Ex-england goalkeeper Foster to leave Hornets
FORMER England goalkeeper Ben Foster has confirmed he will leave Watford at the end of the season following the club’s relegation from the Premier League.
The Leamington-born 39-year-old rejoined the Hornets from West Brom in the summer of 2018, but will not be staying on as Watford rebuild for life back in the Sky Bet Championship.
“The ups, downs, good, bad & ugly...it’s all part of the journey!” Foster wrote on Twitter.
“My time @Watfordfc is up, but a huge thanks for all the support & love Iv received from fans, players & staff in the 6 years with the club, it’s been a blast!
“Looking forward to what next season will bring”.
Foster started his career at Stoke and moved to Manchester United in July 2005, but was loaned out to Watford.
Spells at Birmingham and West Brom followed, with the last of his eight international caps coming in the 2014 World Cup against Costa Rica when
England had already been eliminated.
Foster has made 27 appearances for Watford this season, playing in his last match at Vicarage Road on Sunday when Leicester ran out 5-1 winners.
Former Forest Green head coach Rob Edwards will take charge of the team next season, with Roy Hodgson and his assistant Ray Lewington set to depart following Sunday’s final league game at Chelsea.
Speaking to the Watford website, Foster said: “I’ve enjoyed playing for Roy and Ray, they’re brilliant coaches and we wish them all the best and thank them for what they’ve done.
“Since Roy came in he’s galvanised us and got us working as a unit, but when confidence is low it’s very hard to get the best out of players.
“Hopefully we can do what we did a couple of years ago after relegation, and bounce back at the first time of asking.”
VAR is set to be used for all three of the English Football League play-off finals at Wembley, the governing body has announced.
The EFL had already given VAR the green light for the first time in this season’s Sky Bet Championship showpiece fixture on May 29, with the League One and League Two games now also to have the system in place.
The use of video replays to help refereeing decisions was adopted by the Premier League in 2019 but until now had been overlooked by the EFL, with VAR not in use for the semifinals.
The Championship final will be between Huddersfield or Luton and Nottingham Forest or Sheffield United, with the second leg of their semi-finals to be played on Monday and Tuesday evening.
In League Two, Northampton host Mansfield in the second leg of their semi-final on Wednesday, with Port Vale against Swindon on Thursday night.