Paul Bastock
Encyclopedia
Paul Anthony Bastock is an English
football goalkeeper currently playing for Boston United
. He has played professional and non-league football for over 20 years, making over 600 appearances for nine different clubs including Cambridge United
, Cheltenham Town
, Boston United
, Dagenham & Redbridge
and St Albans City
. He was voted as Boston's 'all-time cult hero' by viewers of the BBC
show Football Focus
in April 2005. He holds the all-time record for the most ever appearances for Boston United at 625 games in all competitions, although only 501 of these were league matches. His record breaking 573rd game for the Pilgrims came in a Lincolnshire Senior Cup
game against Scunthorpe United
in August 2003. He has also played several times for the England National Game XI.
In his time away from football, he enjoys playing golf
, snooker
and cricket
. He is married to Ann and has two children, Laura and Callum. His favourite footballers of all time are Peter Shilton
, Neville Southall
and Chris Woods
.
in the eighties and was a member of their 1987 FA Youth Cup
winning side that beat a Southampton
youth side including Alan Shearer
and Matt Le Tissier. He was released by Coventry and signed his first professional contract in 1988 with Cambridge United
where he stayed for one season during which he also played once on loan for Bath City
in October 1988. He then moved to Malaysia to play in the Malaysian Super League
where he had a short spell with Sabah FA
. He then moved back to England to play in the non-league with Fisher Athletic. After a season with Fisher, he transferred to Kettering Town in 1990 where he spent two years.
At Kettering, he impressed and was snapped up by Boston United in 1992. His next twelve years with the Lincolnshire
club were to prove the best of his footballing career. His first season with Boston was a disaster, with the club finishing bottom and being relegated from the Football Conference
to the Northern Premier League
. However, despite conceding 69 goals in 42 games, Bastock was still voted Player of the Season by supporters. He started to concede less goals the season after and Boston had a string of respectable league positions from 1993–1998 when the Pilgrims were moved to the Southern Premier League and their fortunes took an upturn. Bastock helped them to a second-place finish in the 1998–99 season and the team won the league and were promoted back to the Conference in 2000. He spent two seasons in the Conference before Boston were promoted Football League Third Division
, Bastock missing just one game all season as Boston won the Conference. He won the Player of the Season award again in the 2002–03 season, ten years after last winning it. However, his time with Boston started to come to an end when he received a knee injury midway through the 2003–04 season. He lost his regular place to the then substitute goalkeeper, Nathan Abbey
. Abbey played well and Bastock could not regain his place in the first time after recovering, despite having been the first choice keeper for the past 11 seasons and missing just one game in the three years prior to his injury. At the end of that season, he left the Pilgrims to find first-team football. Whilst playing for Boston, he also worked as a care assistant in a nursing home.
He was awarded a testimonial match for his great service to the club before leaving to join Scarborough
in October 2004. However, he stayed with Scarborough for just one week, before leaving due to family and travelling issues.
He signed for Dagenham & Redbridge
later the same month. He stayed there for two months, making just one appearance, before he was signed by then Conference South
side St Albans City
in November 2004. He played in 84 consecutive league games for St Albans between his debut match on 23 November 2004 against Hornchurch
and 10 November 2006 before he received a suspension after being sent off in an FA Cup
tie against Yeading
. During the 2005–06 season he was named Supporters Player of the Year, having kept a club record seven consecutive home clean sheets and also equalled the record of six consecutive clean sheets home or away as St Albans win promotion to the Conference.
In 2006 took a part-time position as part-time goalkeeping coach with Boston Unied, continuing to play for St Albans until May 2007 when he joined Rushden & Diamonds
after St Albans relegation from the Conference. However, he was released by Rushden in February 2008 and rejoined St Albans City the following month. Within six games of returning was named Conference South Player of the Month He played a crucial role in helping St Albans escape a further relegation and was named as the Supporters Club Player of the Year at the end of the season, only the second player to with the honour twice.
Bastock rejoined former club Boston United, in March 2011.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
football goalkeeper currently playing for Boston United
Boston United F.C.
Boston United Football Club are an association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. They currently play in the Conference North. The club is known as 'the Pilgrims' in reference to the Pilgrim Fathers, who fled from Boston to the USA and founded Boston, Massachusetts. The club's...
. He has played professional and non-league football for over 20 years, making over 600 appearances for nine different clubs including Cambridge United
Cambridge United F.C.
