5. To Provide A Credible Threat To Hart's Starting Spot
When Hart first cemented his place as England's number 1 there was generally a feeling that it would be good for the young goalkeeper's confidence and security and the team's stability to have a regular definite starter behind them. Now, however, when looking for reasons for Hart's decline in form, his lapses of concentration and silly errors, many pundits have pointed to the possibility that he may be a little too secure in his position in the starting line up. Hart's deputy at club level Costel Pantilimon, now in his third season with City, has yet to play a league game for the club. The means that Hart is no longer kept on his toes by a plausible threat to his place. He can make errors because he knows he will keep playing anyway. Across the other side of Manchester, United keeper David De Gea also committed a series of blunders when he first arrived, but United had a good enough reserve keeper in Anders Lindegaard for the Dane to come into the team instead. The competition for a starting place resulted in a great deal of improvement in De Gea's consistency with the young Spaniard turning out to be one of the Premier League's top keepers last season. Forster has the potential to provide a similar competition for Hart's starting place, but the only way to ensure that he is a credible challenger is to give him the opportunity of playing some real competitive games. People may claim that these qualifiers are too important to be making changes in key personnel, but the only way that Forster will seem like a realistic option is to play him in games that matter, not just friendly matches. This is not so much about replacing Hart permanently, more about doing something that should improve both Hart and Forster as they both have something to fight for.