John Morgan Oster (born 8 December 1978) is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and former professional player who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Oster was a product of the youth team at

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

where he was added to the first team squad in 1994, however he didn't make his debut until the 1996–97 season. His performances that season caught the eye of

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side Everton who paid £1.5 million for him during the summer of 1997. Two years later he was sold to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

where he remained until 2005. Whilst with The Black Cats he spent time on loan with

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

before returning to Grimsby for two separate loan spells during the 2002–03 season, in his time back at

Blundell Park Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1899, but only one of the original stands remains. The current capacity of the ground is 9, ...

he was unable to save the club from relegation. He later moved on loan to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

before joining

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

permanently. His stay with Burnley was brief and moved to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

where he helped them earn promotion to the

for the first time, in 2008 he moved to

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

where he remained for a year before transferring to

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

. He departed Rovers in the summer of 2012 and joined

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

, prior to his move to the North London club he had played his entire professional football career inside the top two divisions of English football. He joined

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

in September 2013. Born in England, Oster represented

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

at international level, where he earned 13 caps between 1997 and 2004. He was renowned for his excellent first touch and wide range of passing. He was often deployed on the wing, but played as a

deep-lying playmaker A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

later in his career.

Club career

Grimsby Town

Oster started his career at

and had progressed through the youth ranks at the club and was inducted into the first team in the same youth squad as players such as

Danny Butterfield Daniel Paul Butterfield (born 21 November 1979) is an English former professional footballer and coach who is currently an assistant head coach at Lincoln City. Butterfield was born in Boston, Lincolnshire and played between 1997 and 2016 a ...

, Matthew Bloomer and

Daryl Clare Daryl Adam Clare (born 1 August 1978) is a Jersey-born Irish former professional footballer and coach. He is currently a football coach at Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education. As a player he was a striker from 1996 to 2016 for Grim ...

. He was promoted to the first team scene in the 1994–95 season when the club were in the old First Division. However, he didn't make his debut until the 1996–97 campaign where he made his debut in a 3–1 win away at

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

on 26 November 1996. Following Grimsby's relegation from the First Division, Oster was sold by The Mariners, for a fee of £1.5 million that saw him break the club's record transfer sale that was initially held by

Gary Croft Gary Croft (born 17 February 1974) is an English former professional footballer and co-commentator for BBC Radio Humberside. Asa player he was a left back from 1992 until 2008, as well as briefly coming out of retirement in 2015. He notably pl ...

following his move to

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

for £1 million a year earlier. He had only played twenty-six times in all competitions, scoring four goals upon his departure.

Everton

The Mariners sold Oster to Everton for £1.5 million in 1997, aged only 18 and having played only 25 matches. It transpired that he had made the wrong move though, as he was rarely utilised in his favoured winger's role, in a 4–4–2 formation. Oster scored three times during his spell at Everton; once in the league against

, once in the League Cup against Scunthorpe United and once in the FA Cup against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

Sunderland

Oster moved to

for a fee in excess of £1 million, but again failed to find regular form. His low point at the club was when he was involved in an incident that ended the career of reserve player

Mark Maley Mark Maley (born 26 January 1981) is an English former footballer who played as a defender. Maley started his career with Sunderland and progressed through the youth system at the club. He was loaned out to lower-league sides Blackpool, Nort ...

by accidentally shooting him in the eye with an air rifle. While at Sunderland, during the 2002–2003 season, he spent five months back on loan with his former club

. He enjoyed two fruitful and productive spells with the club during that season, but despite this his goals and performances could not save The Mariners from relegation, as the club struggled to stop a slide down the Football League ladder. Oster was released by Sunderland in January 2005, shortly after returning to the Black Cats in disgrace from a loan at

, where he scored once against Millwall. There was little doubt that Grimsby would have liked Oster back but could not afford him and their financial position and reduced league status made it an unattractive option for the player.

Burnley

Following a short spell at

, where he scored once against Coventry, Oster joined

on 2 August 2005.

