It may have been half a lifetime ago but, even now, mention the name John Bostock and one thing springs to mind — the boy who turned down Barcelona.
The midfielder has passed through 15 different clubs in five countries over the 17 years since spurning Barca to remain at Crystal Palace. Now 31, Bostock finds himself at Notts County, a team seeking to reclaim their status as the oldest Football League club in the world by winning promotion from the fifth-tier National League.
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It is easy to presume a narrative where Bostock is saddled with regrets that, instead of reminiscing on a time when he plied his trade alongside Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Xavi, he instead finds himself playing alongside Macaulay Langstaff, the striker who has plundered 24 goals in 29 games and earned himself the nickname ‘the non-league Erling Haaland’. But that could not be further from the truth.
Instead, Bostock is relaxed as he leans back in a chair in the Meadow Lane boardroom and reflects on his career to date. He comes across as a man entirely at ease in his surroundings and, just as significantly, with the choices he has made.
Then again, this is a player who has been shaped by the unconventional journey he has undertaken.
In his youth, Bostock developed a habit.
Whenever he made a big decision in life, he would log his feelings and the thought processes behind making those choices. That way, when he looked back on critical moments, he would not just be armed with hindsight.
The tactic emerged from perhaps the biggest decision of all.
Bostock had frequently played an age group or two up as he came through the ranks at Crystal Palace, the club he supported and in whose academy he had played since the age of seven. His rapid progress led to interest from Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, as well as from Spain. Barcelona, upon finding out that Ronaldinho was Bostock’s idol, immediately sent him a signed poster in an effort to woo him. There was talk of a 10-year contract.
But Bostock’s family felt he was better off staying closer to home. Subsequently, at just 15 years and 287 days, he made his first-team debut for Palace in a home defeat to Watford in October 2007. His involvement at senior level merely raised the level of expectation further, along with interest in his talent.
There were four further appearances for Neil Warnock’s side that season, including a first start in an FA Cup tie at Watford. He appeared to be making steady progress. Then, on May 30, 2008, Tottenham Hotspur announced they had signed Bostock. Palace refuted the suggestion any agreement had been reached and a transfer tribunal later determined a meagre fee of £700,000 was due, much to the disgust of the then Palace owner, Simon Jordan.
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Bostock also became the youngest player to play for Spurs when he came off the bench against Dinamo Zagreb aged 16 years and 295 days, in the UEFA Cup. But five years and as many loan moves later — there were brief stints with Brentford, Hull, Sheffield Wednesday, Swindon, and Toronto FC — Bostock left Tottenham without ever having played a Premier League game.
His nomadic existence was maintained in the years that followed with spells at Royal Antwerp, OH Leuven, Lens, Bursaspor, Toulouse, Nottingham Forest (on loan) and Doncaster.
“There is an irony there, that I opted to go to Spurs partly because I wanted to stay closer to home,” Bostock tells The Athletic. “At the time there was only so much say I had. As a teenager, you listen to advice; to the people around you. Even if it is not what you really desire, you trust the people who have seniority over you.
“I learnt when I was young that, whenever you make a big decision, write down somewhere what you know at the time. Log what made you come to that choice. Then, when you get older, you can judge the decision not on what you know now, but on what you knew then. For many people in my situation, it would have felt like the best decision.
“But I do not live bound by regret. I met my wife at Tottenham. That is a life moment that came from a challenging period. To play in Europe… I have memories I will never forget.
“If I could go back, would I make different choices? Maybe. But from a holistic stance, I am very okay with things. I am just a lad from south London. My ability to play football has shown me the world. I played in Canada, Turkey, France and Belgium. I trained in America with San Jose and I had offers to go to other places as well.
“My character has really been formed from those experiences. I have learned different languages, I have met people from different cultures and played football in places where they have different ideologies. Am I grateful for all of that? Yes. Would I have chosen that path at the beginning? No.”
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It is almost 10 years since Bostock left Spurs. In that time, does he believe football has changed? Are young players better nurtured than he was?
“I think so. I know I needed care, just because my situation was unique. It was not normal being exposed to the limelight at such a young age — having such high expectations on me. I got that care I needed from elsewhere. From family, from my church. But I do feel clubs have a responsibility to know how people are doing — not players, people.
“Those scholars who do not get a contract — they can just be dropped. It can just end. At Palace, we were told that only two per cent of players in the academy will make it in the game. Thinking about that does make me grateful. People can have an opinion about your career — but I get to do what I love every day.
“I used to go to sleep every night thinking, ‘Will I be a footballer?’ So to still be playing, at a great club with great fans and playing great football, is something I really appreciate.
“There was a period where I thought about giving up. I had pinned all my identity on football. Because it was not going well, I found myself thinking, ‘What am I, then?’ That was dangerous. I am at a place now where I understand who I am. I have learnt that the hard way. I play with freedom. I enjoy it. I am invested.
“But I do not pin my whole life on a single performance, which is what I used to do.”
