Last season Fraser Forster was a big part of why Saints defence was so mean, however there were some who thought that his game lacked a little something to make him a truly great keeper, has his injury added that something ?

I know it has been only four games but in those four games we have kept four clean sheets and not only has that been down to Fraser Forster, but he looks a far better keeper than he did a year ago before his injury.

Back then he was a colossus, not only in height but in the sheer size of him, he was too put in bluntly a big lad, in my opinion that was a slight problem, he was lacking that first yard when making decisions, due I think to his size and weight.

That could be best highlighted away to Aston Villa when he came flying out to try and clear a through ball and got beaten too it, that was not so much down to his pace or lack of it, but because he had not got his starting yard right.

The starting yard for a goalkeeper is the most important as it determines whether he makes a ball be it coming through or a cross, or whether he falls just short.

So a year ago Fraser's starting yard was an issue and when a keeper knows he hasn't got that it does not help his confidence and decision making, it means that he is more likely to stay on his line and let his defenders deal with a situation than do so himself, so last season as big as Fraser was he did not command his box as much as he should have done and if I'm honest he was not as agile as he could have been.

This season since his return from injury that seems to have changed and he has suddenly got his starting yard right, he is coming off his line and catching the sort of cross that a year ago he would not have done, some of this goes unnoticed in that a good keeper by commanding his box will stop an attacking play happening and this will resonate right down the line in that by simply catching a cross that appears o be going nowhere, you regain the possession of the ball for your team, whereas if you don't although the ball might be in a position that is not threatening, the opposition still have it.

So Fraser is now more commanding and more agile as we witnessed at the Emirates last night when at times he seemed to be a one man giant as he kept the Gunners at bay.

There has to be a reason why Fraser has now seemed to add this to his game and i think there is, his long term lay off has had one benefit and i think that is is overall fitness, he now seems to be a lot leaner than he was pre injury.

So why is that ? simple he has had a year when although he has been unable to train full time as normal he has probably had to spend a lot of time in the gym to keep up his fitness levels, he would have done hours on cycles and treadmills, not to mention specialised diets to keep him from putting on weight. and this seems to have burnt off a lot of excess baggage.

He now seems leaner lighter and better for it, this will have done wonders for his confidence in that he will know that he has a lot more chance of making a ball than he did a year ago, he is not hesitating for that split second that can make all the difference and therefore his starting first yard is there, he has made the decision and gone, meaning that he will get the ball, there is no hesitation and self doubt.

So every cloud has a silver lining and Fraser's is that he now is fitter and faster and that can only be a good thing for a keeper, he showed that against Arsenal and if he can keep sowing that then it could earn Saints an extra point or two they might otherwise not have got as was the case against the Gunners.

No disrespect to Maarten Stekelenburg, he did nothing wrong in his stint in goal, but he is not in the class of Fraser and I do not think he has the capabilities to have the sort of game that Fraser did last night, but then again I do not think that a year ago that even Fraser himself had those capabilities,

Now Fraser has that extra edge that can make the difference between a good keeper and a truly great one, he has two good keepers in front of him in the England pecking order in Joe Hart and Jack Butland, but I think he has one advantage over them and that is his physical presence, add his new found agility and starting yard and I think he could well prove to be the long term number one for England.

Photo: Action Images

TimSaint added 14:25 - Feb 3 Just from watching the game last night, you could hear him booming out commands to his defence. He is a top organiser and helps install the confidence that was missing before Christmas - you didn't hear Stek or Gazza shouting commands, instead leaving it to Fonte to try to do !! Welcome back Fraser - you have been missed !! Please keep up the good work !!
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saint22 added 14:52 - Feb 3 he is a real bonus, looks the real deal now and his record already speaks for himself, h what could have been but anyway the seasons end could get very interesting now
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Big_T added 15:53 - Feb 3 Don't you just hate having ton agree with everything an article states. But I am in total agreement with you he looks a step up from before his injury, size is important but you can see many hours have been spent doing basic work, it has been hard to judge him lately due to lack of work needed ( long may that continue) but last night his overall game was excellent.
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patred added 16:48 - Feb 3 the biggest difference with Fraser Forster of Celtic, and the Fraser we see now is down having one of the best goalkeeping coaches in Europe in his corner Dave Watson
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SaintBrock added 08:46 - Feb 4 He had a very bad injury and even thought at one stage that his career might be over. He has had a reprieve and that alone is enough to have motivated him in a way that he wasn't before when maybe he took his skills a little bit too much for granted (as many pros seem to do). Now he is hungry and determined and probably still a little bit nervous that it might all go wrong again as his injury was never fully explained. I hope and pray his new found determination will not lead to him over-doing it and he ends up hurting himself again. Is Dave Watson a factor? Maybe, he certainly seems to be very active on the touchline in a team role as well so he may indeed be a very good coach indeed. Best not to tell too many people 'though but it must help to have Sammy Lee's encouragement as well, a totally irrepressible character who could make anybody believe they were Messi.

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