|
Squad Number: 1
Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 32 Height: n/a Weight: n/a
Born: Leamington Spa
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Coventry City (0/0), Cambridge United (0/0), Sabah [Malaysia],
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): Fisher Athletic, Kettering Town, Boston United (77/0)
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 25/0
Details: The Midlander began his career at Coventry, but didn’t play a game until he moved abroad to appear in Malaysia. No appearance figures are available, but having enjoyed his time there he had brief spells at Fisher at Kettering before joining the Pilgrims on the eve of the 1992/3 season. Since then he has proved to be one of the best non-League ‘keepers, having 14 clean sheets to his name in United’s promotion season. He also only missed one game through suspension. Of course, Division Three is a different standard, and it will take time for the veteran to adapt.
Ben Chapman
Squad Number: 3
Position: Defender
Age: 23 Height: 5ft 6ins Weight: 11st 5lbs
Born: Scunthorpe
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Grimsby Town (21/0)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): n/a
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 14/0
Details: Yorkshireman released by former club Grimsby on a free transfer during the summer, Chapman made 17 of his 21 Town appearances last season before joining the Pilgrims. He spent five years coming through the youth ranks at Blundell Park before being released. Short, he has settled well to life in Division Three.
Mark Greaves
Squad Number: 6
Position: Defender
Age: 27 Height: 6ft 1in Weight: 13st
Born: Hull
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Hull City (174/10)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): Brigg Town
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 12[1]/0
Details: Released by Hull after spending six years with the Tigers. He had been a consistent performer for the Boothferry Park outfit, contributing a number of goals from set pieces with his aerial prowess whilst racking up 174 League appearances for them. Joined Boston on a free this August, and has played a number of games, suffering recently with a knock sustained in late November.
Tony Battersby
Squad Number: 8
Position: Forward
Age: 27 Height: 6ft Weight: 13st 7lbs
Born: Doncaster
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Sheffield United (10/1), Southend United [loan] (8/1), Notts County (39/8), Bury [loan] (11/2), Bury (37/6), Lincoln City (129/21), Northampton Town [loan] (3/1)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): n/a
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 9/3
Details: A former Shrimper, albeit a short loan spell, Battersby joined Boston at the end of October having been released by Lincoln due to his injury prone nature. Battersby was at the Hall during Steve Thompson’s four moth tenure in charge after the departure of Peter Taylor in 1995. He made eight appearances in all, scoring just the once. Battersby’s career closely followed that of Thompson – he started out at Sheffield United with him and then signed for Lincoln whilst Thompson was boss at Sincil Bank. His injuries were getting progressively more frustrating for the Red Imps, and they let him go, whereupon he went down the road to the Pilgrims.
Simon Weatherstone
Squad Number: 10
Position: Forward
Age: 22 Height: 5ft 11ins Weight: 11st
Born: Reading
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Oxford United (51/3)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): Boston United (47/17)
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 23/7
Details: Signed on a free transfer from Oxford, he had made a number more appearances than his brother Ross in the Kassam Stadium’s team. However, his career at Boston has blossomed, an he currently leads the scoring charts for the Pilgrims. Had a trial with Bolton last season.
Mark Angel
Squad Number: 11
Position: Forward
Age: 27 Height: 5ft 8ins Weight: 11st 1lb
Born: Newcastle
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Sunderland (0/0), Oxford United (73/4), West Bromwich Albion (25/1), Darlington (5/0), Queen of the South [loan] (5/1)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): Boston United (36/4)
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 15[3]/1
Details: Striker with one of the worst goals-games ratios that any attacker must have in the history of the game. So far, in over 150 League games, Angel has found the back of the net just ten times. His Football League record is even worse – seven goals from 125-odd matches. Looks like he’s certain tol score against the Blues then…
Matt Hocking
Squad Number: 12
Position: Defender
Age: 24 Height: 6ft Weight: 12st 9lbs
Born: Boston
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Sheffield United (0/0), Hull City (57/2), York City [loan] (6/0), York City (91/2)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): n/a
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 22[2]/0
Details: Centre-back who was released by York after playing over a hundred League and Cup games for the Bootham Crescent side. Started out as a trainee at local side Sheffield United before moving down the coast to Hull in the 1997/8 season. Two successful years with the Tigers followed, but he joined York at the tail end of the 1998/9 campaign, and stayed there until moving to Boston, where he has so far missed just one game in their first season of League football.
