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In recent years, English cricket has found producing their most consistent best in the red ball arena their hardest challenge.
An unstable, unbalanced lineup with glaring weaknesses continually meant places in the side up were ups for grabs, particularly with the crevices in the batting order.
So a decade-long merry-wheel of English openers ensued. Throughout, supporters have been left to express their own opinion on who should be striding to the crease and taking guard first. Usually, each summer, it’s the leading run scorer in the domestic first class game who is the flavour of the month. Perhaps even the white ball supernova waiting for a crack at the game’s purest form.
When it’s been put to former England captain and now Sky Sports pundit Nasser Hussain on who he believes should be the next incumbent of the seemingly poisoned chalice at the top of the order, a common retort follows. “You’re always a better player when out of the side,” is Hussain’s typical, albeit succinct, response.
As the players that are actually in the side begin to experience tough times, it’s rather serene sailing for those not involved. Your hands are clean, each passing moment you become the answer to solve all fixable woes. You are not involved in the team at present, so therefore, you cannot be tarnished with the same rather encompassing, brush.
During that period, your skill levels or in reality, the public’s perception of those skill levels, only grow. And all of that time, you’ve been sat on your bottom twiddling your thumbs.
While the same cannot be said about Fraser Forster, who has shown tangible improvements in the four games played this season, a similar situation is beginning to transpire.
This writer recently conducted a poll to gain an insight into who Southampton supporters would like to see become Ralph Hasenhuttl’s number one.
As you can see in the voting below, 54.4 percent of the 653 fans wanted Forster to be installed as the permanent man between the sticks. Alex McCarthy held 43.6 percent of the votes, while two percent wanted to see a complete overhaul from the first two goalkeepers.
#SaintsFC fans, doing a piece on Alex McCarthy and Fraser Forster.
Two good goalkeepers who have showed tangible improvements this season.
But who is your number 1?
Thoughts and opinions welcome, as always.
— Jacob Tanswell (@J_Tanswell) February 17, 2021
After four clean sheets in his last four games, there are ever-increasing shouts for Forster to complete an unexpected turnaround and be back as the first choice keeper. Years of finding himself entrenched in the wilderness, Forster is yet to concede a goal this campaign and is displaying a confidence in his decision making not seen for over four years.
Though calls for his inclusion only swell, are those calls substantiated on evidence or a simple case of recency bias?
In the four matches played (one of those came in the league), the 32-year-old has had to make only five saves, with the pick coming in the FA Cup win at Wolves, where he shifted his body to keep Adama Traore out with his legs.
Going further back, Forster has played just once more in the past 11 months. Five appearances in a year is nowhere near enough for a goalkeeper who had once held an international repute.
Meanwhile, McCarthy has also demonstrated similar marked improvements this season. The former Reading and Crystal Palace man has made great strides in his confidence to play out from the back, becoming a crucial aspect of Saints’ backline’s ball-coaxing abilities.
The metrics also gives credence to that belief, with McCarthy now averaging six more passes per game (32) compared to last season’s total of 26.
Like Forster, he’s been able to shift the very principles of his psychological make-up in coming off his line with regularity and clarity, especially after such a chastening experience against Tottenham earlier on in the campaign.
So far in the league, McCarthy has appeared in 22 games, with seven clean sheets – a 31.8 percent record. Out of the 94 shots faced, the current first choice has saved 59 of them, giving him a 62.8 percent save rate.
Unsurprisingly, having conceded 18 times in the previous five games, there is a suggestion McCarthy’s confidence has taken a knock. But in recent weeks, Hasenhuttl has remained steadfast in his support, suggesting he couldn’t do anything about most of the goals:
“No. I have seen the games and I cannot see many mistakes from Alex,” said the Saints boss. “He kept us so often in games this season.
“I’ve not reassured him because I didn’t have the feeling it was necessary. I have someone (Andrew Sparkes, goalkeeping coach) who speaks about things with him and gives him advice for the future.
“There has been a big development in his game this season, but the line is not always going straight up. There are moments when it goes through a valley and you have to work through them, but this is normal in sport.
“The last person I can blame in this game (against Manchester United) is the goalkeeper, if I’m being honest. When you have chances five metres in front of the goal, then you will get five or six (goals). He still made good saves.”
Despite McCarthy taking the number one mantle over the past 18 months, it’s believed it’s indeed Forster who impresses the most in training, making saves neither McCarthy or any other goalkeeper would have.
Right now, Southampton are going through a period where it is simply natural to question places in the team. While the numbers can make for dreary reading if your McCarthy, only on closer introspection can you provide mitigating answers.
As Hasenhuttl alluded to, the majority of the goals haven’t been his fault. And until most facets of his game are thrown off-kilter due to lowering confidence, McCarthy will continue to fight hard to retain his place in the team. His kicking remains consistent and is not displaying the palpable fragilities you might expect of a keeper shorn of belief.
With 18 months left on his contract, it can only be a good thing to see Forster kicking the door down for a place in the starting eleven. Southampton’s ongoing FA Cup run will present more opportunities to stake his claim to Hasenhuttl.
“The good thing is that we know, for every position, that we have quality. This is what we need.”
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