LAMPS: DON’T BE CHRISTMAS PUDDING, SON
TO ring in 2019, nobody in football is better qualified than a goalkeeper known to his manager as Big Ben.
And when the famous Westminster bell ‘bongs’ open the diary on a New Year at midnight on Monday, Ben Foster will be grateful he challenged himself to prove he still deserved a Premier League encore.
Relegated with West Brom last season, on the back of a horrid 21-match winless streak, Foster looks back and acknowledges he had become a hostage to routine.
Although he loved his time with the Baggies, the chance of a curtain call at Vicarage Road – where he sprang to prominence 13 years ago – was too tempting to turn down.
Foster ends the calendar year arguably in the best form of any Englandqualified goalkeeper and with Watford head coach Javi Gracia comparing his stature with a famous landmark.
“When I came to London, I thought Big Ben was in the city,” observed Gracia earlier month. “But, no, he is in goal for Watford. And when he does great, it is no surprise to me.”
If he were a few years younger and, to use his own description, he didn’t have “glass” knees, Foster would not just be knocking on the door of an England recall.
He would be crashing through it like Jack Nicholson in The Shining.
But Foster admitted: “I can’t honestly say I’ve ever thought I’d be playing for England again.
“My body isn’t really built for going away and doing all the extra work that comes with international football and I don’t want to block the young keepers who are coming through.
“This generation is the most exciting crop of English goalkeepers I’ve seen for years.
“Jordan Pickford has had a tough time once or twice this season at club level, but look at the way he performed at the World Cup when it really mattered. That’s all you can ask for.
“I don’t think the goalthis keeping department is something we need to worry about – not enough to turn the clock back.”
Foster, a qualified chef who once prepared dinners at Cafe Rouge, was speaking as the canteen at Watford’s London Colney training ground served players fillets of sea bass for lunch.
They looked so plump and inviting that a keeper could have dived into them like crash mats – but Foster, 35, admits he has had enough of soft landings.
“I’d been at West Brom for seven seasons, it was easy, it was home and it was a hard decision to leave because I was so set in my ways,” he added.
“I was almost left to my own devices because the routine had worked for so long, and moving on was a new challenge because I would have to prove myself all over again.
“When I knew that Watford wanted me back, it made the puzzle a whole lot easier to solve. And it has worked out for the best because, at times, I’ve had to show what I’m about.”
First-half saves at home to Crystal Palace and Huddersfield, a penalty save at Everton and a masterclass against Manchester City, which made a contest out of a rout, have all been worth points, plaudits or both.
And the reflex save from a deflected Robert Snodgrass header in the 2-0 win at West Ham last week was lost amid the aftershock of Michail Antonio failing to convert the rebound.
“Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you I’m laid-back and I don’t take anything too seriously, including football,” he said.
“But scratch the surface and you’ll find I’m very competitive. At three o’clock on a match day, adrenaline takes over and I find I can do things that I can’t do on a day-to-day basis in training.
“That’s got to be better than the other way round – I would hate to be a brilliant trainer all week and leave it in the dressing room when it really counts.” MASON MOUNT admits Frank Lampard has told him to go easy on Christmas treats in his first festive campaign.
Chelsea’s England prospect is on loan at Derby under boss Lampard (above).
And ahead of today’s testing trip to Norwich, Mount, 19, said: “It’s my first Christmas period as a footballer so it’s quite interesting.
“When I was on loan at Vitesse Arnhem in Holland last season we had the winter break, so I had about a week and a bit off and was back at home.
“It’s about being professional for us. The gaffer mentioned about being careful over Christmas and not going over the top, which we know is really important.
“It’s about having your focus set on the next game – nothing else.”
vChampionship: 3pm
OLI McBURNIE plans to combine with Wilfried Bony to take out his frustration on Wigan.
Swansea lost 1-0 to Aston Villa on Boxing Day when they missed a glut of chances and saw Bony fail to convert a late penalty.
McBurnie (right) said:
“Of course it’s an option for me to play alongside Wilfried – we’re both strikers.
“The goals will come. We’re playing well, that’s the main thing and we’re not far away from going on a good run.
“We’ve got two games coming up, Wigan then Reading, where I think we can get maximum points.”