“I hated every second of it” - Ben Foster lifts lid on how he suffered during Manchester United career
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster has revealed that he did not enjoy his time at Old Trafford, where he felt out of place. The goalkeeper enjoyed a long and successful career in the English game, turning out for Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion, Watford and Wrexham.
Manchester United signed Foster from Stoke City in 2005, spending £1 million on the goalkeeper, who had caught the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson while on loan at Wrexham. He spent time on loan at Watford while Edwin Van der Sar held onto the number one shirt at Old Trafford.
Ben Foster never really got a chance to make the starting shirt at Old Trafford, finding himself behind Edwin Van der Sar and Tomasz Kuszczak. He managed only 23 appearances in his time at the club before eventually leaving in 2010 to join Birmingham.
The goalkeeper retired from professional football for a second time last year after helping Wrexham back into the EFL. He revealed in an interview with talkSPORT that he suffered from impostor syndrome while at Old Trafford and felt out of place at the club.
"It was at a time in my life, mid-20s, 24, 25, I look back at that person who played for United then, and it's not me. I was so wet behind the ears, I didn't understand how anything worked in life. But I did [suffer from impostor syndrome].
"I hated every second of it. I didn't enjoy it. I was nervous, I was petrified of making a mistake, petrified of what the outside world would say about it. That's a bad way to go about it.
"When you go into games thinking the worst, or fearing the worst, you're off to a bad start straight away. I'd look around at some of these big names behind me and think: 'How have I got here?'"
The former England international has taken to making YouTube videos fully now. His channel has over 1.5 million subscribers, many of them his fans from his playing career.
Fulham end Manchester United winning run
Fulham became the first side to defeat Manchester United in 2024 after their 2-1 win at Old Trafford. The Cottagers ended their hosts' run of four successive league wins with a good performance away from home.
Nigerian international Calvin Bassey opened the scoring with a fierce strike in the 65th minute before Harry Maguire equalised after 89 minutes. Former Arsenal man Alex Iwobi was the hero with a 97th-minute winner for Fulham.
The Cottagers picked up a first win at Old Trafford in 16 attempts dating back to October 2003. Manchester United will return to action next week with an FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest.