Fraser Gerard Forster is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League
club Southampton.
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 won many plaudits for his performances at Celtic and holds the Scottish Premiership
record of 1,256 minutes without conceding a goal.
In August 2014, he joined Southampton for an estimated £10 million.
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, but did not begin playing as a goalkeeper until he was
13 years old.
Before then he had mainly played either rugby union or cricket.
Forster played for the renowned Wallsend Boys Club, where coaches thought Forster might
be too small to play as a goalkeeper.
However he entered a significant growth spurt at 15 years of age and later signed with Newcastle
United.
Club career Newcastle United
Forster earned his first professional contract with Newcastle United, signing for their Academy
in 2005.
Forster was Newcastle's third choice goalkeeper in the 2007–08 season while Tim Krul was
on loan at Falkirk, and played regularly in the reserves.
However in the six years he was signed to the club, Fraser never made a first-team appearance
for Newcastle, 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.
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.
He started his first league game for Stockport on 11 October, where his team drew 1–1 away
to Southend United.
He returned to Newcastle on 1 November, after completing his loan stint at Stockport playing
six league games and keeping three clean sheets.
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.
He kept two clean sheets in the four league games he played for them.
Bristol Rovers asked to extend the loan but Norwich City made a counter offer which was
accepted by Newcastle.
Manager Paul Trollope was disappointed and commented that the team wanted Forster between
the sticks.
He stated "Fraser has a great career ahead of him".
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.
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.
Forster received a red card on 26 September 2009 against Gillingham for bringing Curtis
Weston down in the penalty area, however this was considered to be a controversial decision.
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.
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.
He was also allowed to play in Norwich City's cup games.
Norwich City manager, Paul Lambert praised world class saves and a terrific contribution
to the team.
In November 2009, Forster was awarded Norwich City Player of the Month.
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.
A week later Norwich's 2-0 win over Gillingham saw them win the League One title.
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.
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.
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."
He made his Celtic debut on 29 August 2010 away at Motherwell and kept a clean sheet
as Celtic won 1–0.
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.
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.
Forster kept 21 of the clean sheets.
He capped off his season with a 3–0 victory over Motherwell to help Celtic win the Scottish
Cup.
In total, he kept 24 clean sheets in 44 matches for Celtic.
2011–12 After appearing for Newcastle in pre-season
against Darlington, Orlando City, Leeds United and Fiorentina, as well as being named among
the substitutes for the opening game of the Premier League season against Arsenal, Forster
rejoined Celtic, on loan for the remainder of the season, on 17 August 2011.
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.
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.
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.
In total, he kept 26 clean sheets from 47 games that season.
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.
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."
Manager Neil Lennon described Forster as being a "top class keeper" and that he considered
him to be an important addition to the squad.
On 7 November 2012, Forster produced a resolute performance 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".
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.
Forster was yellow carded for his protests to McLean, but the goalkeeper went on to produce
an excellent one-handed save high to his right.
The following month in a league match against Dundee, Forster tipped over a powerful Gary
Harkins dipping shot at full-stretch.
This save was voted the SPL Save of the Season in May 2013.
Forster went to win a second league title with Celtic that season, and completed a league
and cup double on 26 May 2013 with a 3–0 win over Hibernian in the Scottish Cup Final.
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.
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.
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.
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."
On 2 February 2014 Forster set a new a club-record of 11 league clean sheets in a row, surpassing
a record of 10 clean sheets set by Charlie Shaw in the 1921-22 season.
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.
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.
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.
Forster finished the season with another league winner's medal as Celtic clinched their third
consecutive Scottish League title, 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.
2014–15 Amidst speculation linking him with a transfer
to Southampton, Forster played in Celtic's first four games in the qualifying rounds
for the Champions League.
Celtic lost 4–1 away at Legia Warsaw, with Forster saving a penalty from Ivica Vrdoljak.
Celtic eventually won the tie on away goals, after being awarded a 3–0 win for the second
leg due to Legia fielding an ineligible player in that game.
Southampton On the evening of 8 August 2014, it was reported
that Celtic and Southampton had agreed a fee of around £10 million for the transfer of
Forster down to the Premier League club.
Southampton officially announced the transfer the next day, after Forster signed a four-year
contract with the club.
He made his Premier League debut on 17 August in Southampton's first game of the season,
a 2–1 defeat away at Liverpool.
A week later Forster kept his first clean sheet for the club, in a goalless draw against
West Bromwich Albion at home.
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.
On 8 November 2012, Forster was then named in Hodgson's England squad for their upcoming
friendly against Sweden.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On 12 May 2014, Hodgson named Forster in England's 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in
Brazil.
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.
Forster travelled to Brazil with the rest of the England squad but did not feature in
any of the three games England played.
Career statistics As of 20 September 2014
Honours Club
Norwich City Football League One: 2009–10
Celtic Scottish Premiership: 2011–12, 2012–13,
2013–14 Scottish Cup: 2011, 2013
Individual Norwich Players Player of the Season: 2009–10
Norwich Supporters Player of the Season runner up: 2009–10
Celtic Players Player of the Season: 2012-13, 2013-14
UEFA Champions League Team of the Week: 2012-13 Round 3, 2012-13 Round 4, 2013-14 Round 3
Football League Golden Glove Award League One: 2009–10
Scottish Premier League Most Clean Sheets: 2010-11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013-14
SPL Save of the Season: 2012-13 Most consecutive league clean sheets for Celtic
- 13 clean sheets References
External links Fraser Forster at CelticFC.net
Fraser Forster career stats at Soccerbase