View source for Steve Foster

{{short description|English footballer}}
{{other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{BLP sources|date=April 2010}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Steve Foster
| image = Foster signing.JPG
| caption = 
| fullname = Stephen Brian Foster
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|df=y|1957|9|24}}
| birth_place = [[Portsmouth]], England
| height = 6 ft 0 in<ref>{{cite book |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88 |editor-first=Peter |editor-last=Dunk |publisher=Queen Anne Press |location=London |date=1987 |page=226 |isbn=978-0-356-14354-5}}</ref>
| position = [[Central defender]]
| youthyears1 = 1972–1975
| youthclubs1 = [[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]]
| years1 = 1975–1979 
| years2 = 1979–1984 
| years3 = 1984 
| years4 = 1984–1989 
| years5 = 1989–1992 
| years6 = 1992–1996
| clubs1 = [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]] 
| clubs2 = [[Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.|Brighton & Hove Albion]] 
| clubs3 = [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] 
| clubs4 = [[Luton Town F.C.|Luton Town]] 
| clubs5 = [[Oxford United F.C.|Oxford United]] 
| clubs6 = [[Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.|Brighton & Hove Albion]]
| caps1 = 109   
| caps2 = 172   
| caps3 = 15   
| caps4 = 163  
| caps5 = 95   
| caps6 = 115   
| goals1 = 6  
| goals2 = 6  
| goals3 = 3  
| goals4 = 11  
| goals5 = 9  
| goals6 = 7 
| totalcaps = 669 | totalgoals = 42
| nationalyears1 = 1980 
| nationalyears2 = 1982
| nationalteam1 = [[England national under-21 football team|England U21]] 
| nationalteam2 = [[England national football team|England]]
| nationalcaps1 = 1  
| nationalcaps2 = 3  
| nationalgoals1 = 0   
| nationalgoals2 = 0
}}
'''Stephen Brian Foster''' (born 24 September 1957) is an English former [[association football|footballer]].

==Football career==

Born in [[Portsmouth]], [[Hampshire]], Foster was an associate schoolboy with [[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]], but was not offered a professional contract.<ref>{{cite book| title=In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC |last= Holley |first= Duncan |author2=Chalk, Gary  | publisher=Hagiology Publishing | year=2003 | isbn=0-9534474-3-X|page=612}}</ref> He started his professional career at [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]] in 1973 as a centre forward. After a season, manager [[Ian St John]] converted Foster to a centre back and he marked his debut in that position with an own goal against Bury in November 1976. He played for his home town club until 1979 when he joined [[Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.|Brighton & Hove Albion]]. While at Brighton, Foster won three caps for [[England national football team|England]], was a member of England's 1982 World Cup squad, and reached the final of the 1983 [[FA Cup]], where they held [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] to a 2–2 draw before losing 4–0 in the replay. Foster was suspended for the original game but played in the replay.<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/apr/05/steve-foster-brighton-alcohol-fa-cup-semi-final-manchester-city
|title=Steve Foster: 'Brighton came alive but I wasn't allowed any alcohol'
|work=The Guardian
|date=5 April 2019
|accessdate=5 April 2019}}</ref> Despite Brighton's relegation that season, Foster remained at the [[Goldstone Ground]].

After five seasons at Brighton, Foster was sold to [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] in March 1984. However, after only eight largely unsuccessful months at Villa Park, he was transferred to [[Luton Town F.C.|Luton Town]] in November 1984. At Luton, he became a rock in central defence, and captained the Hatters to the 1988 [[EFL Cup|League Cup]].

He left Luton in 1989, and later played for [[Oxford United F.C.|Oxford United]], before returning to Brighton, where he spent the last four years of his career. However, Brighton's fortunes during his second spell were quite different to those they experienced during his first spell a decade earlier. He arrived as they had been relegated to the new Division Two (known as the Third Division until the creation of the [[FA Premier League]]) and were having to sell many players due to rising debt. By the time of his retirement four years later, they were being relegated again (this time to Division Three) and the financial crisis had got so bad that they were in the process of selling off their stadium.

In January 2008 he was named as a member of an Anglo-American consortium, which includes BBC presenter [[Nick Owen]], bidding to buy his former club [[Luton Town]].<ref>[http://www.lutononsunday.com/lutononsunday/DisplayArticle.asp?id=247077 Luton legend named in takeover bid – Luton on Sunday<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130128060319/http://www.lutononsunday.com/lutononsunday/DisplayArticle.asp?id=247077 |date=28 January 2013 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Englandstats}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080514091234/http://www.englandfc.com/Profiles/php/PlayerProfileByName.php?id=367 England profile on www.englandfc.com]
*[http://www.easterroad.com/beards-in-football/ Beards In Football]

{{Navboxes
| title = Awards
| bg = gold
| fg = navy
| list1 = 
{{1978–79 Football League Fourth Division PFA Team of the Year}}
{{Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Player of the Year}}
}}
{{England squad 1982 FIFA World Cup}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Steve}}
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Footballers from Portsmouth]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:England men's international footballers]]
[[Category:England men's under-21 international footballers]]
[[Category:1982 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:Men's association football defenders]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:Aston Villa F.C. players]]
[[Category:Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players]]
[[Category:Luton Town F.C. players]]
[[Category:Oxford United F.C. players]]
[[Category:Portsmouth F.C. players]]
[[Category:People educated at St John's College, Portsmouth]]