Ben Foster sends heartfelt message to West Brom fans after announcing retirement from football
Everything good must come to an end and now West Brom cult hero Ben Foster has announced his retirement from football hanging up his gloves after being relegated with Watford last season.
The 39-year-old spent several seasons at The Hawthorns and will be fondly remembered for his 223 appearances for the club.
The shot-stopper was brought to the Baggies by Roy Hodgson on loan, and his replacement, Steve Clarke, then handed Foster a permanent deal.
Speaking via his Twitter account, Foster send a heartfelt message to West Brom fans, thanking them for his time spent at the West Midlands club.
“Thanks, Baggies, I honestly can’t thank you enough. Looking forward to seeing you on the 24th September.”
Foster left Albion in 2018 to join Watford, where he spent four seasons, three in the Premier League and one in the Championship.
Newcastle offer
It was revealed today that Foster had been given the opportunity to continue his playing career by Premier League club Newcastle [BBC Sport].
However, the deal wasn’t enough to tempt Foster into more playing time and the move away from his family’s Midlands base proved to be the deciding factor.
Foster talked openly about the Newcastle offer on his podcast The Cycling GK. Describing how he didn’t want to move forward with the offer.
It’s surprising Foster didn’t make the Newcastle move, a switch to play under Eddie Howe seems like the perfect remedy for all parties involved.
Even so, Foster has enjoyed a fruitful career, which started out at Stoke City, however, he never played a fixture for The Potters. He was then scouted by Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, where he spent five years of his career mainly as the club’s number two.
Loan spells at Watford and Birmingham followed before finding his forever home at The Hawthorns, where he spent six seasons with The Baggies.
It’s a big decision from Ben but it seems to be one he’s happy to have made.
In other West Brom news, the exact timeframe of Ajayi’s injury was revealed by Bruce before Birmingham rolled his side over on Wednesday.