Since the fiasco of a World Cup campaign in 2010, it has been one of the very few certainties in English football that Manchester City's Joe Hart was the first choice goalkeeper for his nation, and who could argue against that? Six years have passed and the stopper has won two Premier League titles and continued with the rich vein of form which saw him oust Shay Given as the Manchester City number one. Superb performances, most notably against Borussia Dortmund in the 2012/13 Champions League campaign and against Barcelona last season in the same competition saw him elevated to a stature above most other goalkeepers, he was compared to the likes of Manuel Neuer, Thibaut Courtois and Gianluigi Buffon. While Hart's career has not been devoid of mistakes, he has kept up a level of performances which have seen the likes of Shay Given, Costel Pantilimon and Willy Caballero stay at arms reach of the City number one jersey.
For England too this has been the case. Ben Foster, Robert Green, Tom Heaton, Jack Butland and Fraser Forster have all been the understudy of one of the most talented goalkeepers in the Premier League. However the latter in that list is slowly but surely establishing all the credentials he needs to oust Hart from his starting berth. Fraser Forster has been in sublime form since returning from a knee injury which threatened to end his career at the age of only 27.
Since his return from injury he has slotted seamlessly into the team keeping six consecutive clean sheets to propel Southampton up to seventh in the league with the Saints picking up 16 points from a possible 18 prior to the defeat to Chelsea. Forster's influence cannot be underestimated as his return has all but assured Southampton's Premier League status next season. His performance against Arsenal in particular won him many admirers with a multitude of saves including a point blank reflex save from Mesut Ozil the pick of the bunch meaning Southampton have now conceded a mere 26 goals in 27 games, bettered only by high flying Tottenham (21).
Forster, like Hart, is no stranger to performing at the highest level. He was instrumental in Celtic's incredible Champion's League victory over Barcelona in the 2012/13 season as Celtic ran out 2-1 victors with Forster the first to receive the plaudits. He was once again in fine form against the same opponents the following year as he pulled off a string of saves including a double save near the end of the match which Celtic ultimately lost 1-0.
With Forster's return to first team action have come questions about whether he should usurp Hart and become England's first choice for the European Championships in France this summer. In the form he is in it is no wonder questions are being asked. However Forster is in the unfortunate situation that his form coincides with the form of both Joe Hart and Jack Butland.
The stats suggest though that Forster is in the best form. In the games since Forster's return on January 13th, the Southampton goalkeeper has kept six clean sheets while in that time Hart has kept three clean sheets and Butland has kept one. Forster may have kept the most clean sheets since January 13th, but he has been absent for the majority of the season. It would be unfair to Hart and Butland then to only compare the three when Forster is in top form and not across the entirety of the season. Earlier in the season Butland was in scintillating form with performances against Norwich and Arsenal garnering him praise from all corners of the game.
Across the entire season Hart has 11 clean sheets in 24 appearances at an average of one clean sheet every 2.18 games, the second highest amount of shut-outs in the league with only Arsenal's Petr Cech bettering this with 12 clean sheets in 27 games at an average of a clean sheet every 2.25 games. While Jack Butland is joint third with nine clean sheets in 27 appearances meaning he records a clean sheet every 3.00 games. It is interesting to note however that Forster is joint 10th on that list of the most clean sheets with six even though he has only played seven times.
Forster also set a club record recently as he went 708 minutes without conceding a goal before he was eventually beaten by Chelsea's Cesc Fabregas. Despite losing 2-1 to a resurgent Chelsea side, Forster and Southampton can be contented with their displays recently as it has propelled them to within seven points of Manchester City who are in 4th place on 47 points.
While Forster will have to hope that his performances continue to impress, he may have to be contented with a place on the bench for England at the Championships in France. Forster is undeniably talented and would be a strong choice in goal but he is very unfortunate to be playing in a time where England are blessed with some very talented goalkeepers. Had he been playing at this level half a decade ago when Joe Hart was made first choice goalkeeper then things might have been different.
At only 27, Forster still has at least another seven years at the top of his game with many goalkeepers, such as Petr Cech and Gianluigi Buffon becoming better with age. While this year's tournament may be a year too early for Forster, he should set his sights on the 2018 tournament in Russia where two seasons of consistently high performances will stand him in good stead to be the main man for England.
Source: DSG
