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Fraser Forster

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Fraser Forster
Forster playing for Celtic in 2012
Personal information
Full name Fraser Gerard Forster
Date of birth (1988-03-17) 17 March 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth Hexham, England
Height 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Celtic
Number 1
Youth career
2001–2005 Wallsend Boys Club
2005–2006 Newcastle United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2012 Newcastle United 0 (0)
2008 → Stockport County (loan) 6 (0)
2009 → Bristol Rovers (loan) 4 (0)
2009–2010 → Norwich City (loan) 38 (0)
2010–2012 → Celtic (loan) 69 (0)
2012– Celtic 71 (0)
International career‡
2013– England 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 May 2014
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 June 2014

Fraser Gerard Forster (born 17 March 1988) is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Celtic.

He started his career with Newcastle United and had brief loan spells with Stockport County and Bristol Rovers. He then spent a successful season on loan at Norwich City, helping the club win the League One title and promotion to the Championship. Forster then joined Celtic on loan for the 2010–11 season, and helped them win the Scottish Cup. He spent a further season on loan there, winning the Scottish Premier League before becoming a permanent squad member in 2012 in a £2.2 million transfer. Forster has won many plaudits for his performances at Celtic and holds the Scottish Premiership record of 1,256 minutes without conceding a goal.

Forster was selected for several England squads during 2012 and 2013 before finally making his first international appearance in November 2013, and was named in England's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Early life

Forster was born in Hexham and attended the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle,[2] but did not begin playing as a goalkeeper until he was 13 years old.[3] Before then he had mainly played either rugby union or cricket.[3] Forster played for the renowned Wallsend Boys Club, but coaches questioned whether he would be tall enough to become a goalkeeper.[3] He started growing significantly at 15 years old and later signed with Newcastle United.[3]

Club career

Newcastle United

Forster playing for Newcastle in July 2008

Forster earned his first professional contract with Newcastle United, signing for their Academy in 2005.[4] Forster was Newcastle's third choice goalkeeper in the 2007–08 season while Tim Krul was on loan at Falkirk,[5] and played regularly in the reserves.[6] However in the six years he was signed to the club, Fraser never made a first-team appearance for Newcastle,[2] mainly due to the fact that he spent most of his time on loan to other clubs, often lasting entire seasons.

Loan to Stockport County

With Krul back for the 2008–09 season and Given back to full fitness, it was the turn of Forster to go on loan. He was loaned out to Stockport County on 2 October 2008, to deputise for regular goalkeeper Owain Fôn Williams while he was away on international duty with Wales.[7] Forster started his first game for Stockport on 7 October in the Football League Trophy second round, where they lost 1–0 away to Bury.[8] He started his first league game for Stockport on 11 October, where his team drew 1–1 away to Southend United.[9] He returned to Newcastle on 1 November, after completing his loan stint at Stockport playing six league games and keeping three clean sheets.[10]

Loan to Bristol Rovers

Forster, having been on the bench for Newcastle on over 30 occasions in the Premier League and UEFA Cup, needed regular playing experience and subsequently signed a month-loan deal with Bristol Rovers on 31 July 2009.[11] He kept two clean sheets in the four league games he played for them.[12] Bristol Rovers asked to extend the loan but Norwich City made a counter offer which was accepted by Newcastle.[13] Manager Paul Trollope was disappointed and commented that the team wanted Forster between the sticks.[13] He stated "Fraser has a great career ahead of him".[14]

Loan to Norwich City

Norwich City manager Paul Lambert was keen to sign Forster who he had seen play for both Stockport and Bristol Rovers. Forster then signed for Norwich City in a one month loan deal, and was given the 21 jersey.[15] It was then extended to the end of January 2010 after making an impressive debut against Hartlepool in the 2-0 victory at Victoria Park.[16] Forster received a red card on 26 September 2009 against Gillingham for bringing Curtis Weston down in the penalty area,[17] however this was considered to be a controversial decision.[18] He made a blunder in a 2-1 defeat against Leeds United on 19 October, with a 90th-minute goal kick going straight to Jermaine Beckford who scored.[19]

