STALWART: Paul Bastock made a world record 1,280 appearances
By Chris Dunlavy
On the weekly drive into St Albans, Paul Bastock frequently warned Lee Clarke that the end was nigh.
“Every now and then Bazza would say to me ‘You know mate, I think this could be my last season', laughs Clarke, who would be collected from Peterborough by his veteran team-mate en route to Clarence Park.
That was 15 years ago, and Bastock was 34 years old. Yet it was 2018 before the goalkeeper finally called time on a career spanning four decades, 20 clubs and a world record 1280 appearances.
“And that,” adds Clarke, “was only because he got offered a good job at King's Lynn. If not, I think he'd still be playing now.”
Clarke himself was just four years old when Bastock turned pro, a callow kid in a grizzled Cambridge team featuring the likes of Liam Daish, Alan Kimble and John Beck.
Even then, Bastock refused to be cowed, bawling orders and rebukes at men almost twice his age.
Like Peter Schmeichel, it would become one of his defining characteristics, especially during a legendary tenure at Boston United which began in 1992, culminated in promotion to the Football League 11 years later and even saw Bastock marry the chairman's daughter.
“Baz always had a lot to say for himself on the pitch,” recalls Martin Hardy, a central defender who spent eight seasons at York Street alongside Bastock.
“He'd keep you on your toes. He was never quiet. If you did something wrong, he wasn't shy about letting you know.But as a back four, it gave you a lot of confidence.”
Clarke, now 36 and player/joint manager at United Counties Division One side Blackstones, concurs.
“When I'm coaching keepers, Baz is the example I use,” he says. “He just never gave the defence a second's rest. Partly for his own concentration, but mainly to keep them alert.
“We had Chris Seeby at right-back and Scott Cousins at left-back. They spent two years getting a hammering off him every single game. They used to come in looking shell-shocked. Conceding a goal seriously hurt him. And if he did, it was always someone's fault. To have that desire and passion about your job on the pitch is very rare, especially at our level.”
There was, though, far more to Bastock than a big mouth. In 1987, he repelled a Southampton side featuring Alan Shearer and Matt Le Tissier to help Coventry win the FA Youth Cup, and his subsequent release from Highfield Road was more attributable to height than ability.
Like his idol, Peter Shilton, Bastock had hung from crossbars in a vain bid to stretch his torso but never made it beyond 5ft 10ins. “On a good day, in heeled shoes,” he once said.
Nevertheless, the quality remained. A fine shot-stopper, he was fearless to the point of recklessness, as his dwindling supply of teeth illustrates. And long before Manuel Neuer redefined the position, Bastock was sweeping up like a piratical Franz Beckenbauer.
“People talk about sweeper-keepers like they're a modern invention, but Bazza was doing that 25 years ago,” adds Hardy. “He'd always come running out to intercept balls and he was known throughout Non-League for his kicking attributes.
“Mind, he could get a bit cocky. One game, he decided he wanted to take a penalty. He hit the crossbar and struck the ball so hard that it came down just short of the halfway line. All you could see was Baz running back and the ball overtaking him!”
Named player of the year as Boston won the Conference title in 2003, Bastock – who worked in a care home and ran a window cleaning business – lasted just 12 months in the EFL before brief stints at Scarborough and Dagenham led him to ambitious St Albans City.
Yet again he became a pivotal and much-loved figure who in 2005-06 anchored Colin Lippiatt's side to the Conference South title.
“He was the main reason we got promoted,” says Clarke. “He was just such a presence. Other teams almost had a fear factor coming up against him. He's by far the best keeper I've played with, or against. Two or three years later, he came back, played 12 games and got player of the year. That tells you the influence he has.”
If those promotions were Bastock's two crowning achievements, a third arrived in 2017 when, aged 47 and playing for Wisbech Town, he surpassed Shilton's record of 1,249 club appearances. “I've been doing it for 20 years and it takes its toll,” says Clarke. “He did it for 30-odd years, which is just crazy. I never met someone so dedicated.”
For both Clarke and Hardy, though, Bastock's greatest asset was not his talent or longevity. It was the affable personality that made him a universally popular character.
“As a centre-half, we had our moments,” recalls Hardy. “But afterwards, that was forgotten about. We got on like a house on fire and still do to this day.”
Clarke adds: “On the pitch, he could lose it completely. Off it, he's not aggressive at all. He's funny, caring and would do anything for you. I can't say enough about him.
“We'd be in the car for three or four hours every Saturday and he'd have people ringing him constantly. Some were close friends. Some he hadn't seen for ten years. Some were for a catch up, others for advice.
“Managers, players, everyone. He was held in the highest regard by everyone he met. Including me.”
