John Bostock

John Joseph Bostock (born 15 January 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Doncaster Rovers in League One.

This article is about the footballer John Bostock. For the physician and geologist John Bostock, see John Bostock (physician). For the abbot, see John Bostock (abbot).

John Bostock
Bostock playing for RC Lens in 2016
Personal information
Full name John Joseph Bostock[1]
Date of birth (1992-01-15) 15 January 1992
Place of birth Camberwell, England[2]
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Doncaster Rovers
Number 15
Youth career
1999–2007 Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Crystal Palace 4 (0)
2008–2013 Tottenham Hotspur 0 (0)
2009–2010 → Brentford (loan) 9 (2)
2010–2011 → Hull City (loan) 11 (2)
2012 → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 4 (0)
2012–2013 → Swindon Town (loan) 11 (0)
2013 → Toronto FC (loan) 7 (0)
2013–2014 Royal Antwerp 31 (1)
2014–2016 OH Leuven 51 (18)
2016–2018 Lens 42 (5)
2018 Bursaspor 8 (0)
2018–2020 Toulouse 16 (0)
2019–2020 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 7 (0)
2021– Doncaster Rovers 1 (0)
National team
2006–2007 England U16 6 (0)
2007–2009 England U17 25 (0)
2009–2010 England U19 9 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:21, 6 February 2021 (UTC)

He made his professional debut for Crystal Palace at the age of 15. In 2008, he signed for Tottenham Hotspur for an initial £700,000. He played only four games for Tottenham, none of which were in the Premier League, and spent most of his time out on loan in The Football League and with Toronto FC of Major League Soccer. In 2013, he was released and moved to Belgium, representing Royal Antwerp and OH Leuven. In summer 2016, he joined French side Lens where he stayed for one and a half seasons.

Born in England, Bostock represented that country up to under-19 level. In 2016, he chose to represent his ancestral Trinidad & Tobago at full international level, although he has yet to appear for them.

Personal life

Bostock is a devout Christian.[4] His family support Crystal Palace.[4] As of November 2020 he had been married for 10 years and had a young son.[4]

Club career

Crystal Palace

Bostock began his career with Crystal Palace at the age of five.[4] At the age of 14 he was offered a contract by Spanish club Barcelona.[4]

Bostock made his league debut on 29 October 2007 at the age of 15 years and 287 days, playing 20 minutes as a substitute for Ben Watson in a 2–0 defeat to Watford at Selhurst Park, making him Palace's youngest ever player.[5] He also became the youngest ever Palace player to start a game,[6] aged 15 years and 295 days, on 6 November 2007 against Cardiff City at Ninian Park.[7]

Tottenham Hotspur
Bostock with Tottenham Hotspur in 2009

On 30 May 2008, Tottenham Hotspur announced the signing of Bostock on their club website.[8] Crystal Palace later issued a statement denying reports that an agreement had been reached with Tottenham.[9] Tottenham and Crystal Palace entered negotiations over the transfer fee, but agreement could not be reached, leading to the sum being decided at a tribunal. On 9 July, the tribunal declared that Tottenham would pay £700,000 for Bostock, with add-on payments of up to £1.25m dependent on appearances and a further £200,000 should he make his full international debut. A sell-on clause entitled Crystal Palace to 15% of any profit Tottenham makes from any future sale of Bostock's contract.[10][11] Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan said he was so disgusted with Bostock and his stepfather that he intended to revoke and refund their Selhurst Park season tickets for 2008–09, which the pair had already purchased.[12]

Bostock made his first team debut for Spurs in an 8–0 pre-season win over Spanish side Tavernes, providing the cross for Aaron Lennon's opening goal.[13] On 6 November 2008, he made his competitive match debut in the 2008 UEFA Cup game against Dinamo Zagreb, coming on as a substitute, and becoming the youngest player ever to play for Spurs at 16 years, 295 days, just beating the previous record-holder Ally Dick by six days.[14][15] Bostock made a further two appearances in the UEFA Cup that season,[16] however his career with Tottenham stalled after that and had to wait until January 2012 for his next appearance, in an FA Cup match against Cheltenham Town.[17]

Loan spells

On 13 November 2009, Bostock joined League One club Brentford on loan for a month,[18] he was handed the number 17 shirt immediately. Bostock scored twice on his debut against Millwall[19]

On 6 August 2010, Bostock had joined newly relegated Hull City on a season-long loan.[20] He scored with a 30-yard strike described as a "wonder goal" on his debut against Swansea on 7 August.[21] On 31 December 2010, Tottenham Hotspur announced that Bostock had returned early from his largely unsuccessful loan spell at Hull City.