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional football club from Cambridge, England. They are currently playing the 2011-2012 season in the Conference National, the fifth tier of the English league system, where they have competed since 2005 following their relegation from the Football League...
, Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town F.C.
Cheltenham Town Football Club is an English football club playing in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Founded in 1887, the team has played at four different grounds, namely Agg-Gardner's Recreation Ground, Carter's Field and now the Abbey Business Stadium, although it is more...
, Boston United
Boston United F.C.
Boston United Football Club are an association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. They currently play in the Conference North. The club is known as 'the Pilgrims' in reference to the Pilgrim Fathers, who fled from Boston to the USA and founded Boston, Massachusetts. The club's...
, Dagenham & Redbridge
Dagenham & Redbridge F.C.
Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club , informally known as Daggers, is an English association football club based in Dagenham, in the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, East London. It was formed in 1992 after a merger between Redbridge Forest and Dagenham...
and St Albans City
St Albans City F.C.
St Albans City Football Club is a football club based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It was founded in 1908 and plays its home matches at Clarence Park, about 800 yards from the city centre. The club is in the Premier Division of the Southern League...
. He was voted as Boston's 'all-time cult hero' by viewers of the BBC
BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC. It became a fully dedicated division of the BBC in 2000. It incorporates programmes such as Match of the Day, Grandstand , Test Match Special, Ski Sunday, Rugby Special and coverage of Formula One motor racing, MotoGP and the Wimbledon Tennis...
show Football Focus
Football Focus
Football Focus is a BBC television show, broadcast on BBC One on Saturday lunchtimes, covering football, presented from the 2009/2010 season by Dan Walker...
in April 2005. He holds the all-time record for the most ever appearances for Boston United at 625 games in all competitions, although only 501 of these were league matches. His record breaking 573rd game for the Pilgrims came in a Lincolnshire Senior Cup
Lincolnshire Senior Cup
The Lincolnshire Senior County Cup is a football competition for senior football clubs in Lincolnshire organised by the Lincolnshire FA....
game against Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....
in August 2003. He has also played several times for the England National Game XI.
In his time away from football, he enjoys playing golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
. He is married to Ann and has two children, Laura and Callum. His favourite footballers of all time are Peter Shilton
Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps....
, Neville Southall
Neville Southall
Neville Southall MBE is a former Wales international footballer, best known for his time with Everton. He has been described as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation and won the FWA Footballer of the Year award in 1985...
and Chris Woods
Chris Woods
Christopher 'Chris' Charles Eric Woods is a former England international football goalkeeper, who played in the Football League and Premier League for Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City, Sheffield Wednesday, Reading, Southampton and Burnley, in the Scottish Football League for Rangers, and in Major...
.
Career
He started his career in the youth team at Coventry CityCoventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
in the eighties and was a member of their 1987 FA Youth Cup
FA Youth Cup
The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under–18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part...
winning side that beat a Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
youth side including Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...
and Matt Le Tissier. He was released by Coventry and signed his first professional contract in 1988 with Cambridge United
Cambridge United F.C.
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional football club from Cambridge, England. They are currently playing the 2011-2012 season in the Conference National, the fifth tier of the English league system, where they have competed since 2005 following their relegation from the Football League...
where he stayed for one season during which he also played once on loan for Bath City
Bath City F.C.
Bath City Football Club are a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset. They play in the Conference National league after gaining promotion from the Conference South via the play-offs in May 2010...
in October 1988. He then moved to Malaysia to play in the Malaysian Super League
Malaysian Super League
The Malaysia Super League is a Malaysian professional league for association football. At the top flight of the Malaysian football league system and it is managed by the Malaysia Super League Sdn Bhd, under supervision of the Football Association of Malaysia...
where he had a short spell with Sabah FA
Sabah FA
The Football Association of Sabah is a registered football association affiliated with the Football Association of Malaysia. The association's football team competes in Malaysia's football league representing the state of Sabah in Borneo. Sabah FA is a professional football club and one of the 14...
. He then moved back to England to play in the non-league with Fisher Athletic. After a season with Fisher, he transferred to Kettering Town in 1990 where he spent two years.
At Kettering, he impressed and was snapped up by Boston United in 1992. His next twelve years with the Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
club were to prove the best of his footballing career. His first season with Boston was a disaster, with the club finishing bottom and being relegated from the Football Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
to the Northern Premier League
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...
