We have to keep Fraser Forster

[niceandfriendly]

We can't be letting him go and keeping the far, far inferior Alex McCarthy. Surely he'd take a pay cut to stay on a still lucrative deal?

[washsaint]

Agreed, really hope he agrees a new contract.

[Le Timmier]

Immense again today. Starting to look like the FF of 2014-16

[Lighthouse]

No we don't. He may be better than McC and enjoying a period of good form but we shouldn't be handing out multi-year contracts on the back of temporary spikes in form. I'd like to think we've been scouting better, more consistent players for several months, if not longer.

[Sir Ralph]

Agree keep him - seems to have sorted himself out and playing like 2015 again. Would only like want a 1-2 year extension so not high risk regarding any downturn in form. 

[Nordic Saint]

  On 12/02/2022 at 14:34, washsaint said:

Agreed, really hope he agrees a new contract.

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He is the main man and such an inspiration to the rest of the team. If McCarthy had been in goal today, we'd have limped to a 4-1 defeat.

[AlexLaw76]

It is hard to imagine why we would let him go just to buy buy another 

[Nordic Saint]

  On 12/02/2022 at 14:31, niceandfriendly said:

We can't be letting him go and keeping the far, far inferior Alex McCarthy. Surely he'd take a pay cut to stay on a still lucrative deal?

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Pay cut??? He deserves a pay rise! He is one of our most important players. Having him in goal instead of McCarthy is worth millions in terms of points and league positions gained, not to mention the real possibility of winning the FA Cup.

[niceandfriendly]

  On 12/02/2022 at 14:43, Nordic Saint said:

Pay cut??? He deserves a pay rise! He is one of our most important players. Having him in goal instead of McCarthy is worth millions in terms of points and league positions gained, not to mention the real possibility of winning the FA Cup.

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Only mentioned that because I think we gave him an insane deal a while back. But yes, I'm with you. Got to keep him. 

[Baird of the land]

No i'd move on from him. Giving him  a new long term contract would be a mistake.

He's going an ok job for now. We're doing our best to play to his strengths and limit exposure of his weaknesses.

I'd be happy to replace with Johnstone on a free in the summer as a replacement(who's younger and a stronger allrounder) let alone whoever else we may have scouted.

[niceandfriendly]

  On 12/02/2022 at 14:35, Lighthouse said:

No we don't. He may be better than McC and enjoying a period of good form but we shouldn't be handing out multi-year contracts on the back of temporary spikes in form. I'd like to think we've been scouting better, more consistent players for several months, if not longer.

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When he plays we play better. Happened last season and it's happening again. No reason to believe it's a temporary spike in form. He's not a world beater as I've said before, but he's absolutely miles beyond McCarthy and he really is getting back to his best.

[Saint Matty 76]

  On 12/02/2022 at 14:35, Lighthouse said:

No we don't. He may be better than McC and enjoying a period of good form but we shouldn't be handing out multi-year contracts on the back of temporary spikes in form. I'd like to think we've been scouting better, more consistent players for several months, if not longer.

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Completely agree. I hope we don’t get fooled into giving him an extension on these wages.

For what it’s worth I thought he made an absolute meal out of that Maguire save. 😆

Definitely an improvement on Macca, but still very flawed. Do love the bloke though.

[Lighthouse]

I wouldn't argue that he's better than McC but that's not much of an endorsement in itself. FF has played 7 league games this season, following several years of performances which have been dubious to say the least (no clean sheets in that 7 either). For the massive wages we're reportedly paying him, I'd be disappointed if our scouts couldn't find someone better in summer.

This thread is emotive after a match saving save in injury time at OT, I get it. This is the kind of superficial, short term thinking Ankersen was brought in to prevent.

[niceandfriendly]

  On 12/02/2022 at 15:01, Lighthouse said:

 

This thread is emotive after a match saving save in injury time at OT, I get it. This is the kind of superficial, short term thinking Ankersen was brought in to prevent.

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This thread is based on the what, 7 or 8 games or so he's played recently where I believe we've only lost once. Could be wrong on that. When he plays we play better. We're losing fewer games and he is playing his part. I doubt Ankersen has been brought in to ensure that the better of our keepers is let go and the poorer ones kept on. 

