John Oster, English-Welsh footballer
John Morgan Oster (born 8 December 1978) is an English-born Welsh football coach and former professional footballer, who played as a midfielder.
Oster was a product of the youth team at Grimsby Town where he was added to the first team squad in 1994, however he didn't make his debut until the 1996–97 season. His performances that season caught the eye of Premier League side Everton who paid £1.5 million for him during the summer of 1997. Two years later he was sold to Sunderland where he remained until 2005. Whilst with The Black Cats he spent time on loan with Barnsley before returning to Grimsby for two separate loan spells during the 2002–03 season, in his time back at Blundell Park he was unable to save the club from relegation. He later moved on loan to Leeds United before joining Burnley permanently. His stay with Burnley was brief and moved to Reading where he helped them earn promotion to the Premier League for the first time, in 2008 he moved to Crystal Palace where he remained for a year before transferring to Doncaster Rovers. He departed Rovers in the summer of 2012 and joined League Two side Barnet, prior to his move to the North London club he had played his entire professional football career inside the top two divisions of English football. He joined Gateshead in September 2013.
During his career, Oster represented Wales at international level, where he earned 13 caps between 1997 and 2004. He was renowned for his excellent first touch and wide range of passing. He was often deployed on the wing, but played as a deep-lying playmaker later in his career.