Reading

Oster made his debut for Reading against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

on 9 August 2005 as a substitute. In January 2007, he extended his contract at the

Madejski Stadium The Madejski Stadium (currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Reading. It is the home of Reading Football Club, who play in the EFL Championship. It also provides the finish for the Rea ...

until the summer of 2008. He notched his first Premier League goal in nearly 10 years against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

at the

Riverside Stadium The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since it opened in 1995. Its current capacity is 34,742, all seated, although there is provisional planning permission in place t ...

where the Royals were defeated for the first time in 2007, 2–1. After a couple of years as a squad player with the Royals, including a number of Premier League sub appearances, he was released by Reading following their relegation from the Premier League, on 16 May 2008.

Crystal Palace

Before signing for Crystal Palace, Oster had a trial spell at Championship rivals

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

. Oster signed an initial six-month contract for

on 11 August 2008, which was extended by a further 18 months. He scored on his debut against

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

Doncaster Rovers

Oster left

in the summer and joined

on a six-month contract. Oster made his Doncaster debut on 8 August 2009, coming on as a second-half substitute against

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

. He extended his contract in January 2010 to keep him at the club until the end of the 2009–10 season. He scored his first goal for Doncaster against Peterborough United on 16 March 2010. Due to his impressive form in the 2009–10 season, Rovers offered Oster the opportunity to renew his contract with the club. Oster agreed and committed to Doncaster for a further two years. Oster was an ever present for Doncaster in the 2010–11 season after topping the Rovers' appearance chart in mid April with 38 starts. In May 2012, Oster was released by the club after the expiry of his contract.

Barnet

On 7 September 2012, Oster signed for

Football League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

club

. On 19 October 2012, he scored his first goal for Barnet, scoring the third goal in a 4–0 win against

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

. Oster was released by manager

Edgar Davids Edgar Steven Davids (; born 13 March 1973) is a Dutch-Surinamese former professional footballer and current coach. After beginning his career with Ajax, winning several domestic and international titles, he subsequently played in Italy for AC Mi ...

at the end of the season following Barnet's relegation from League Two.

Gateshead

On 20 September 2013, Oster signed for

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...

club

on non-contract terms, the move being his first into Non-league. He made his debut the following day as a second-half substitute against Tamworth. He scored his first goal for Gateshead on 21 December 2013 in a 4–2 defeat at

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

International career

Oster made his debut for

as an 18-year-old in 1997, coming on as an injury-time substitute for

Robbie Savage Robert William Savage (born 18 October 1974) is a Welsh former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder, now a association football, football pundit and director of football at club Macclesfield F.C., Macclesfie ...

in a World Cup qualifying defeat in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Oster played intermittently for the national side between 1997 and 2004, accumulating 13 caps, though only six of these came in competitive games. Oster did not play in any games under

John Toshack John Benjamin Toshack (born 22 March 1949) is a Welsh former professional football player and manager. He began his playing career as a teenager with his hometown club Cardiff City, becoming the youngest player to make an appearance for th ...

following his appointment in November 2004, his last cap for Wales being the 2–2 draw with

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

in 2004 under previous boss

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...

Coaching career

In September 2019, Oster was appointed as assistant manager of

Whickham Whickham is a village in Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. The village is on high ground overlooking the River Tyne and south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It was formerly governed under the histo ...

under manager

Matty Pattison Matty Pattison (born 27 October 1986) is a South African former footballer and current head of youth development at Whickham. Early life Pattison, who was born in Johannesburg, began to play football at an early age. He and his family then move ...

. The duo resigned from their position on 1 February 2020.

Personal life

In April 2002 whilst at

, Oster accidentally shot reserve team player

with an air-gun. Neither of the pair believed the gun was loaded and Maley had to undergo an eye operation. Whilst on loan at

in December 2004 Oster and Jamie McMaster were suspended by the club for misbehaving at the club's

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

party. The incident spelled the end of his Leeds career and his loan was terminated. In 2005 his Sunderland contract was terminated after he was arrested for assault outside a

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

nightclub.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

;Grimsby Town *Supporters Young Player of the Year: 1997 ;Reading *Football Championship Winner 2005–06

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oster, John 1978 births People from Boston, Lincolnshire Living people Association football wingers Welsh footballers Wales under-21 international footballers Wales international footballers Grimsby Town F.C. players Everton F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Reading F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players National League (English football) players