Ashley Ward
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ashley Stuart Ward | ||
| Date of birth | 24 November 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Middleton, Lancashire, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Cheadle Town | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1989–1991 | Manchester City | 1 | (0) |
| 1991 | → Wrexham (loan) | 4 | (2) |
| 1991–1992 | Leicester City | 10 | (0) |
| 1992 | → Blackpool (loan) | 2 | (1) |
| 1992–1994 | Crewe Alexandra | 61 | (25) |
| 1994–1996 | Norwich City | 53 | (18) |
| 1996–1997 | Derby County | 40 | (9) |
| 1997–1998 | Barnsley | 46 | (20) |
| 1998–2000 | Blackburn Rovers | 54 | (13) |
| 2000–2003 | Bradford City | 84 | (17) |
| 2003–2005 | Sheffield United | 33 | (5) |
| Total | 388 | (110) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Ashley Ward (born 24 November 1970) is a retired English footballer who played centre forward.
Early life
Ward was born in Middleton, Lancashire, the son of a coal mining engineer. He attended William Hulme's Grammar School, which opted for Rugby and Lacrosse as the school sports over football.[1]
Football career
Ward had a spell with Manchester United in the 1986–87 season, making 16 appearances for the club's Junior B team. He then played for Cheadle Town Youth, and chose to become an apprentice at Manchester City above an offer from Blackburn Rovers.[1]
He played for at least a dozen different clubs in a long career, including Crewe Alexandra, where he made his name, Norwich City, Blackburn Rovers and Bradford City. He retired in the summer of 2005.
In 1998, playing for Barnsley in a match at Sunderland, Ward scored, missed a penalty and got sent off in the space of five minutes.
After retirement
Ward and his wife run a number of businesses, including:
- A commercial property business.
- Operating Abafields, a nursing home in Bolton bought for development but now operating under a manager[2]
- Managing a £15million luxury property development company Bilton Ward Developments.[2][3][4] Formed in 2002 the company specialises in the building and renovation of luxury homes, many for footballers including Kevin Campbell and Wayne Rooney.[5] Interior design is often done by former Changing Rooms designer Laura McCree.
Personal life
Ward is married to former model Dawn. Born in Salford, she is a former school friend of Ryan Giggs. Ward proposed to her in the car park of the pub where she worked when they first met.[1][3] The couple have four daughters – Darby, Taylor, Charlie and Aston[6] — and used to live in Mill Lane, Mottram St. Andrew. He sold Warford Hall in late 2014.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ashley reaps the rewards for dogged determination
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Premiership class
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Living: A style she can sell – Times Online
- ↑ Living: A style she can sell – Times Online
- ↑ Latest news, breaking news, current news, UK news, world news, celebrity news, politics news – Telegraph
- ↑ The Diary: A new Dawn
External links
- Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk
- Ashley Ward career statistics at Soccerbase
- Bilton Ward Developments