John Eustace

Infobox Football biography
playername = John Eustace


fullname = John Mark Eustace
height = height|ft=5|in=10
nickname = Super Johnny Eustace
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1979|11|3
cityofbirth = Solihull
countryofbirth = England
currentclub = Watford
clubnumber = 8
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1996–2003
1998–1999
2003
2003–2008
2006
2008–
clubs = Coventry City
→ Dundee United (loan)
→ Middlesbrough (loan)
Stoke City
→ Hereford United (loan)
Watford
caps(goals) = 85 (7)
11 (1)
01 (0)
71 (5)
08 (0)
14 (1)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate = 17:33, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate =

John Mark Eustace (born November 3, 1979 in Solihull) is an English football player, currently playing for Watford as a central-midfielder.

Club career

Coventry City & loans

Eustace was a trainee at Coventry City and in his seven years at the club he only recorded 86 appearances due to injuries.At 19 he went out on loan to Dundee Unitedto gain first team experience. He played eleven matches and scored one goal, becoming a firm favourite with United fans who voted him their young player of the year.

He returned to Coventry where he began to enjoy long periods in the first team over the following four seasons, and was named as captain , by former manager Gordon Strachan. However in 2001 Eustace was struck down with a knee injury which kept him sidelined for 6 months. He returned to action in February 2002 cite news
title = Eustace on road back
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/coventry_city/1847631.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2002-02-28
accessdate = 2007-08-06] but during the 2002–03 season Eustace found himself being loaned out again, this time to, , Middlesbrough making only one substitute appearance, away to Liverpool.cite news
title = Eustace back at Coventry
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/coventry_city/2752491.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2003-02-12
accessdate = 2007-08-06] So at the start of 2003, Eustace left Coventry for Stoke City.cite news
title = Eustace moves to Stoke
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/3078635.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2003-07-18
accessdate = 2007-08-06]

toke City

Eustace's Stoke career started brightly after he made his debut at Stoke in a 3–0 win over Derby County at the start of the 2003–04 season, the midfielder helped the side to 11th place in the Championship and scored six goals. Unfortunately, injury problems have restricted him to a handful of appearances over the last two seasons. His last league appearance for 'The Potters' came in their 1–0 win over Wigan Athletic in February 2005 [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/4218221.stm Wigan 0-1 Stoke] ] . Eustace suffered a knee injury and was then substituted, in only his 8th appearance of the season. It later became clear that Eustace injury would keep him out for several months [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/4362753.stm Eustace could miss rest of season] ] . He missed all of the 2005-06 campaign because of the injury. However, Eustace signed a 1 year contract extension at the beginning of the season, which lasted until the end of the 2006–07 season.

Eustace returned from his long injury lay off in June 2006. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/5120426.stm Pulis pleased by Eustace progress] ] He made his first appearance for Stoke City in over 18 months in their 2-0 friendly win over local opposition Newcastle Town.

Hereford loan

On 13 October 2006 he joined Hereford United on loan to gain first team football to aid his comeback.cite news
title = Hereford seal Eustace loan deal
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hereford_united/6048522.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2006-10-13
accessdate = 2007-08-06] During his time at Edgar Street he was a key part of the Hereford midfield, and his loan was extended to the New Year.cite news
title = Eustace to extend Hereford loan
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hereford_united/6213786.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2006-12-08
accessdate = 2007-08-06] However on 14 December 2006 he was suddenly recalled by Stoke due to them suffering several injuries in midfield.cite news
title = Eustace recalled from loan spell
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/6184443.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2006-12-15
accessdate = 2007-08-06]

John's grandfather Ken Eustace also played one match for Hereford during the 1949-50 season.

Return to Stoke

Eustace returned to the Stoke starting line up in the 3rd round FA Cup match against Millwall. On 11 February 2007, he started his first league match of the season in Stoke's 1–0 loss to Birmingham City. Eustace later signed a one-year contract extension with the club, which runs out in the summer of 2008.cite news
title = Stoke City duo sign new contracts
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/6289076.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2007-07-10
accessdate = 2007-08-06]

Watford

On the 31st January 2008, Eustace joined Watford from Stoke City for a fee of £250,000. Since signing Eustace has impressed the Hornets fans with his tough tackling, no-nonsense attitude, and his passing skills and composure on the ball - something Watford had lacked in the centre of midfield before his arrival. On September 20 2008, Eustace scored a bizarre opening own goal in the game between Watford and Reading, where a goalmouth scramble saw the ball go nowhere near the goal line, despite the linesman flagging for a goal to the bemusement of all the players. The game ended Watford 2-2 Reading.

References

External links

* [http://www.watfordfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10400~5634,00.html John Eustace profile] at watfordfc.co.uk
* [http://www.stokecityfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10310~5634,00.html John Eustace profile] at stokecityfc.co.uk
*soccerbase|10543