Edited 12 February, 2022 by niceandfriendly

[niceandfriendly]

Ralph on Fraser: "On his line he is fantastic, unbelievable. It's very good to see him with the ball. The assist for the goal was by Fraser. He is a little bit of an old school keeper because he plays so long".

Good to hear Ralph isn't missing his good performances.

[Baird of the land]

  On 12/02/2022 at 15:10, niceandfriendly said:

Ralph on Fraser: "On his line he is fantastic, unbelievable. It's very good to see him with the ball. The assist for the goal was by Fraser. He is a little bit of an old school keeper because he plays so long".

Good to hear Ralph isn't missing his good performances.

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Ralph also pointing out he's not good off his line.

[S-Clarke]

He's done great, but I still believe this summer is the opportunity to change up our goalkeeping situation a little bit. It has got a bit stale over the last 4 or so years.

If anything his contract situation is probably seeing his level lift as he's playing for a club really, so if that benefits us between now and the end of the season - win win. I still expect him to leave and a new keeper to come in to freshen that area of the pitch up. 

[The Kraken]

  On 12/02/2022 at 14:59, Saint Matty 76 said:

For what it’s worth I thought he made an absolute meal out of that Maguire save. 😆

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Initially I thought it was right in the corner, but it wasn’t. That said, I thought the best thing about the save was not just stopping the goal but doing so well to scoop it well away to safety, perhaps why it ended up looking so dramatic.

[Wade Garrett]

Decent keeper who has found his form.

I would like him to stay.

[coalman]

Agree the team plays better with Forster than McCarthy but neither of them has been consistent. Our distribution is poor with either and Forster can feel glued to his line.

He made some good stops today and we wouldn't have drawn without him but we can do better.

[Midfield_General]

  On 12/02/2022 at 14:41, AlexLaw76 said:

It is hard to imagine why we would let him go just to buy buy another 

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Because we'd buy someone better? 

He's doing alright at the moment, and fair play to him after his struggles in the past, but even aside from his known weaknesses he's still doing some weird stuff. He was very lucky to get away with that one that he dropped and then backheeled into his own net against Spurs on Boxing Day, and then again today he was lucky not to get caught by Fernandes when he basically forgot to pick it up.

He's a lot more solid than he was, and long may that continue, but with a decent bit of scouting we should comfortably be able to find an upgrade as first choice in the summer. A Niemi type would be worth an extra 6-9 points a season. 

 

[Daft Kerplunk]

Club dropped a bit of a changer giving Alex McCarthy a contract extension (apparently they have and if anyone says they haven’t, phone the club and ask them to deny it) and since that time, Fraser has made it a no contest situation. Need a better keeper but currently a shame that the better one will likely leave because the other was given a better contract and will be difficult to offload for a decent wedge. 

[Suhari]

Give him a new contract. He's good.

Sell McCarthy to a top 6 who need an English 3rd choice.

Buy a decent, younger keeper and have genuine competition.

[Harry_SFC]

He has his flaws but then again a club like us is probably his level. He has less flaws than McCarthy who is diabolical IMO. 

Wouldn't be against keeping Forster on lower wages and bringing in a younger keeper to compete with him for the No.1 spot. 

[stevy777_x]

  On 12/02/2022 at 14:35, Lighthouse said:

No we don't. He may be better than McC and enjoying a period of good form but we shouldn't be handing out multi-year contracts on the back of temporary spikes in form. I'd like to think we've been scouting better, more consistent players for several months, if not longer.

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Exactly this.

[Uncle Albert]

Keep him and get rid of mccarthy, maybe keep him on as a backup.

[whelk]

I liked his kick away save with his feet. Reminded me of when we had to take turn in goal and I couldn’t be arsed to make an effort 

[Lee On Solent Saint]

  On 12/02/2022 at 18:10, Uncle Albert said:

Keep him and get rid of mccarthy, maybe keep him on as a backup.

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Agree with this, would much rather see Forster as the number 2 rather than McCarthy.

[DT]

  On 12/02/2022 at 14:45, niceandfriendly said:

When he plays we play better. Happened last season and it's happening again. No reason to believe it's a temporary spike in form. He's not a world beater as I've said before, but he's absolutely miles beyond McCarthy and he really is getting back to his best.

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This. Ralph was mystifying when he picked McCarthy ahead of him. Our form has coincided with a proper keeper in the sticks. Imbues confidence, as I’ve said countless times. McCarthy should be sold

[kyle04]

I say keep him, is he not too old to improve on the weaker parts of his game?

