Ben Foster pinpoints moment he decided to stay at Wrexham for another season
Wrexham agreed to sign Ben Foster for the 2023/24 season back in June, but he made his mind up well before signing the dotted line.
The formerly retired goalkeeper came back to professional football in March after signing a six-week contract with Wrexham. Foster was enjoying retirement and focusing his energy on his successful YouTube channel and podcast, but couldn't turn Wrexham down.
Foster played for Wrexham at the very start of his career, and returned to get them over the line and secure promotion into the Football League for the first time in 15 years. Foster and Wrexham were victorious and their League Two season begins on August 5, but they'll have another year of Foster.
The standout game from Foster's short stint in goal last season was against Notts County, the other team battling Wrexham for the National League title. Foster saved a last-minute penalty to earn Wrexham three valuable points, and it was after that game he decided to play on.
"I decided probably after the Notts County game that I wanted to keep playing for Wrexham," Foster said to The Athletic. "It was such a special day. For me personally, the 30 seconds of saving the penalty, the ball going out for a corner and then Elliot Lee clearing it off the line — that’s probably as good as it gets.
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"Honestly, if you could bottle those 30 seconds as adrenaline, you’d have the best time of your life. The highs and lows were just phenomenal. So, after that, I always thought I’d stay but I knew for definite after Boreham Wood (the game when Wrexham clinched promotion).
"The scenes afterwards were incredible, with the pitch invasion, the fans hoisting me on their shoulders and the flares. To be part of that was very special. I knew then I couldn’t walk away."
Foster is a hugely popular figure at Wrexham (2023 AMA Sports Photo Agency)The Wrexham story has been like Hollywood since, with the team flying to the United States for the first time to play Manchester United and Chelsea in pre-season. They'll be brought back down to earth on Saturday as they return to domestic English football.
Wrexham's first game in League Two is against MK Dons at The Racecourse Ground and is already a sell-out. Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson has genuine belief that the team can secure a second-straight promotion, after co-owner Rob McElhenney revealed: "This is a lot of the same team that won last year, so the chemistry is through the roof.
"He(Parkinson) truly believes that we have a chance to get promoted again. I'd like to see us continue to compete and to be at the top of that table and have a chance at the end to move up to the next league."
They'll have to play their opening games without star striker Paul Mullin though, as he's recovering from a punctured lung sustained against United in pre-season. McElhenney is currently staying with him in the United States, so it's yet to be seen if the co-owner makes the trip over, and whether he comes with or without Mullin.
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