On 20 November 2009, Norwich City announced that they had agreed a deal with Newcastle United to extend Forster's loan until the end of the 2009–10 season, after impressing the Norwich faithful with his displays, helping the team shoot up the League One table.[20] He was also allowed to play in Norwich City's cup games.[21] Norwich City manager, Paul Lambert praised world class saves and a terrific contribution to the team.[22]

In November 2009, Forster was awarded Norwich City Player of the Month.[14] On 17 April 2010, Norwich secured promotion to the Championship with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Charlton, with Forster pulling off excellent saves to deny Nicky Bailey and Deon Burton.[23] A week later Norwich's 2-0 win over Gillingham saw them win the League One title.[24] In recognition of his contribution to Norwich's success, Forster was named the club's Players' Player of the Year 2010 and second in the Supporters' Player of the Year award.[25] A fantastic season at Norwich was completed by his award of the Macron Golden Gloves Award for the best record of clean sheets in the league, keeping 18 clean sheets in 38 league appearances and 20 clean sheets in 42 appearances in all competitions.[26]

Celtic

2010–11

On 24 August 2010, Forster joined Celtic, originally on a season-long loan from Newcastle. Celtic manager Neil Lennon described Forster by saying, "He's a big boy, he's come highly recommended, his age is the only thing going against him because otherwise he's all the qualities you look for."[27] He made his Celtic debut on 29 August 2010 away at Motherwell and kept a clean sheet as Celtic won 1–0.[28] He then went on to play in every match of Celtic's season with the exception of two cup matches.

Forster had a successful season with Celtic, winning a runner-up medal in the League Cup and Scottish Premier League.[29][30] Between them, Forster and fellow goalkeeper Łukasz Załuska kept 23 clean sheets in the league, breaking Celtic's previous clean sheet record from the 2001–02 season.[31][32] Forster kept 21 of the clean sheets.[31][33] He capped off his season with a 3–0 victory over Motherwell to help Celtic win the Scottish Cup.[34] In total, he kept 24 clean sheets in 44 matches for Celtic.[35][36]

2011–12

After appearing for Newcastle in pre-season against Darlington,[37] Orlando City,[38] Leeds United[39] and Fiorentina,[40] as well as being named among the substitutes for the opening game of the Premier League season against Arsenal,[41] Forster rejoined Celtic, on loan for the remainder of the season, on 17 August 2011.[42] He helped Celtic draw 0–0 against FC Sion at home, but then lost 3–1 in the away leg, only for UEFA to reinstate Celtic into the Europa League with 3–0 wins in both legs after Sion were found to be fielding ineligible players, thus allowing Forster to keep his only clean sheets in Europe for the season, as he conceded in all the five group games he played in.[43]

Forster had a successful 2011-12 season with Celtic, winning the Scottish Premier League and helping his team beat the previous season's record of 23 clean sheets. He and Załuska kept 25 clean sheets combined, Forster racking up 21 of them.[44] In December 2011, Hearts were awarded a controversial penalty in the final minute of a league match at Parkhead, with Celtic leading 1–0. Forster, however, pulled off an excellent save from Eggert Jonsson's penalty kick to secure three important points for Celtic.[35] In total, he kept 26 clean sheets from 47 games that season.[36][45]

2012–13

On 29 June 2012, it was announced that Forster had signed for Celtic on a permanent deal for a fee in the region of £2 million.[46] On signing the four-year deal, Forster stated "I'm very happy that I'm going to be at Celtic for the next four years at least", and added that "The manager's faith in me means a lot, I've loved my two seasons at Celtic and he's done so much for my confidence."[47] Manager Neil Lennon described Forster as being a "top class keeper" and that he considered him to be an important addition to the squad.[48]

On 7 November 2012, Forster produced a resolute performance[49] against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League group stages, helping Celtic record a historic 2–1 win during the week of the club's 125th anniversary. Due to the calibre of his performance, the Spanish media nicknamed Forster "La Gran Muralla" (The Great Wall).[50] Forster continued to impress in domestic games as well. In January 2013, Motherwell were awarded a soft penalty against Celtic. Bizarrely, referee Steven McLean allowed Tom Hateley to take the penalty kick from in front of the penalty spot.[51][52] Forster was yellow carded for his protests to McLean,[51][52] but the goalkeeper went on to produce an excellent one-handed save high to his right.[52][53] The following month in a league match against Dundee, Forster tipped over a powerful Gary Harkins dipping shot at full-stretch.[54] This save was voted the SPL Save of the Season in May 2013.[55] Forster went to win a second league title with Celtic that season,[56] and completed a league and cup double on 26 May 2013 with a 3–0 win over Hibernian in the Scottish Cup Final.[57]

