Ben is a 6’2” goalkeeper, born in Leamington Spa, who has had an unusual career so far. He was at Stoke City from the age of 17 but didn’t make a League appearance in five seasons, his only experience at League level coming on loan at Kidderminster Harriers and Wrexham.
He moved to Manchester United for £1m in 2005 but spent the first two seasons on loan at Watford, where he helped them achieve promotion to the Premier League but was then beaten by fellow ‘keeper Paul Robinson from well inside his own half at White Hart Lane!
Ben missed out at Youth and Under-21 levels for England but he was on stand-by for the 2006 World Cup and was given a senior start by Steve McClaren in a friendly against Spain at Old Trafford on 7 February 2007. It was more than two years before he picked up his second cap, as a substitute for David James against Slovakia, and he was arguably United’s third-choice behind van der Sar and Kuszczak when he started against Belarus and Brazil in 2009. But he did win the League Cup with United, playing the whole of the 2009 Final against Tottenham Hotspur.
