John Oster

Article summary

John Morgan Oster (born 8 December 1978) is an English football coach and former professional player 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 he 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.…

Key claims

1. date of birth: 1978-12-08 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of birth: 1997 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. release date: 2005 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. release date: 2008-05-16 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of birth is "1978-12-08". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of birth is "1997". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the release date is "2005". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the release date is "2008-05-16". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
7. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1364393945