. However, despite conceding 69 goals in 42 games, Bastock was still voted Player of the Season by supporters. He started to concede less goals the season after and Boston had a string of respectable league positions from 1993–1998 when the Pilgrims were moved to the Southern Premier League and their fortunes took an upturn. Bastock helped them to a second-place finish in the 1998–99 season and the team won the league and were promoted back to the Conference in 2000. He spent two seasons in the Conference before Boston were promoted Football League Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
, Bastock missing just one game all season as Boston won the Conference. He won the Player of the Season award again in the 2002–03 season, ten years after last winning it. However, his time with Boston started to come to an end when he received a knee injury midway through the 2003–04 season. He lost his regular place to the then substitute goalkeeper, Nathan Abbey
Nathan Abbey
Nathanael "Nathan" Abbey is a journeyman English professional football goalkeeper currently without a team.-Career:Abbey was born in Islington, London and began his football career as a trainee with Luton Town, turning professional in August 1995...
. Abbey played well and Bastock could not regain his place in the first time after recovering, despite having been the first choice keeper for the past 11 seasons and missing just one game in the three years prior to his injury. At the end of that season, he left the Pilgrims to find first-team football. Whilst playing for Boston, he also worked as a care assistant in a nursing home.
He was awarded a testimonial match for his great service to the club before leaving to join Scarborough
Scarborough F.C.
Scarborough Football Club was an English football club based in the seaside resort of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. They were one of the oldest football clubs in England, formed in 1879, before they were wound up on 20 June 2007, with debts of £2.5 million.In the 2006–07 season...
in October 2004. However, he stayed with Scarborough for just one week, before leaving due to family and travelling issues.
He signed for Dagenham & Redbridge
Dagenham & Redbridge F.C.
Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club , informally known as Daggers, is an English association football club based in Dagenham, in the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, East London. It was formed in 1992 after a merger between Redbridge Forest and Dagenham...
later the same month. He stayed there for two months, making just one appearance, before he was signed by then Conference South
Conference South
Conference South is one of the second divisions of the Football Conference in England, taking its place immediately below the Conference National...
side St Albans City
St Albans City F.C.
St Albans City Football Club is a football club based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It was founded in 1908 and plays its home matches at Clarence Park, about 800 yards from the city centre. The club is in the Premier Division of the Southern League...
in November 2004. He played in 84 consecutive league games for St Albans between his debut match on 23 November 2004 against Hornchurch
Hornchurch F.C.
Hornchurch F.C. were an non-League football club based in east London. They played in the Conference South, after being promoted from the Isthmian League....
and 10 November 2006 before he received a suspension after being sent off in an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
tie against Yeading
Yeading F.C.
Yeading F.C. were an English football club from Yeading in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London.-Club history:Their roots trace to a youth club formed in Yeading in 1960. However, there was a Victorian amateur team by the same name which folded in the 1920s, so the club's history can be...
. During the 2005–06 season he was named Supporters Player of the Year, having kept a club record seven consecutive home clean sheets and also equalled the record of six consecutive clean sheets home or away as St Albans win promotion to the Conference.
In 2006 took a part-time position as part-time goalkeeping coach with Boston Unied, continuing to play for St Albans until May 2007 when he joined Rushden & Diamonds
Rushden & Diamonds F.C.
Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Formed by a merger of Rushden Town and Irthlingborough Diamonds in 1992, the club played in the Conference National following a short spell in the Football League at the start of...
after St Albans relegation from the Conference. However, he was released by Rushden in February 2008 and rejoined St Albans City the following month. Within six games of returning was named Conference South Player of the Month He played a crucial role in helping St Albans escape a further relegation and was named as the Supporters Club Player of the Year at the end of the season, only the second player to with the honour twice.
Bastock rejoined former club Boston United, in March 2011.
Honours
- 1986–1987 – FA Youth CupFA Youth CupThe Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under–18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part...
Winners, Coventry City - 1999–2000 – Southern Football League Premier Division Champions, Boston United
- 2001–2002 – Football ConferenceFootball ConferenceThe Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
Champions, Boston United - 2005–2006 – Conference SouthConference SouthConference South is one of the second divisions of the Football Conference in England, taking its place immediately below the Conference National...
Play-off Winners, St Albans CitySt Albans City F.C.St Albans City Football Club is a football club based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It was founded in 1908 and plays its home matches at Clarence Park, about 800 yards from the city centre. The club is in the Premier Division of the Southern League...