Bostock: I was right to leave Palace
Tuesday, 05 Aug 2008 16:17
John Bostock claims he was right to leave Crystal Palace
Tottenham Hotspur's new signing John Bostock has insisted he was right to leave Crystal Palace, despite incurring the wrath of club chairman Simon Jordan.
The 16-year-old prodigy, who was a product of the Palace youth system, joined Spurs in the summer for £700,000 after the two clubs were forced to go to an independent tribunal after failing to agree a fee.
And in reaction to the news, Jordan turned on Bostock's father and Spurs for "turning a young boy's head… with far-fetched promises" and encouraging him to leave the club he had supported as a child.
But in an interview with Total Youth Football magazine, Bostock has claimed making the choice to leave Selhurst Park for north London had been one of the hardest decisions he has ever had to make.
"I can't believe how difficult it was to leave Crystal Palace," he told the magazine.
"I've supported them my whole life and will always love the club. But when we thought about the bigger picture it seemed like I might get a better football education at Spurs and we felt that was the most important thing."
Bostock claimed he had been impressed by the training system at White Hart Lane and said he believes he can develop into a first-team regular under head coach Juande Ramos, despite the claims of Jordan that he could find opportunities very limited.
"[Spurs] showed me the development plan they have in place for me and I was seriously impressed," the youngster continued.
"They will train me hard and develop my strengths and weaknesses in equal measure - which will hopefully turn me into a key player for their first team in the next few years.
"It just felt right to go there."