas United have old boys who can steady the ship. It's no accident that United always seem to come back, just as it's no accident that Gary Neville won so much in his career. Winning is everything to him, and that's why he's been so successful. I don't want to be accused of lacking ambition, I think every professional cares, but I can move on from a defeat pretty much as soon as I step off the pitch. I want to enjoy my football, then get home to my family, that's what matters to me."

At least Foster has a fighting chance of enjoying his latest cup final. He enjoyed his last one, helping United win the 2009 event with the then novel idea of studying Spurs' penalty takers on an iPod just before the shootout (he has upgraded to an iPad since), though he was not fully prepared for United's way of celebrating a Wembley cup victory. "There was no celebration," he recalls. "There was nothing. We were straight on the train home, then in for training the next day. There was a Champions League fixture coming up, the Carling Cup was over already. Everyone automatically moved on to the next game right away. I was thinking: 'Jeez, we've won a cup, we should be celebrating,' but I was probably alone in thinking that. United have big games all the time. They win one, then move on to the next. It's a different world, and though it can seem a bit mad, maybe it has to be that way.

"I don't know if Birmingham can win the Carling Cup, but if we do we'll definitely be celebrating. This is not just another game for us, it's a very big game. A special occasion. You can sense that from the fans. I just hope they all enjoy it."