Where United's latest win ranks

The sight of Ben Foster staring at an iPod shortly before yesterday’s penalty shoot-out might have sent Manchester United supporters into all kinds of anxieties. Was this really the time to be listening to Coldplay? Or watching a video of Shakira?

In fact, Foster was watching footage of Tottenham Hotspur’s penalty-takers, which had been prepared by Eric Steele, United’s goalkeeping coach — a level of research and preparation that deserved to be rewarded with the Carling Cup, particularly with Spurs understood not to have practised spot-kicks.

It is Steele who will have spotted that, last November playing for England Under-21s against the Czech Republic at Bramall Lane, O’Hara demonstrated his preferred penalty technique by hitting his shot just to the goalkeeper’s left — close enough that it was saved.

“I had been told that if O’Hara took a kick from the spot then I should stand up and be strong and that he would probably put the ball to my left,” Foster said. The evidence had been presented on video only seconds earlier and, sure enough, O’Hara put the ball exactly where Foster had been shown that he would. Give a medal to that man Steele.

Until yesterday, we had thought that Jens Lehmann, the Germany goalkeeper, had set a new level of conscientiousness when he slipped a piece of paper into his socks at the 2006 World Cup quarter-final against Argentina, listing how every opponent had taken spot-kicks throughout their career. United, not for the first time, have raised the bar.

“The iPod is an innovation of Eric’s, he brought it to the club when he joined us from Blackburn Rovers,” Foster said. “It’s an amazing tool to have, it means you can brush up straightaway.” While the Football League was surprised at the innovation, there are no rules about taking MP3 players on to the pitch during the interval — although no doubt some killjoy at Fifa or Uefa will now seek to intervene.

Foster won the man-of-the-match award. His save from O’Hara came on top of good stops from Aaron Lennon and Darren Bent, and an afternoon of assured handling. Inevitably, the question was asked about Foster’s prospects as a future England goalkeeper — and Sir Alex Ferguson was happy to answer, predicting a long international career for the player — but Foster’s past has taught us not to make too many assumptions.

This is a goalkeeper who has been on United’s books for more than 3½ years, and yet made only seven appearances, most of those in lesser cup games, playing patient understudy to Edwin van der Sar, United’s first-choice goalkeeper. And there had been oddities in Foster’s career even before Ferguson saw him playing for Wrexham in the LDV Vans Trophy final in 2005, the United manager ostensibly watching his son Darren but being so struck by the on-loan goalkeeper that he immediately paid out £1 million to Stoke City. Foster had been on Stoke’s books for four years and yet had never played for them, going out on loan to such backwaters as Tiverton Town, Stafford Rangers and Kidderminster Harriers.

“You get into the mindset where you’re thinking, ‘If Stoke can’t see enough quality in me, then why would anyone else?’ ” Foster admitted recently. He was a late developer and, at the age of 25, is still seeking to make it as a regular first-teamer in the Premier League, although Ferguson made plenty of encouraging noises yesterday. “He is a very strong character,” the United manager said. “He has to be to have come through two cruciate knee injuries.” Ferguson talked of signing Foster for “the next ten years”, which will be a delight to the player whose contract runs out in 16 months and wonders what the future holds. Further England honours should also await. Foster was capped once by Steve McClaren, in a friendly against Spain, and he has a fan in Fabio Capello.

The two met for the first time yesterday, when Foster walked past the England manager in the front row of the Royal Box. It will not be the last time they meet, but, first, Foster has to break into the United team.