James Gould
|
Squad Number: 14
Position: Midfielder
Age: 20 Height: n/a Weight: n/a
Born: Rushden
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Northampton Town (1/0)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): Boston United (32/3)
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 8[2]/1
Details: Formerly of Northampton, Gould was a member of their academy side, but made just three appearances in all for the Sixfields side. Released in 2001, he joined Boston, where he has slowly but surely begun to establish himself in the starting line-up.
Neil Redfearn
Squad Number: 15
Position: Midfielder
Age: 37 Height: 5ft 11ins Weight: 13st 1lb
Born: Dewsbury
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Nottingham Forest (0/0), Bolton Wanderers (35/1), Lincoln City [loan] (10/1), Lincoln City (90/12), Doncaster Rovers (46/14), Crystal Palace (57/10), Watford (24/3), Oldham Athletic (62/16), Barnsley (292/71), Charlton Athletic (30/3), Bradford City (17/1), Wigan Athletic (22/7), Halifax Town (42/6)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): n/a
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 8[1]/1
Details: An extremely experienced journeyman footballer, Neil Redfearn has racked up an incredible 859 career appearances in all competitions since making his debut for Bolton Wanderers twenty years ago. He had started his career as a youngster at Nottingham Forest, but he never occupied a first team bench, and moved on to the Trotters. He made a hundred League appearances in all at Lincoln, before a short spell at Doncaster and two-season patches at Crystal Palace, Watford and Oldham. His greatest achievements lay at Oakwell, where he led Barnsley to a season of Premiership football in 1997/8. He continued to experience relegation from the top division a season later at Charlton, and since he has represented Wigan and had a coaching role at Halifax. Now he faces the task of keeping Boston in the Football League. Still very talented, he is excellent from deadball situations.
Simon Rusk
Squad Number: 16
Position: Midfielder
Age: 20 Height: n/a Weight: n/a
Born: n/a
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Peterborough United (0/0)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): Boston United (34/4)
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 10[2]/1
Details: Having started out at Peterborough, he made three appearances for the Scotttish Under-18 side whilst at London Road. That spell came to an end in early 2001, and he has since impressed the fans at York Street.
|
Squad Number: 17
Position: Midfielder
Age: 33 Height: n/a Weight: n/a
Born: Halifax
League Career (100+ Appearances/ 19 Goals): Bradford City, Rochdale, Peterborough United, Lincoln City
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): Kettering Town, Boston United (45/7)
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 5[1]/0
Details: Costello’s League career is difficult to track down, but he has made over a century of appearances in the Football League, netting a goal every five games from midfield with Bradford, Rochdale, Peterborough and Lincoln. He then joined Kettering, and has since played for Boston, picking up the Player of the Year award for the Millennium season.
Jamie Cook
Squad Number: 21
Position: Forward
Age: 23 Height: 5ft 10ins Weight: 12st 9lbs
Born: Oxford
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Oxford United (77/7)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): Boston United (44/5)
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 7[10]/2
Details: Joined from Oxford at the same times as the Weatherstone brothers. Scored a goal every eleven games in his Football League career, which is worth nearly 100 appearances now, but is quite capable of the spectacular.
Ross Weatherstone
Squad Number: 22
Position: Defender
Age: 21 Height: 5ft 11ins Weight: 11st 10lbs
Born: Reading
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Oxford United (8/0)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): Boston United (30/1)
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 3[7]/0
Details: Free transfer from Oxford United in February 2001, Ross joined along with his brother Simon. Made only eight League appearances for his old club, but has proved to be a reliable defender in his year-and-a-half at York Street.
