Ben Foster knew when he booked to go on holiday this week that there could be an issue.
The Watford goalkeeper always goes away on a cycling trip with friends straight after the end of the season. He is in peak physical condition and he puts himself through one more blast on the bike before a well-earned summer off.
However, when a few months ago Foster and his friends were booking their trip to Alicante for this week, at the back of the 36-year-old’s mind was the fact it coincided with the FA Cup Final.
Needless to say, after a few flight changes, the holiday has been rearranged and instead of preparing for bike rides in the Spanish sun, Foster is gearing up for Watford’s showdown with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City on Saturday.
“It has spoilt my cycling holiday with my mates to Alicante,” Foster tells Standard Sport with a grin. “But I have cancelled it and managed to rearrange it for later in the summer, so it is not the end of the world.
“To be fair, it was a bit foolish of me, because I only booked it two, three months ago and even then I thought there is a good chance we might go far in this FA Cup. It is my own fault.”
Few predicted Watford would reach the Wembley showpiece this weekend — the club’s first since 1984 — and now even fewer are giving them a chance against City.
They were separated by 10 places and 48 points in the Premier League this season and there is also a huge gulf when it comes to financial clout. City spent a club-record £60million to sign Riyad Mahrez from Leicester last summer — more than Watford’s entire starting XI.
“I think there will always be that top-six divide, there really will,” says Foster. “The money nowadays is just stupid.
“If we buy a £30m player that is breaking records, it is our marquee signing. You can only afford to do that max once a year — and he has to hit the ground running. He has to be starting every match, scoring, breaking scoring records, that sort of stuff.
“Whereas for any one of those top-six teams, even perhaps the likes of Everton, that’s par for the course. That’s what they do. That’s a left-back, that’s a right-back. That is the kind of world we are living in now.”
Foster may talk candidly about the financial divide in football, but he is equally open when discussing the fact that, if he has things his way, he will be on the bench on Saturday.
It is a rare admission for a footballer to make, particularly when an FA Cup Final is on the horizon, but the 36-year-old is adamant he should not be starting at Wembley.
Instead, Foster wants Watford head coach Javi Gracia to stick with former Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, who at the age of 38 has played every game in the competition so far.
“The FA Cup was Gomie’s and it would just be wrong now to take it away from him,” says Foster. “He deserves it. When a goalie has played literally every round, then that is his thing.
“I knew that going into it from the very first round that he was going to play in the cups. That is cool with me, at least everyone knows where they stand.”
Foster’s stance typifies the team spirit at Watford and the goalkeeper admits it is the best dressing room he has been a part of in his career.
But that is not to say he will find it easy sitting on the bench, as he discovered during the semi-final comeback against Wolves. “I was jumping around the place, I was grabbing hold of people, hugging people,” says Foster. “In the end, it was a great feeling.”
Watford are dreaming of having that same great feeling after Saturday’s final whistle, although not many believe they have a chance. And that is because standing in their way are a team on the cusp of a domestic treble after winning their final 14 Premier League games in a row to lift the title on Sunday.
However, Foster is refusing to accept that Watford supporters cannot dare to dream. “Leicester are the prime example of it from a few years ago, when they won the League,” he says.
“They found a way of playing that people just couldn’t deal with. They didn’t necessarily have the best players in each position, but they found a way of playing that was absolutely optimal for their team. It is the same with us.
“We want to go out there and we want to win the game. Once we are there, there is no point in shirking and just enjoying the day. We are there to do a job.”