2013–14

Celtic again qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the 2013-14 season, and again played against Barcelona at Parkhead on 1 October 2013, losing 1–0. Despite the defeat, Forster again impressed with several excellent saves, in particular an outstanding double save near the end of the match.[58][59] Forster also pulled off a crucial save during a 2–1 win on 22 October 2013 over Ajax at Parkhead, saving from Thulani Serero who seemed to be clean through on goal.[60]

Forster's impressive performances for Celtic in the Champions League and involvement with the England international squad led to media reports in October and November 2013 that several clubs, including Manchester United and Manchester City, were considering to make a bid for the goalkeeper.[61] In response to the press speculation, Celtic manager Neil Lennon commented "It's going to be impossible to keep Fraser, the way he’s playing", adding "Inevitably, I think a huge club will come in and make a huge bid for him."[61]

On 2 February 2014 Forster set a new a club-record of 11 league clean sheets in a row,[62] surpassing a record of 10 clean sheets set by Charlie Shaw in the 1921-22 season.[63] Forster's achievement was noted abroad, with the Spanish daily sports newspaper Marca awarding him their weekly 'El Óscar' accolade to someone in football who has made an outstanding contribution in some way to their team.[64] On 22 February 2014, Forster broke Bobby Clark's Scottish League record of 1155 minutes without conceding a goal in a league match. Celtic won 2–0 away at Hearts, and Forster racked up his 13th consecutive clean sheet in the league.[65][66] Forster's clean sheet run finally ended on 1,256 minutes against Aberdeen on 25 February 2014, with Jonny Hayes beating Forster with an impressive 30 yard shot to open the scoring in a 2–1 win for The Dons.[67][68] Forster finished the season with another league winner's medal as Celtic clinched their third consecutive Scottish League title,[69] and his form over the year saw him voted into the PFA Scotland Team of the Year alongside team-mates Virgil van Dijk and Kris Commons.[70]

International career

On 4 October 2012, Roy Hodgson included Forster in his England squad for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland.[71] On 8 November 2012, Forster was then named in Hodgson's England squad for their upcoming friendly against Sweden.[72] On 14 March 2013, Roy Hodgson again included Forster in his England squad, this time for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro.[73] On 27 August 2013, Forster earned his fourth inclusion to the England squad ahead of the World Cup qualifiers with Moldova and Ukraine, joining Joe Hart and John Ruddy in competition for the goalkeeper's position.[74]

Forster won his first cap for England on 15 November 2013 in a friendly match against Chile at Wembley Stadium. England lost 2–0 but Forster was "blameless" for both goals, making a "fine diving save" to deny Chile a third.[75] This appearance against Chile saw Forster become only the second person ever to play for England whilst a Celtic player, after Alan Thompson in 2004.[76]

On 12 May 2014, Hodgson named Forster in England's 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.[77] In England's last warm-up game before the tournament, on 7 June, he replaced Joe Hart for the last 15 minutes of a 0–0 draw with Honduras.[78]

Career statistics

As of 22 July 2014
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other[nb 1] Total
caps Clean caps Clean caps Clean caps Clean caps Clean caps Clean
Newcastle United 2008–09 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Stockport County (loan) 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 7 3
Bristol Rovers (loan) 2009–10 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2
Norwich City (loan) 38 18 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 42 20
Celtic (loan) 2010–11 36 21 4 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 44 24
2011–12 33 21 3 2 4 1 7 2 0 0 47 26
Celtic 2012–13 34 16 4 2 1 1 12 4 0 0 51 23
2013–14 37 21 2 1 0 0 12 5 0 0 51 27
2014–15 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 2
Career Total 188 102 14 7 9 3 33 13 4 2 248 127
  1. ^ Includes appearances in the Football League Trophy and Football League play-offs

