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John BOSTOCK | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Once named as one of the most promising youngsters in the country, prompting a controversial move from Crystal Palace to Tottenham, attacking midfielder Bostock signed for Swindon on a loan deal until the end of the season in March 2012, surprisingly making his debut for the Town at Wembley, coming on as a second half substitute in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final, which Swindon lost 2-0 to Chesterfield. Perhaps even more surprising though was that it was almost a month before Bostock's next appearance in a Town shirt - after being named on the bench for the four games after the visit to the national stadium, Bostock disappeared out of the sixteen until a public berating of a group of players by Town boss Paolo di Canio for a drunken night out saw Bostock drafted into the team for a visit to Gillingham. Needing just a point to secure promotion, Bostock turned in a superb man-of-the-match performance - despite this, Swindon lost the game, but results elsewhere ensured that promotion was secured. The following weekend, Bostock again performed well, setting up a superb first goal for Matt Ritchie with a sublime pass, which opened the floodgates for a 5-0 vicotry over Port Vale which sealed the League Two championship. Bostock's third and final game came at Bradford on the last day of the season - his impressive performances prompting di Canio to attempt to retain his services for the following campaign. There were mixed messages over the summer - at first, it appeared that any deal for Bostock would be difficult, then the possibility of a permanent contract was mooted - but it was almost a month into the season before he finally did return on loan until the following January, with a possible permanent deal in the offing. Strangely though, after two substitute appearances in early September, Bostock’s first start in his second spell didn’t come until mid-October, when he was withdrawn early in the second half of a 2-2 draw with Coventry - boss di Canio stating that though the midfielder had excellent technical ability, he needed to cut-out the selfish elements of his game to fit in with the Town’s style of football. At the end of the month, Bostock made another start - giving a superb performance in a 4-0 win at Stevenage - only to pick up a groin injury toward the end of the game that saw him hobble off, and return to Tottenham for treatment. When he recovered earlier than expected, he returned straight back to the starting eleven, where he remained for most of November (admitting that he felt “like a kid again”, such was his delight at starting games) , until the arrival of midfielder Danny Hollands saw him revert back to the bench - a period that saw Swindon hit their best form of the season. When his loan expired after the turn of the year, though di Canio offered the midfielder the chance to stay at the County Ground, Bostock opted not to return the contact, and he returned to White Hart Lane. PLAYING RECORD:
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date of birth usual positions central midfield attacking centre midfield youth career senior career website links |