Well I think for Forster himself, And us as a club, We need to sell.. Quite happy to get the money we stumped up all those years back. Could see him going to Wolves.. They seem to sniffing around everyone.
Still can't wait to see Ralph and Les squirming, or maybe they will take all the credit for keeping us up!...
Just a gut feeling but I can't see Fraser ever getting back to the player he was a couple of years ago here, he needs a move to resurrect his career and reputation elsewhere IMO. I will add that I think that a lot of his problems this season have been mental rather than physical.
He wasnt that good anyway IMO, hes always been slow and a little unconvincing - we just had a much better side.
He was a capable enough GK and an England international, this season his confidence has visibly evaporated and he stopped saving the shots he was making under Koeman.
A really good shot stopper, but shyte at commanding his area which is what our dodgy CBs need. You could see his problems when Fonte and the Dyke left
That McCarthy bloke is utter crap. A couple of saves my arthritic granny could have made and we all start getting over excited. He's total rubbish,and sadly we'll have to put up with him again next season. Now Liverpool have got goalkeepers I would kill to get in at Saints, but dream on .... This post is bought to you by the official committee of "**** OFF LIVERPOOL. THIS ONE'S STAYING, GOT IT?"
McCarthy is good keeper and rightly our number one at the moment. However, i cant accept FF is done for. He was a great keeper and can be again. Our poor management over the last couple of years and the chopping and changing of CB's hasn't helped him. I'd be happy to go into next season as we are on the keeper front but understandably FF wouldn't.
It is all down to Forster really. He is definite number 2 in everyones eyes here with the emergence of McCarthy (and I think we will probably sign a keeper in the summer as well), but he is earning a fortune and won't get that anywhere else. Sit and take the money or move, get paid less and potentially be the starter, ball is in his court I would imagine.
I think it's an easy one for the club - sell him. I think Forster would like to go too. His relationship with the fans (overall) isn't great and that's a big contrast to the fans' feelings to McCarthy, so could be a bit bitter about that. He could regain form and become a solid keeper again, but for the wages he is on and to avoid waiting to see if he comes good, I think it's better for us to offload him and stick with McCarthy who we know is more than capable and earning much less. Frees wages to bring other players in - or even give McCarthy an extension.
The players should be squirming as well.....we are good enough to have done better (though pretty sure someone kicked a black cat somewhere along the line). However, they will be on a high because we escaped and be all set for a good summer. Ralph and Les on the other hand face a disquisition. What happens depends on whether Gao sees them as the problem or the solution. There were errors of course, but there has to be some recognition by fans that things don't always turn out as planned....decisions can be made for good reasons yet turn out to be awful ones. Puel was quite successful but didn't suit us in some ways (exactly as happening at Leicester), so we went for a manager that we thought would suit us better and it wasn't much of a risk because we are a comfortable mid-table club. What damage can he do....after all the team and fans didn't like Puel? And then gave MP2 the benefit of the doubt because some things were out of his control (the Virgil saga) and we weren't getting thrashed, getting draws (surely wins are round the corner) and he was having no real luck....and we don't want to be seen as one of those nasty firing clubs, do we? Will be a very interesting summer...is Gao full of his ideas (for better or worse) or will he want to believe this was a one off season and his investment is safe in present hands?
Yes, the players haven't performed, but it has been proved that with the right leadership they have. The decision to a appoint and keep Pellegrino so long was Ralph and Les', they are the most culpable by far IMO.
It is that situation where fans moan about a player who is under contract and wants to leave, but if the club gives a long contract to somebody deemed not good enough then he should go. I wouldn't blame Forster at all if he said "nah **** it I will earn my 80k a week here where my family is settled and turn up to training as asked and play if asked but I am not going somewhere else for a pay cut". It is up to him and it is Saints' fault for giving him the contract.
I would think personally that he can't wait to leave and make a fresh start for the sake of his career. He has gone from being an England squad regular to a reserve GK that the fans have lost confidence in.
