I’m a former Spurs boss, now I run a prayer group for footballers led by CL star
JOHN BOSTOCK has seen it all in football.
Boy wonders and big transfer to regular borrower and on his ear.
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Playing abroad, playing in the English pyramid, until at the age of 21 he wondered whether he wanted to keep playing.
It’s been an incredible journey for the 32-year-old south Londoner, who made big news half a lifetime ago when he left Crystal Palace as a teenage sensation for Tottenham.
But after a fascinating career spanning 15 clubs and five countries, Bostock says he is the happiest he has ever been and is still going strong at League Two Notts County.
He has become a mentor to other players, especially those who share his faith, after setting up his influential Christian football club ‘Ballers in God’ in 2015.
It gives him perspective when he thinks back to his striking switch in 2008 from Palace to Spurs, who face each other on Saturday.
Bostock told SunSport: “I’m at a point where I see my career as a tool that I can use to help other people with what they’ve been through.
“And maybe I had to go through what I went through before I could understand that.”
“The move to Spurs made a lot of noise. I remember taking the train to school, opening the papers and seeing my face on the back page.
“It had a big impact on how I saw life.
“I realized that my identity couldn’t be built on what people think of me, that if I believed everything people said about me, I would get into trouble.
“I believe that if you live for people’s acceptance, you will die for their rejections.”
Bostock vividly remembers the ‘messy’ move, which saw Spurs initially announce his signing, only for Palace to publicly deny an agreement had been reached.
Then-Eagles chairman Simon Jordan was furious and it eventually went before a tribunal.
Bostock understands Palace’s frustration, but explained: “We told the club we wanted to stay and the offer wasn’t what they said it would be.
Bostock on…
After all his years in football, the worldly wise John Bostock gives his verdict on:
Palace and Spurs asterisks: “Eberechi Eze is a player I really enjoy watching. I don’t know him that well, but we are in touch. It’s great to see such a player from South London shining on the pitch and also representing Jesus.
“Micky van de Ven has been colossal at Spurs. I saw him in Wolfsburg because one of our Ballers in God, Felix Nmecha, was his teammate there.
“Cheick Doucoure is injured for Palace but I was with him at Lens, he was a young player coming through and had some really good qualities. Palace will miss him.’
Best player he played with: “Luka Modric. He was incredible. I didn’t know he would win the Ballon D’Or, but he was always one step ahead.”
Favorite coach: “Lucas Williams. I’ve never worked under a manager like that. He was very well rounded tactically, man-management… he is a very special person.
Happiest time at a club: “I am very happy at Notts County now. I love the football we play, the fans are brilliant, where I am in life. But when I put myself on a field somewhere with a ball, I am happy. Wherever that is, I have learned to be happy.
One piece of advice for young players: “Learn to deal with disappointments very well. I wish someone had said to me, ‘John, you need stamina for this game,’ because you do. It’s a tough match and it takes a lot.”
“We asked for a new offer and they said, ‘Well, this is it.’ So we said this is what we have elsewhere. We continued.
“I would have liked to play for the club longer. I’m very grateful that I was able to play for them at all.”
Expectations were high at Tottenham as Bostock had made his Palace debut at the age of 15.
But he ended up making just four appearances for the Lilywhites in five seasons, where he was loaned out to Brentford, Hull, Sheffield Wednesday, Swindon and MLS side Toronto.
When his deal expired, his confidence was low and with no offers coming in, he wondered if the game was still for him.
But his love for the sport was recaptured when he played a season under Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in the second tier of Belgian football at OH Leuven.
Further spells abroad followed to Lens – where he played with current Palace midfielder Cheick Doucoure -, Turkish side Bursaspor and then back to France with Toulouse.
He returned to England for family reasons and has spent the past two years with County, preparing for a hostile trip to Bradford on Saturday.
In 2015, he founded Ballers in God, which has grown significantly and has more than 300,000 followers on Instagram.
The organization offers support to players of faith, with Zoom prayer meetings every morning, weekly online catch-ups and end-of-season retreats. It’s also international, with Borussia Dortmund star Felix Nmecha one of several group leaders.
Bostock wasn’t religious growing up, but had ‘an encounter with Jesus’ at 15 – just before moving to Spurs – after his sister Tara found God and invited him to church.
Hearing the Gospel for the first time had a profound effect. He recalled, “I said a very simple prayer that day and my life has never been the same since.”
Palace star Eberechi Eze last month gave unsolicited praise to Ballers in God, writing on Instagram that the organization’s work was “truly incredible and inspiring”.
A moved Bostock said: “He didn’t have to do that, but it was very encouraging.
“I love watching Eze play, and I’m not just saying it because he’s a fellow believer. He is like a throwback, the way he glides past players and plays without fear.
“To know his journey, the rejection he’s had, and now to see him flourish at a Premier League club, it’s really great to see.”
Bostock’s guidance really came to the fore during Covid, when so many players’ goal as a football pitch came to a standstill.
He added: “I talk to players about everything I’ve had to deal with, because I’ve been the prodigy, I’ve been the traveler, I’ve been without a club, I’ve been injured, I’ve had surgery, I’ve I’ve had a lot of noise about me, I haven’t had any noise about me.
“I feel like I’ve experienced it all in some capacity. That really equipped me to help others who are going through things.”