Forster is able deputy, says Shola
ENGLAND have previous form for their goalkeeping understudies being busier than expected at major tournaments.
Nigel Martyn blundered into action to facilitate England’s Euro 2000 exit when David Seaman was injured in the warm-up for the final group game against Romania and David James stepped up when Rob Green was dumped after a mistake at South Africa 2010.
Further back in World Cup history, Gordon Banks was floored by food poisoning in 1970 and in came Peter Bonetti to take the blame for a quarter-final exit to West Germany.
Fraser Forster needs misfortune to befall a colleague or two to seize his chance to stand up to greater effect than those stand-ins. Joe Hart and Ben Foster are ahead of him in the pecking order. However, should the Celtic giant be called upon, then former colleague Shola Ameobi is convinced he won’t add to that list of letdowns.
Ameobi, who will be representing Nigeria at Brazil 2014, has watched Forster grow from days of frustration behind Shay Given and Steve Harper at Newcastle United to a star loan spell at Norwich then on to Champions League excellence with Celtic.
Now, after a debut against Chile last November, Forster is likely to be in Barclays Premier League demand for next season, which is no surprise to the 32-year-old striker who was let go by Newcastle last month.
‘When I was at the club with him, he was young but you could see what he had,’ said Ameobi. ‘For a guy that size, the speed with which he got down to make saves was impeccable.
‘He was unlucky with the players ahead of him because we had great goalkeepers. Shay, for a time, was one of the top keepers in the league and his understudy Steven Harper was equally good.
‘When you are a young player, it can be important to recognise the situation you are in. He did that. For me, he was good enough to play for us but obviously he didn’t want to wait and felt he had to go elsewhere.
‘At the end of the day, it is about playing. I think he understood that because he went off on loan to try to find his way then finally took the decision to leave for Celtic. That’s a tough thing to do as a young kid.
‘But he is reaping the rewards now because he has produced some brilliant performances both in Europe and in the domestic competitions.
‘If he gets the chance to play for England he will be fine, without a shadow of a doubt.
‘And there is no doubt he is good enough to play in the Premier League in England, it was just about him growing up and proving himself. He has certainly done that.’