Ben Forster, who took a final round “in injury time” as a goalkeeper for Wrexham, has opened up about his time at Old Trafford and a player he hated training with.
“That guy was a creepy guy, honestly. Horrible.”
The former goalkeeper, who joined United from Stoke City in 2005, spent five years at Old Trafford, where he made 12 Premier League appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson. As well as being a regular in cup competitions after two separate loan spells with Watford, Foster played alongside the likes of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and his own goalkeeping rival, Edwin van der Sar.
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However, Foster stated that there was one United icon that he found very difficult to train with.
Speaking on the Squeaky Bum podcast, Foster explained that Nemanja Vidic was a so-called “scary guy” on the training pitch in Carrington: “Off the pitch, he was pretty quiet, right, but on the pitch, in practice, that guy was a scary guy, honestly. Dreadful.
“Honestly, he didn’t care. If we played a five or six or something, if you were on his team, I used to think, ‘Please, don’t be on Nemanja’s team, please don’t’.
“Because if we didn’t win, if I conceded a goal that he thinks I should have done better with, he let you know. He wanted to dig you out, and he was after everyone.
“Honestly, he was horrible in training, but off the pitch completely different.”
In an interview with talkSPORT in 2022, Foster opened up about his time at United, stating that it was “the wrong place at the wrong time for me”.
He added: “I was still too young for that, I didn’t know how to deal with all that expectation – it was the biggest club in the world at the time.”
However, the England international added that being at Old Trafford under Ferguson was “an incredible experience” and set him up for his later successes with West Brom, Watford and the Three Lions.
Vidic’s toughness on the pitch, meanwhile, helped him win 15 trophies while at United. He would also establish himself as one of the best centre-backs in Premier League history.
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