Fraser Forster is talking about the heartbreak many people feel for Nick Pope, particularly from within the goalkeepers’ union, and it is surely a stark reminder of how one action in their position can have far-reaching consequences. Pope was set to start in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final for Newcastle against Manchester United and then it was whisked away from him when he misjudged a long pass in last Saturday’s Liverpool game. It led to an instinctive handball outside the area, a red card and a devastating suspension.
Forster, the Tottenham goalkeeper who is preparing for Chelsea’s Premier League visit earlier in the day, may have felt Pope’s pain keenly. Forster grew up in the north-east and Newcastle were the club he followed and whose academy he would join at 16. He dreamed of playing for them but, despite a six-year association, albeit one when he was mainly out on loan, he never did. For the 34-year-old, it is plainly his biggest regret.
What Forster certainly sees in the episode is how one goalkeeper’s misfortune can lead to opportunity for another, normally the backup but in Newcastle’s case the third choice. Martin Dubravka is cup-tied, having played in the early rounds of the competition for Manchester United while on loan, and so step forward Loris Karius for a shot at redemption.
Karius’s last appearance for an English club was for Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final defeat against Real Madrid, when he conceded two soft goals. His last senior game was for Union Berlin in February 2021.
“It’s mad how it can change for you in a week,” Forster says. “Karius will be sat there going: ‘Pfff, I’m playing in a cup final.’ It’s unlucky for Nick but hopefully Karius does well. It would be nice for him.”
Forster has found himself in a similar situation. When he signed for Spurs as a free agent last summer, his Southampton contract having run out, he knew that for the first time since he was a youngster at Newcastle, he would be a “real number two”. He was out of the Southampton lineup at times, most notably for 16 difficult months from late December 2017, but that was different. He was the number one who had lost his form.
At Spurs, Forster was to be the understudy to Hugo Lloris, playing in the domestic cups, bringing something to the dressing room, training hard and being ready – just in case. “It’s hard … when you’re used to playing every game or always wanting to play every game,” Forster says. “I was aware of what the situation would be but I thought when a club of this stature comes along, the opportunity is there. I thought there would be a lot of games.”
Forster got a bonus one in the league on Boxing Day – the 2-2 draw at Brentford – after Lloris’s late return from the World Cup. And then it happened, one moment to change everything, Lloris suffering a serious knee ligament injury in the home win over Manchester City on 5 February.
Suddenly, Forster was in the thick of Spurs’ battle for a top-four finish – with Newcastle, coincidentally, their major rivals – and also the Champions League last-16 tie against Milan. He almost kept out the goal for Milan’s 1-0 win at San Siro, making two superb saves before being beaten by Brahim Díaz and, with Lloris not expected back until early April, he is in line to start the return leg on 8 March.
When Forster considers his career highlights, there are the six caps for England and the trophies at Celtic – four league titles, two Scottish Cups and one Scottish League Cup. But really it is the Champions League nights at the Scottish club that stand out – especially the 2-1 group stage win over Barcelona at Celtic Park in November 2012.
The Spanish media nicknamed Forster La Gran Muralla because he was a wall that Barcelona could not breach, he got an assist for the second goal and he even swapped shirts with Lionel Messi. The victory would inspire Celtic to qualify for the last 16, where they were well beaten by Antonio Conte’s Juventus. The Spurs manager has spoken about how well Forster played in those ties.
“The Messi shirt is tucked away somewhere with the rest of my memorabilia,” Forster says. “I’m not one who has a room with everything in it. But I think he’s got a Fraser Forster shirt somewhere as well! The biggest mystery is where does Messi keep his Forster shirt?”
Forster came late to elite-level football, playing Sunday league for Stocksfield, 15 miles west of Newcastle, until he was 15, before he joined Wallsend Boys Club. He started goalkeeping only at 13. A pupil at Newcastle’s Royal grammar school, he did not play football there until his GCSE year. Instead, it was cricket and rugby.
“I didn’t join Newcastle until I was 16, nearly 17,” Forster says. “They only had one keeper in the age group and they needed one to be on the bench for the FA Youth Cup. I went in and did a couple of days a week, then they gave me a scholarship, which I signed at 17, and I went from there.
“I was playing a massive amount of catch-up. I remember going in on the first day and it was football in the morning, gym in the afternoon. I had never done gym in my life. They were all lifting huge weights and I couldn’t even do 10 press-ups. I thought: ‘I need to do something.’ And I just worked as hard as I could. I’ve done that all through my career. Then you can’t have any regrets.”
Forster will never hide his affection for Newcastle. “As a fan growing up, we had season tickets and my dad would take me,” he says. “If I could change anything in my career, it would be to play one game at St James’ Park for Newcastle.”
Forster will try to catch the Carabao Cup final but first it is Chelsea and the chance to fire another dream. With speculation over the future of Lloris and Spurs being linked with Brentford’s David Raya and Jordan Pickford of Everton, could Forster yet become the club’s longer-term solution? “Everyone in football dreams of being the number one at a club of this stature and I would like to do that,” Forster says. “Equally, I’m fully aware Hugo is here. I’m very respectful of him and what he’s achieved.”
