John Wilfred Rostron (born 29 September 1956) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who made nearly 500 appearances in the Football League. He spent ten years with

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, and ...

and had shorter spells with Arsenal, Sunderland,

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

and Brentford. He started off as a left-winger but then spent most of his career as a left-back.

Playing career

Rostron started his career at Arsenal, signing professional terms in October 1973 after a season as an amateur playing in Arsenal's youth team. He made his first-team debut against Newcastle United on 18 March 1975 and played a total of six league matches that season. However, he could not fully break into the Arsenal first team, making only 19 appearances for the club in three seasons, scoring two goals. He moved to home town club Sunderland in July 1977 for £40,000. After two seasons at Sunderland, Rostron signed for

in October 1979 for £150,000. Playing as a left-winger he had sporadic success. During the 1980–81 Watford manager

Graham Taylor Graham Taylor (15 September 1944 – 12 January 2017) was an English football player, manager, pundit and chairman of Watford Football Club. He was the manager of the England national football team from 1990 to 1993, and also managed Lincoln C ...

played Rostron as a left-back to his initial surprise. Rostron played well and went on to make that position his own. He was part of the Watford side that achieved promotion to

Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

in the 1981–82 season. He then won the club's Player of the Season award as Watford got to their highest ever finish of 2nd in the 1982–83 season. In the 1983–84 season Watford reached the

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...

. Rostron, by this time Watford's captain, was sent off in a league fixture against

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 ...

preceding the final and incurred a suspension. He was consigned to the sidelines as Watford lost 2–0 to Everton. Nonetheless, Rostron won the Player of the Season award again that year. Rostron was capped over 400 times for the Hornets, scoring 30 goals altogether. He moved on to join

on a free transfer in January 1989. His spell at Hillsborough lasted only 8 months, and he was loaned to the Owls' rivals

in September 1989, a move which was made permanent in November of that year. Rostron made 36 appearances for the Blades, scoring three times in all. He moved to Brentford in January 1991 where he brought an end to his playing days two years later.

Managerial career

He became the assistant manager of clubs Brentford and Gateshead in 1993. He then went on to manage Sunderland Ryhope CW during 1994.

Personal life

After his playing days came to an end Rostron worked for a furniture company. He later went on to establish his own furniture business. He settled in Sunderland.

Honours

Watford F.C. Player of the Season Watford Football Club are an English football club, from Watford, Hertfordshire. Founded in 1881 as Watford Rovers, the club has competed in the Football League since 1920 and since the 2015–16 season have competed in the Premier League. Fir ...

: 1982–83, 1983–84

References

General

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Specific

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rostron, Wilf 1956 births Living people Footballers from Sunderland Association football fullbacks English footballers Arsenal F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Watford F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Brentford F.C. players English Football League players