[Convict Colony]

It's think Frase had eaten well at the saints pig trough over the years and never played for us so stopping some shots is the least he can do.

 

Like what was he doing waiting to pick up the ball and Fernandes nearly stole it

[DT]

  On 12/02/2022 at 21:27, Convict Colony said:

It's think Frase had eaten well at the saints pig trough over the years and never played for us so stopping some shots is the least he can do.

 

Like what was he doing waiting to pick up the ball and Fernandes nearly stole it

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But didn’t   I mean who cares?

[The Cat]

He's playing ok at the moment but we a know he's form is up and down and that he isn't consistent.

It's our weakest position and we should definitely try to improve it in the summer.

He's also 34 next month so we won't get much more time out of him (yes I'm aware Caballero is 40 but there's barely any keepers his age still playing)

[The Cat]

  On 12/02/2022 at 19:08, kyle04 said:

I say keep him, is he not too old to improve on the weaker parts of his game?

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34 in March, so no, not really.

[stknowle]

Would love him to stay on as back up, esp if it meant no more McCarthy. Want someone better than the pair of them though.

[Hodgey]

He’s played well recently, but we need a modern gk who is comfortable on the ball, and comfortable off his line, he has improved here but looks unnatural. 
We can only have one of McC or Forster as number 2, McC has new contract and I can see Forster having a good few years at a slightly lower level as no 1. 
Good news is that with Forsters wages freed up we should have decent capacity to find a quality no 1. 

[spyinthesky]

I guess it all depends on how much money we have to spend.

In my view the priority is to concentrate on buying or replacing Broja.

I would hope that Forster and McCarthy could no a job perhaps with Willy kept on as backup.

[DT]

  On 12/02/2022 at 21:56, The Cat said:

34 in March, so no, not really.

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That world class save today, the big hand one: first thing I thought was I wish he was a big younger. Said no one. 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

Forster is a keeper I've always rated. He was excellent for Celtic, and early and recent form with us has shown plenty of his better qualities. Totally fair to say he did have spells of inconsistency, and what seemed to be a clear slump in confidence in between. He also had a bad injury. So, I'm certainly not saying that he shouldn't have had competition for the shirt, or always have been first choice. 

But when he's remotely on form, he's easily the more commanding presence behind the defence. I think he got the contract (and happy to be corrected) when Wanyama, Pelle and Mane left and extended it the following year. Davis would have retired about then, and I thought Forster was a clear upgrade at the time, and worth it at the time. It also showed we could also hold onto players (if only to sell them at a profit later).

During the periods when he wasn't first choice, I got the feeling that the club were only too eager to shift him off the wage bill. That's understandable, but can't be a good place to be for any player, and with a goalkeeper, there's also the feeling that their errors are more exposed.

If the scouting dept have identified an upgrade on Forster, then that will be good for the club and Forster can try and secure as good a deal as he can elsewhere. But I'm not so sure it will be easy to repalce him. So, if the club decided they couldn't and reached an agreement to extend his contract, I'd be quite happy. 

As Spyinthesky said, I'd much rather focus on securing/ replacing Broja.

[Colinjb]

If a 40 year old Caballero is worth signing, so is a 34 year old Forster.

Taking the GK position in isolation, we clearly need a long term option. What a pity that Forster, for whatever reason was simply not at his best in what should have been his prime. 

Edited 13 February, 2022 by Colinjb

[ErwinK1961]

All this “let’s keep him as back up and on lower wages” - it’s not that simple though is it?

Maybe Fraser doesn’t want to be back up? Maybe he wants to move on somewhere new and he’s knows the only chance he has of getting near his current wage is on a free transfer?

Also, didn’t the club offer him a new contract in the summer but he turned it down? 

This summer is our opportunity to improve the weakest area of our team. I hope the club have some targets lined up.

 

[ozzmeister]

  On 12/02/2022 at 16:39, Suhari said:

Give him a new contract. He's good.

Sell McCarthy to a top 6 who need an English 3rd choice.

Buy a decent, younger keeper and have genuine competition.

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Didn’t we try that with Angus Gunn……

[skintsaint]

FF form picks up when he needs to earn a new contract here or somewhere else...no surprise! 😉

Certainly looks back to his previous best but we really should be looking for a new no 1 next season for the next few years.