Ryan Reynolds has praised ‘generous’ Ben Foster for his decision to retire just four games into Wrexham’s EFL season.
The former Wrexham goalkeeper left fans stunned when he announced his retirement from football at the start of last season, having only played four matches in League Two for the Red Dragons. Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were keen for Foster to continue with the club after aiding their promotion from the National League, but his stint lasted a mere 360 minutes.
Wrexham had a shaky start to their first season in the Football League in over 15 years, with Foster letting in 14 goals in just 360 minutes of play. The then-40 year old had initially come out of retirement to help Wrexham’s bid for the National League title, and quickly became a fan favourite and won the admiration of both Reynolds and McElhenney when they clinched the title against Notts County.
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However, the former Manchester United and England goalkeeper was honest enough to recognise that he was no longer up to scratch, and chose to hang up his boots for a second time. In the newly-released third season of Welcome to Wrexham, Reynolds revealed his “immense amount of respect” for Foster, lauding his noble act as “generous”, which later contributed to them securing back-to-back promotions and cementing their place in League One.
“I thought it was generous. Like, it was an incredibly generous thing to do,” Reynolds commented in the second episode. “So few people know when to call it, you know. I have an immense amount of respect for Ben and who he is as a player and a person. He’s a huge reason we’re here in the EFL.”, reports the Mirror.
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(Image: Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
The penny dropped for Foster at home to Swindon Town on August 19, 2023, when he conceded four first-half goals as Wrexham were 4-1 down at the break. A stunning turnaround saw Wrexham secure a 5-5 draw after two injury-time strikes, but Foster knew that his time was up.
Despite settling for a point it felt like a win for Wrexham, but Foster knew when he walked off the pitch that it would be the last time he would play in a professional football match. “Even though we’d drawn, the lads were quiet and they weren’t happy because they knew something was wrong,” Foster said on Welcome to Wrexham.
“They knew that the performance wasn’t what it should be. And this might sound selfish but I was thinking just about my own circumstance at that moment in time. Because, I knew enough was enough, and I knew I was done.
(Image: Matthew Ashton/Getty Images)
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“And I was thinking about how to tell the manager, how to tell the coaching staff. And I was just thinking ‘What shall I do? Shall I do it now? Shall I ring somebody tomorrow? Shall I tell them on Monday? ‘”.
“I thought, ‘No, I’m just gonna go tell them.’ Went into the coaches room and I said, ‘That’s me done lads. That’s me done. I’m letting you down. I’m not up to speed. I’m not what I thought I am. And I don’t want to keep letting you down.'”.
Although the decision was unexpected at the time, the feeling within the club was that Foster had made the right decision. Wrexham advisor Shaun Harvey agreed that Foster’s decision suited all parties, and it was right that they parted ways.
(Image: Photo by Leon Bennett/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)
“From Ben’s perspective, I think it was just the dawn of reality that he was getting older,” Harvey said on the show. “To be honest, it was the right decision for Ben. And in reality, it was the right decision for Wrexham as well.”
Due to Foster’s decision being made in August, it gave Wrexham time to source a replacement before the end of the summer transfer window which closed on September 1. Wrexham went from experience to young, raw talent, signing Arsenal goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo on loan.
The 22 year old made 35 appearances for Wrexham in League Two last season, and was a major reason for their promotion charge. The youngster had 14 clean sheets and conceded just 30 goals all season, finishing the campaign with the second-best goals conceded per minute (107).