Ray Warburton
|
Squad Number: 26
Position: Defender
Age: 35 Height: 6ft Weight: 13st 3lbs
Born: Rotherham
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Rotherham United (4/0), York City (90/9), Northampton Town [loan] (17/1), Northampton Town (169/11), Rushden & Diamonds (1/0)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): Boston United (5/1)
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 19[1]/0
Details: One of the old heads in the side, Warburton has still managed to play in nearly all the Pilgrims matches this season at the age of 35. He began his career at home-town Rotherham as an apprentice, but matches were hard to come by and he joined York in 1989. He made a niche for himself in the first-team in the ensuing season, but after two years in the side he experienced three outside of it, and moved on once again to Northampton. Under John Barnwell and Ian Atkins he made a spot on the Cobblers defence his own, but with life appearing so rosy, and having secured promotion to Division Two, Kevin Wilson took over and Warburton was frozen out of the side. He joined Rushden during last season, but made only one league appearance at Carlisle, and joined Boston at the end of last season. So far, so good with the Pilgrims.
Lee Thompson (on loan from Sheffield United)
Squad Number: 27
Position: Midfielder
Age: 19 Height: 5ft 7ins Weight: 10st 10lbs
Born: Sheffield
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Sheffield United (0/0)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): n/a
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 12/6
Details: A Sheffield lad with a Sheffield side, Thompson is currently at York Street on loan from United. A talented midfielder who has yet to break into the Blades first-team squad, Thompson is averaging a goal every two games for the Pilgrims, and could be the dangerman on Saturday.
Alex Higgins
Squad Number: 28
Position: Midfielder
Age: 21 Height: n/a Weight: n/a
Born: Sheffield
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Sheffield Wednesday (0/0), Queens Park Rangers (1/0)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): Chester City, Stalybridge Celtic
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 11/1
Details: Not as well-known as his more illustrious namesake, Higgins had just a solitary Football League appearance to his name before the season began, playing a whole ten minutes of a match for QPR. Subsequent non-League spells over the last two years at Chester and Stalybridge were not worth much, and in October he joined United on a free.
Nicky Conroy
Squad Number: 29
Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 26 Height: n/a Weight: n/a
Born: Peterborough
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Peterborough United (0/0)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): Kettering Town, Stamford AFC, Yaxley, Boston United (2/0)
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 1/0
Details: Substitute goalkeeper, he made his senior debut when Bastock was sent of against Hednesford in April 2001, and appeared again in this season’s LDV Vans Trophy.
Stuart Douglas
Squad Number: 30
Position: Forward
Age: 24 Height: 5ft 9ins Weight: 12st 5lbs
Born: London
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Luton Town (146/18), Oxford United [loan] (4/0), Rushden & Diamonds [loan] (9/0)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): n/a
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 8[8]/2
Details: Yet to sign a proper contract with Boston, he has made 16 appearances, half of them as substitute, yielding only two goals. Started his career at Luton, but chances were few and far between last season as he was farmed out on loan to Oxford and Rushden, where he did little to impress, failing to hit the back of the net. This period offers a crossroads in his footballing career.
Richard Logan
Squad Number: 31
Position: Forward
Age: 20 Height: 6ft Weight: 12st 5lbs
Born: Bury St. Edmunds
League Career (Appearances/ Goals): Ipswich Town (3/0), Cambridge United [loan] (5/1), Torquay United [loan] (16/4)
Non-League Career (Appearances/Goals): n/a
This Season (Total Appearances [as substitute]/Goals): 0[1]/0
Details: Originally signed for just a month this November, Logan was one of then lesser known victims of Ipswich’s wage restructuring. His loan spell at Torquay last year included the Gulls surprise 1-1 draw at Roots Hall, during which time Blues were going through a spell that would mean the end of their promotion ambitions. One substitute appearance against Orient is all the opportunity he has had to impress so far.
Robert Craven
www.thelittlegazette.com