Bostock is cut from a different cloth to many of his contemporaries.
He does not drink. His love of Nottingham, where he has lived since joining Nottingham Forest on loan from Toulouse in 2019, is born of his love for going on country walks with his family, who all enjoy nature. He is also the founder of Ballers in God, a group that began with a handful of people chatting over Skype and now connects 400 players who all share a common bond.
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“My faith is the biggest thing in my life. It is who I am,” says Bostock. “As a kid, I was trained to think one way. I hear kids now say ‘football is life’. I get that. I understand it. But if football is life, what happens when it is gone? Are you dead?
“That was me. I had no plan B. I was pretty sure I had a good chance to make it. But after the experience I had at Palace and Spurs, I thought to myself that I do love football, but my life has to be rooted in something else — something stable that does not change.
“Coming to know Jesus Christ… the Bible says he is the same yesterday, today and forever. He does not change. Football will always move around. A team will do well, it will do poorly, players will come and go. But my faith has been consistent. It is a rock I have built my life upon. Jesus changed my life.”
Now Bostock impacts the lives of other footballers.
“I was in Belgium playing for OH Leuven. There was a language barrier in the churches which meant I was not able to plug into things properly. I wanted some kind of community. ‘If I am feeling this way, there must be other players out there, with faith, who are feeling the same way’.
“I called a few players who I had met on my journey. I asked one how he was doing. He started to talk to me about football. I said, ‘No, bro — how are you?’ He started to open up and tell me how he was feeling. I asked him if he would be interested in that kind of meeting where we could all talk to each other. We did it on Skype to begin with. There were tears, there was laughter, we prayed, we read the Bible, we encouraged each other.
“It was a unique environment. There was no outside minister or pastor. Instead, it was a meeting led by players, for players. We all get what players go through. So we try to mentor, encourage and support players through their football journey.”
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Football dressing rooms can be macho places; environments that do not naturally lend themselves to players sharing their innermost feelings. But Bostock was encouraged that, when he arrived at Notts County, many of his new team-mates did take an interest.
“Whether you work in an office, on a building site, whatever… we all need the same things,” says Bostock. “We all need community, we need help and encouragement, we all feel emotion. But in this game, one minute you are on the highest of highs, the next you are… not.
“We started with four players in 2015 and now we reach about 400 players. We have three language groups — English, French and Dutch. We meet (virtually) throughout the week. At the end of the season we stage retreats. We are planning a conference next year. It is definitely growing.
“Players invite their team-mates, people will come and have a little look at what we are about. Some will stay and some will go. Wes Harding at Rotherham is another of the leaders. Felix Nmecha at Wolfsburg as well. Nathanael Ogbeta at Swansea (currently on loan at Peterborough) is another. We have some high-profile players in the Champions League and others from non-League. What is really special is, when we come into meetings, your club is thrown away. It is neutral ground.
“There will be players from a lower level who are encouraging players who are Champions League regulars. I love that. It is really wonderful. There is no ego there. People here (at Notts) ask me about my story. They ask why I do not do this or that any more. I tell them it is because of my faith and ask if they want to hear about it.
“There are a lot more people with faith in football than might be widely realised. We have players come to meetings who are not sure about what they believe. But they do know that there is support for them. Any player is welcome.”
At the end of last season, Bostock had another decision to make.
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Despite their relegation from League One, Doncaster Rovers offered him a new contract, but the midfielder turned it down.
It was a choice that almost backfired as, until December, he found himself without a club. But in an unusual reversal of roles, Notts County ended up offering him the chance to see if the club was the right fit for him.
“After three weeks of training (with Notts) and considering other offers from a higher level, this was the best option,” says Bostock.“I had ideas about what the level would be like, about what infrastructure there would be — I was pleasantly surprised.”
Bostock had enjoyed his time on the other side of the River Trent, even though he only made seven league appearances for Forest during a loan spell in 2019-20 — Sabri Lamouchi’s team lost 4-1 at home to Stoke on the final day and missed out on the play-offs. “It is funny because Ben Watson was the player I came on for when I made my first-team debut at Palace,” says Bostock. “Then he kept me out of the side at Forest.”
There are high hopes the current campaign will have a happier ending.
Notts are attempting to deny Wrexham their Hollywood finale in the National League. While many football fans have been won over by the story surrounding the big-spending Welsh side backed by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Notts hope to write a different script. Luke Williams’ side lead Wrexham by three points at the top and hope to play their way to promotion with a slick passing game. Phil Parkinson’s Wrexham are more robust and direct.
“Before I signed, I came to watch Notts play Yeovil,” adds Bostock, who has made three starts and five sub appearances for his new side. “There were 16,500 people here. This place has so much potential.
“I have signed for 18 months. There is normally some movement during that time for me, isn’t there? As a family, we are really settled. But in football, you never know what is next. I know that as well as anyone.
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“But coming here is one decision I am very happy with.”
(Top photo: Notts County FC)
