EXCLUSIVE: Cash never drove my desire to join Spurs, says wonderkid John Bostock

13 April 2012

John Bostock is the boy who kissed the badge and then kissed goodbye to the team he has supported since he was a boy.

One minute he was a season ticket holder in the Arthur Wait Stand at Selhurst Park, signing autographs for starry-eyed friends at his south London school and dreaming of a career with Crystal Palace.

Stepping up: John Bostock is looking forward to kicking off his new career at Tottenham next season.

The next he was off; the youngest player to pull on the Palace shirt when he made his first-team debut against Watford at the age of 15 years 287 days last October, finally completed his controversial move to Tottenham.

Fate played its part. The day after Bostock made his Palace debut his dad Mick, a London taxi driver, had former Spurs striker Gary Lineker in the back of his cab. "Tell him to reach for the stars." Not a bad tip.

Palace supporters have had their say, though, cramming internet message boards with abuse and claiming that the kid who has been attached to the club's excellent academy since the age of six sold his soul by signing a four-year contract with Spurs.

Take Pauldrulez. "Just because he has a season ticket doesn't mean he supports them. If it was me, I would have signed (for Palace) at 12.01am on my 16th birthday."

Not unreasonable, but how about Dufski13? "Personally I am sick to death of these effing children who believe their own hype. They hack me off to the extreme. If he signs for Spurs, I hope his career goes nowhere." Charming.

Here is another well thought-out argument from Doogleboy: "Johnny Bostock. Disloyal piece of s***." Why don't you say how you really feel?

So why did the boy who turned down the red - and - blue o f Barcelona one week come to turn his back on the red-and-blue of his beloved Palace? It did not come down to finance or fame. Just football. Pure and simple.

"I don't know if Palace fans will ever be able to understand why a genuine Palace supporter left the club, but I was frustrated with the way I was playing under the style of football at the club," he told Sportsmail yesterday.

"When I made my debut against Watford, I was ready to commit my future to Palace and could see myself playing a hundred games in no time, but I was stagnating. I need to be at a club where I can continue my development.

"Tottenham have always shown a lot of interest and I believe I will be pushed to improve my game. In the youth team at Palace, it is too easy. Even though most of the players are two years older than me, it is not a challenge. In my last game for the club, against Watford (youth), I scored two and it was just too easy.

"I like Tottenham's playing style, I will be training with the first team and playing for the reserves in my first season. I could have gone to big clubs, like Chelsea or Barcelona, but Spurs offers me the best career progression. That is my belief."

He showed promise against Watford ("he will have to cut out the showboating", was the assessment of Palace manager Neil Warnock), came on as a substitute at Scunthorpe, made his full debut against Cardiff and then made another appearance against QPR.

"Against QPR I flicked the ball over Mikele Leigertwood in midfield and he just bundled me to the ground. Then he bent over and said: 'Get up little boy, before I get booked'."

Bostock is still learning the game. Warnock, understandably, went for experience as Palace made a late push for the play-offs and the midfielder was left on the sidelines. "I had school in the afternoons and it was hard to juggle my football career with my exams. But the staff at Palace, particularly those involved with the youth team, have helped.

"There has always been the temptation to leave, but my ambition was to become the youngest player to play for Palace and I achieved that. I don't have any regrets. Palace are going to be rewarded financially for bringing me through the academy system. And rightly so, but it is time to move on."

He did not need all this, not when he is studying for his GCSEs this summer. Crystal Palace or chemistry? Barcelona or biology? Manchester United or maths? In the end, his mind was muddled. All this at 16.

The big boys have been into Camberwell's finest football talent since the age of six, shuffling around car parks and offering his father Mick the route to riches. Mick has played his part, nurturing his son and offering him the encouragement to express himself on the football field; a fine man with a first-class son.

Mick has done all the negotiations with Tottenham, ignoring the considerable pull of Barcelona, Manchester United and Chelsea. Barca sent him a shirt signed by Ronaldinho and Arsenal sent a personalised, signed jersey from Cesc Fabregas.

Bostock and his father visited Tottenham's training ground and director of football Daniel Comolli was there to meet him, showing him the pegs where they hang the shirts of superstars such as Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane and Ledley King. Can Palace match that? Not on your life.

"It has been stressful because I've been taking my GCSEs. I'm a Christian and if I wasn't grounded in my faith it would have been a lot harder. I could have got big-headed, but the past year has made me stronger. In the Bible it says that you should put a light on the table so it can shine, not hidden under a bushel where it cannot be seen.

"That played a part in my decision to leave. I can showcase my talent at Spurs. All the pressure I get, I give it to God." His parents are getting used to it, too. Mick and Bostock's mother Christine, a schoolteacher, are happy with the family's decision and they should be proud that their son had the strength of character to leave his boyhood club and pursue his career elsewhere.

He was so concerned by the prospect of the hostility spreading to the senior coaching staff he asked left back Lee Hills to clear his locker. It should not have to be that way, not after nine years.

He was brought up through the system at Palace, soaking up the silky skills of youth team coach Micky Hazard, the former Tottenham midfielder, and watching videos night after night of Ronaldinho, Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo. A handwritten note from Mick, pinned up on a chest of drawers, tells him that he "can be the best" and Bostock believes it.

"I know people think I have left Palace for the money, but there is another side to this. I don't think about the money and it never played a part in my decision. People need to understand that I loved playing for Palace. Micky Hazard was brilliant for my career, encouraging me to do my stuff and really pushing me.

"I owe Micky Hazard a lot. 'When I broke into the reserves, Dougie Freedman was the coach and he would tell me to do a trick and show what I could do. I enjoyed playing under him.

"My school (the London Nautical) have always been behind me, too, and teachers like Neil McGregor have played a huge part in my development. I am excited about moving to Spurs and playing football in a way that will suit my talents.

"I want to be the best player in the world and I believe I have it. I watch videos of Ronaldinho and Cristiano Ronaldo and believe I can do it. Why should I lower my sights? No one can hold me back. I respect big name players and I admire them, but I'm in the same environment as them now.

"I've had emails from supporters telling me they never want to see me at Selhurst Park again, but Palace are my team and that won't change. I've got great memories of the place and if I ever play there, I will go back with my head held high. Neil Warnock gave me my debut and I won't forget that." Quite right. Just don't kiss that cockerel!

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in