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Southampton 2017/18 season review: Fraser Forster

By Chris Hughes

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 23: Fraser Forster of Southampton gives his eam instructions during the Premier League match between Southampton and Huddersfield Town at St Mary's Stadium on December 23, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 23: Fraser Forster of Southampton gives his eam instructions during the Premier League match between Southampton and Huddersfield Town at St Mary's Stadium on December 23, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) /
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The 2017/18 season hit Fraser Forster hard, as he dropped out of both Southampton and England’s plans after consistently poor performances.

Despite a relatively poor end to the 2016/17 season under Claude Puel, Fraser Forster agreed to a new contract over the summer which caught many Saints supporters off guard, as the deal reportedly made Forster one of, if not the highest paid player on the club’s books.

As a result the Englishman went into the new campaign as first choice under Mauricio Pellegrino, but from the off things weren’t to be for the now-30-year-old.

Despite this Forster made a total of 20 league appearances whilst also starting once in the Carabao Cup – but his last game of the season came in the 5-2 drubbing at the hands of Tottenham of Boxing Day.

After that, Pellegrino made the bold move to finally drop the six-foot-eight stopper and replace him with Alex McCarthy and neither him nor Mark Hughes looked back.

Next: 2017/18 season review: Tadic

SWANSEA, WALES – MAY 08: Fraser Forster of Southampton warms up during the Premier League match between Swansea City and Southampton at Liberty Stadium on May 8, 2018 in Swansea, Wales. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
SWANSEA, WALES – MAY 08: Fraser Forster of Southampton warms up during the Premier League match between Swansea City and Southampton at Liberty Stadium on May 8, 2018 in Swansea, Wales. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) /

It’s been arguable that Forster’s form has been inconsistent ever since his knee injury in 2015 – despite this he played every game for the Saints under Claude Puel.

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However his costly mistakes eventually came back to haunt him, despite an early-winter resurgence that did see him return to the England set-up.

When called upon Forster simply didn’t do enough this season – he was slow across his goal and to get down, and let’s not even get started on headers. The ex-Celtic ‘keeper seemed to lose all confidence when it came to crosses, and as a result the Saints became comically weak at defending against physical strikers and as a result conceded plenty of goals after deliveries into the area.

Many supporters were calling for Forster to be benched as a result, as by November time the Saints were dropping a lot of points as a direct result of his mistakes.

When McCarthy was eventually given the nod around new year, Forster never really had a chance of returning to the starting XI. The former was athletic and acrobatic, and despite still conceding in nearly every game they played, Southampton failed to concede the same amount of sloppy goals as a result of poor goalkeeping.

Naturally Forster has not returned to the England set-up and will therefore not go to the World Cup this summer, something which makes for a sad end to the season for someone once considered one of England’s best goalies outside the big six.

With his high wages costing the Saints a fair amount too, it may not come as a surprise if the club look to move the big man on this summer, as to not drain their budget on bench players.

Verdict

Fraser Forster: 4/10