Bostock joined Sheffield Wednesday on loan on 30 January 2012 for the remainder of the 2011–12 season.[22] He made his debut the following day as a substitute in a 1–1 draw with MK Dons.[23] He was recalled to Spurs in March after playing only four games.[24]

Bostock joined Swindon Town on loan on 22 March 2012 for the remainder of the season, after Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said it would be good for him to play under Paolo Di Canio.[25] He made his debut on 25 March in the 2012 Football League Trophy Final, which Swindon lost 2–0 to Chesterfield.[26] He made his league debut against Gillingham on 21 April.[27] He made his home debut on 28 April, in a 5–0 win against Port Vale in a game that saw Swindon crowned League Two champions.[28] He made his final appearance on the final day of the season in a 0–0 draw against Bradford.[29]

He returned on loan to Swindon on 30 August 2012 until January 2013.[30] He made his first appearance 2 days later against Preston.[31] He made his home debut on 5 September in the Football League Trophy against rivals Oxford United.[32] Bostock returned to Tottenham on 7 January 2013.[33]

In February 2013, it was reported that Bostock was having trials with two different MLS clubs with a view to a loan move.[34][35] He officially joined Toronto FC on 8 March, and made his debut for team the following day in a 2–1 home victory over Sporting Kansas City where he was substituted in the 85th minute.[36] On 24 May, Bostock was given a waiver (release) by Toronto, ending his loan stint with the club.[37] On 7 June, the Premier League confirmed that Bostock was one of a number of Premier League players who were being released by their clubs and were now free agents, advertising their availability to other clubs.[38] The official announcement from Tottenham was made on 10 June, which included Bostock, amongst a number of Spurs players who would not be re-signed and were being released.[39]

Move to Belgium

On 11 July 2013, Bostock joined Royal Antwerp in the Belgian second division under the tutelage of manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Despite scoring just one goal he flourished at Antwerp providing 16 assists in his first season and soon became a fans favourite helping the team to finish 6th in the league narrowly missing out on the playoffs.

His strong performances earned him a move to newly relegated side Oud-Heverlee Leuven, where he continued to blossom. In his second season in Belgium, Bostock went on to help his new side OHL win promotion via the play offs. Along the way he scooped the Proximus Player of the Season Award after scoring 13 goals and providing 19 assists.[40]

Lens

On 5 July 2016, Bostock joined Ligue 2 team RC Lens on a two-year deal.[41][42]

On 9 August 2016, Bostock scored his first goal for Lens with a 26th-minute free-kick against AC Ajaccio in the first round of the Coupe de la Ligue.[43] He scored his first league goal for the club in a 2–0 win over Nîmes on 15 August 2016.[44] He scored an eighth-minute penalty in a 1–1 draw with Troyes on 26 August 2016[45] before scoring twice in a 4–2 win over Orléans on 20 September 2016.[46] He scored his fifth league goal of the season with a penalty against Red Star on 30 September 2016. Bostock was named Ligue 2 player of the month in September and then again in October 2016. He was awarded Ligue 2 player of the year after his first season in French football on 15 May 2017.[47]

Bursaspor

In January 2018, Bostock signed with Süper Lig side Bursaspor, having agreed a ​2 1⁄2-year contract with the club.[48]

Toulouse

In July 2018, Bostock returned to France signing a three-year contract with Toulouse FC, managed by his former Lens boss Alain Casanova.[49]

On 8 August 2019, Bostock returned to England with a season-long loan to Championship side Nottingham Forest.[50]

He left Toulouse by mutual consent in October 2020.[51]

Doncaster Rovers

Bostock joined League One club Doncaster Rovers on an 18-month contract in January 2021.[52]

International career

Bostock captained England at Under-17 level.[6]

He was eligible to represent England, Trinidad & Tobago and Scotland. In March 2013, the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation announced that he had shown interest in representing the Soca Warriors at international level.[53] Three years later, on 18 March 2016, he was selected for the double confrontation with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification CONCACAF Fourth Round.[54]

Career statistics
As of match played 6 February 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Crystal Palace 2007–08[55] Championship 4010———50
Tottenham Hotspur 2008–09[16] Premier League 0 0—0030—30
2010–11[56] 00—0000—00
2011–12[57] 00100000—10
Total 00100030—40
Brentford (loan) 2009–10[58] League One 9210———102
Hull City (loan) 2010–11[56] Championship 112————112
Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 2011–12[57] League One 40————40
Swindon Town (loan) 2011–12[57] League Two 30———1[nb 1]040
Swindon Town (loan) 2012–13[59] League One 80———1[nb 1]090
Swindon Town total 110———20130
Toronto FC (loan) 2013[60] MLS 7000——2[nb 2]090
Royal Antwerp 2013–14[61] Belgian Second Division 291————291
2014–15[61] 20————20
Total 31100000000311
OH Leuven 2014–15[61] Belgian Second Division 2611———5[nb 3]23113
2015–16[61] Belgian Pro League 25720———277
Total 5118200000525820
Lens 2016–17[60] Ligue 2 315—11——326
2017–18[60] 1101020——140
Total 42510310000466
Bursaspor 2017–18[62] Süper Lig 8000———80
Toulouse 2018–19[60] Ligue 1 1601010——180
Nottingham Forest (loan) 2019–20[63] Championship 700020——90
Doncaster Rovers 2020–21 League One 10———0010
Career total 202287061309222731
  1. Appearance in Football League Trophy
  2. Appearances in Canadian Championship
  3. Appearances in Belgian Second Division play-offs

Honours

References
  1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Nottingham Forest" (PDF). English Football League. p. 49. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  2. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2012). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2012–2013 (43rd ed.). London: Headline. p. 542. ISBN 978-0-7553-6356-8.
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  4. "From Barca offer to 13 clubs in 13 years" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  5. "Crystal Palace 0–2 Watford". BBC Sport. 29 October 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  6. Collins, Sam (16 May 2008). "Spurs braced for Bostock compensation battle". London: Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  7. "Cardiff 1–1 Crystal Palace". BBC Sport. 6 November 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
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  15. "Record breaker". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 7 November 2008. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
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  64. Archived 23 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine
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