Honours

Club

Norwich City

Celtic

Individual

  • Norwich Players Player of the Season (1): 2009–10
  • Norwich Supporters Player of the Season runner up (1): 2009–10
  • Celtic Players Player of the Season (2): 2012-13, 2013-14
  • UEFA Champions League Team of the Week: (3) 2012-13 Round 3, 2012-13 Round 4, 2013-14 Round 3
  • Football League Golden Glove Award League One (1): 2009–10
  • Scottish Premier League Most Clean Sheets (3): 2010-11, 2011–12, 2012–13
  • SPL Save of the Season (1): 2012-13
  • Most consecutive league clean sheets for Celtic F.C. - 11 clean sheets

References

  1. ^ "Fraser Forster". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Forster Signs For Celtic". Newcastle United FC. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d Taylor, Louise (4 October 2012). "Fraser Forster's Celtic adventure leads to England World Cup call". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  4. ^ "Transfer Talk: Newcastle United Sell Fraser Forster To Glasgow Celtic". Sky Tyne & Wear. BSkyB. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.[dead link‍]
  5. ^ "Burnley keen on Newcastle keeper Fraser Forster". icNewcastle.co.uk. ncjMedia. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2012.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ "NUFC set for £2m wherever Fraser Forster goes". Chronicle Live. ncjMedia. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  7. ^ "Hatters snare Magpies keeper". Sky Sports. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  8. ^ "Shakers spring Stockport shock". Sky Sports. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  9. ^ "McSweeney wonder strike saves Stockport". Sky Sports. 11 October 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  10. ^ Fraser Forster: 2008/2009 Soccerbase, 1 November 2008
  11. ^ Rovers snap up Magpies keeper Sky Sports, 31 July 2009
  12. ^ Fraser Forster: 2009/2010 Soccerbase, 22 August 2009
  13. ^ a b Keeper crisis at Bristol Rovers as Forster signs for Norwich City This is Bristol, 28 August 2009
  14. ^ a b ‘A Star in the Making’ – Newcastle’s Fraser Forster Football Fancast, 15 January 2010
  15. ^ Canaries capture keeper Sky Sports, 28 August 2009
  16. ^ Canaries extend Forster loan Sky Sports, 20 November 2009
  17. ^ Gillingham 1 - 1 Norwich BBC Sport, 26 September 2009
  18. ^ Gillingham vs Norwich Mirror Football, 28 September 2009
  19. ^ Leeds United 2 - 1 Norwich BBC Sport, 19 October 2009
  20. ^ Norwich keep Forster for season BBC Sport, 20 November 2009
  21. ^ Fraser Forster deal extended Pink Un, 22 November 2009
  22. ^ Lambert sings Forster's praises[dead link‍] Yahoo! Eurosport, 18 April 2010
  23. ^ Liew, Jonathan (17 April 2010). "Charlton Athletic 0 Norwich City 1: match report". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  24. ^ "Norwich 2 Gillingham 0". BBC Sport. 24 April 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  25. ^ Norwich City return appeals to Fraser Forster BBC Sport, 10 May 2010
  26. ^ Goalkeeper Dorus de Vries wins top accolade BBC Sport, 3 June 2010
  27. ^ "Newcastle goalkeeper Fraser Forster on Celtic loan". BBC Sport. 24 August 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
  28. ^ "Motherwell 0 – 1 Celtic". BBC Sport. 29 August 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  29. ^ Celtic 1-2 Rangers (aet) BBC Sport, 20 March 2011
  30. ^ "Kilmarnock 1-5 Rangers". BBC Sport. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  31. ^ a b Forster's delight at clean sheet record Celtic FC, 17 May 2011
  32. ^ Celtic 4-0 Motherwell BBC Sport, 15 May 2011
  33. ^ "Fraser Forster proud of clean sheet landmark". Chronicle Live. 18 May 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  34. ^ Motherwell 0-3 Celtic BBC Sport, 21 May 2011
  35. ^ a b Richard Wilson (14 December 2011). "Celtic's Fraser Forster can command a fee if he can learn to command his box". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  36. ^ a b "Celtic Player Fraser Forster Details". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  37. ^ "Darlington 0 Newcastle 2". Newcastle United FC. 15 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  38. ^ "Orlando City 1 Newcastle United 0". Newcastle United FC. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  39. ^ "Leeds 3 Newcastle 2". Newcastle United FC. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  40. ^ "Newcastle 0 Fiorentina 0". Newcastle United FC. 6 August 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  41. ^ "Newcastle United 0 Arsenal 0". Newcastle United FC. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  42. ^ "Hoops re-sign Forster". Sky Sports. 17 August 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  43. ^ "Celtic reinstated in Europa League as UEFA rule against Sion". STV Sport. 2 September 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  44. ^ "KING OF THE SHUT-OUTS; Forster hails coach Woods for his clean-sheet record". Daily Record. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  45. ^ Dan King. "Forster Signs For Celtic". Nufc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  46. ^ "Fraser Forster signs for Celtic". Mail Online. Associated Newspapers. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  47. ^ McHugh, Joe (2 July 2012). "Forster: Two reasons I've signed for Celtic". Video Celts. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  48. ^ "Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster signs four-year deal after loan spell". BBC Sport. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  49. ^ "Celtic v Barcelona: Spanish media label Fraser Forster 'La Gran Muralla'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  50. ^ "Fraser Forster Hailed As The Great Wall By Spanish Press". Huffington Post. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  51. ^ a b McHugh, Joe (2 January 2013). "Parker: I fancied Fraser to save penalty". Video Celts. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  52. ^ a b c "Spot of Bother For Fraser Forster at Celtic Park, Celtic 1-0 Motherwell, 02/01/2013". SPFL (YouTube). 2 January 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  53. ^ Murray, Ewan (2 January 2013). "Celtic's Gary Hooper sends out reminders as he sinks Motherwell". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  54. ^ Conaghan, Martin (24 February 2013). "Celtic 5 Dundee 0". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  55. ^ McHugh, Joe (14 May 2013). "Two Celt's among the honours". Video Celts. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  56. ^ Ronnie Esplin, Press Association (21 May 2013). "Celtic 4 Inverness 1: match report - Hoops retain SPL title". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  57. ^ Lamont, Alasdair (26 May 2013). "BBC Sport - Scottish Cup final: Hibernian 0-3 Celtic". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  58. ^ Alan Pattullo (2 October 2013). "Scott Brown red costs Celtic against Barcelona". The Scotsman. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  59. ^ "Fraser Forster's wonder double save during final stages of Celtic 0 - Barcelona 1". 101greatgoals.com. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  60. ^ Ewan Murray (22 October 2013). "Celtic 2-1 Ajax; Champions League Group H match report". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  61. ^ a b Sanderson, Jamie (26 October 2013). "Celtic boss Neil Lennon admits Fraser Forster could join Manchester United". Metro. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  62. ^ "Celtic: Neil Lennon applauds record-breaking Fraser Forster". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  63. ^ "Neil Lennon proud to break 92-year-old record in win over St Mirren". Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  64. ^ "El Óscar - Fraser Forster". Marca (Spain). 4 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  65. ^ "Scottish Premiership LIVE: Hearts v Celtic". Daily Record. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  66. ^ "Hearts 0 Celtic 2: Double thumbs up for Celtic at Tynecastle as Fraser Forster sets new record and Leigh Griffiths strikes". Daily Record. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  67. ^ "BBC Sport - Aberdeen 2-1 Celtic". BBC. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  68. ^ "Aberdeen winger Jonny Hayes claims Goal of the Season award". SKY Sports. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  69. ^ Campbell, Alan (26 March 2014). "Celtic crush Partick Thistle to make it three SPL titles in a row". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  70. ^ Ross, Jack (18 April 2014). "Teams of the year announced". PFA Scotland. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  71. ^ "Forster gets England call". BBC Sport. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  72. ^ "England Name Squad for Sweden Friendly: Forster, Wilshere, Sterling and Osman Named". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  73. ^ "Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster in England squad". The Scotsman. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  74. ^ "Fraser Forster recalled to England squad for Moldova and Ukraine qualifiers". STV Sport. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  75. ^ "England 0-2 Chile" BBC Sport. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  76. ^ Nash, Matthew (5 October 2013). "Who are Glasgow Celtic's England internationals?". HITC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  77. ^ "World Cup 2014: England name Ross Barkley in squad" BBC Sport. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  78. ^ McNulty, Phil (8 June 2014). "England 0-0 Honduras". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
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