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 lea ...

who made nearly 500 appearances in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

. He spent ten years with

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

and had shorter spells with

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

and

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

. 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

, 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 Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

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

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 ...

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 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 is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attendance of 89,472 ...

. 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, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

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. One of his goals was in the 5-2 victory at Leicester on 5th May 1990, which helped the Blades seal promotion to the top division as Wednesday got relegated on the same day. He moved to

in January 1991 where he brought an end to his playing days two years later.

Managerial career

He became the assistant manager of clubs

and

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

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. F ...

: 1982–83, 1983–84

References

General

* * * * *

Specific

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rostron, Wilf 1956 births Living people Footballers from Sunderland Men's association football fullbacks English men's 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