Gary Jones (footballer, born 1977)

Gary Jones
Personal information
Full nameGary Roy Jones[1]
Date of birth3 June 1977[1]
Place of birthBirkenhead, England
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current team
Notts County
Number13
Youth career
Liverpool
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1996–1997Caernarfon Town24(1)
1997–1998Swansea City8(0)
1998→ Rochdale (loan)4(0)
1998–2001Rochdale138(22)
2001–2004Barnsley56(2)
2003→ Rochdale (loan)10(2)
2004–2012Rochdale325(50)
2012–2014Bradford City84(8)
2014–Notts County42(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:56, 25 April 2015 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Gary Roy Jones (born 3 June 1977) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Notts County.

In his 20-year-long playing career, Jones holds the all-time record for the most appearances for Rochdale, where he played for 12 years.[2] Apart from Rochdale, Jones has previously played for Caernarfon Town, Swansea City, Barnsley, and Bradford City. In 2014, he signed for Notts County.

Club career

Born in Birkenhead, Merseyside,[1] Jones started his career with Caernarfon Town in the 1996–97 season before moving to Swansea City. He stayed at Swansea City for one season but during the second half of the season he was loaned to Rochdale. Jones signed a permanent deal with Rochdale after the end of the season. Jones spent three years in his first stint with the Lancashire club. In 2001, Jones was transferred to Barnsley, joining up with former Rochdale manager Steve Parkin. Jones stayed at Barnsley for three seasons without making many appearances and in 2003 he went back on loan to his former club Rochdale. In 2004, he re-joined Rochdale on a permanent deal and went on to become the club captain. Jones holds the record for most appearances for Rochdale and is regarded by the fans as a true Rochdale A.F.C. legend due to his long tenure with the club, his commitment and determined style of play, and his leadership on the pitch. His qualities within the Rochdale squad during the 2009–10 season played a large part in helping the club to earn promotion into League One. Jones scored a brilliant volley at St Mary's against managerless Southampton on 4 September 2010, which he described as "the best I've ever struck". Jones was Rochdale's top scorer in the 2010–11 season, Rochdale's first season in the third tier of English football for 36 years, and was praised by manager Keith Hill for his outstanding contributions. On 22 June 2012, it was announced that Jones would sign for Bradford City on a one-year contract.[3] On 11 August 2012, he made his Bradford debut in the League Cup in a 1–0 win against Notts County.[4] He made his league debut a week later against Gillingham.[5] He made his home debut on 21 August in a 1–0 win against Fleetwood Town, providing the assist for the only goal of the game, taking the corner that James Hanson scored from.[6] On 25 August, he was named man of the match in a 5–1 win against AFC Wimbledon.[7] He scored his first goal for the club on 18 September 2012, scoring a free-kick in a 3–1 win against Morecambe,[8] and in the process helped Bradford to their best start to a season at home since 1957.[9] He scored his second goal for the club in a 1–0 win against Plymouth Argyle on 20 November.[10] On 11 December 2012, Jones captained Bradford in a historic win over Premier League side Arsenal in the League Cup.[11] He then lead the team to a 4–3 victory over two legs against Aston Villa in the semi-finals.[12] It was be only the second time the team have played at Wembley, the last time being in 1996 when Bradford won the Second Division play-off final. Bradford were the first team from the fourth-tier of English football to reach a Wembley final and only the second team from the fourth-tier to reach a major final, the only other team to achieve this feat is Jones' former club Rochdale who reached the League Cup final in 1962.[13] Bradford lost the final to Jones' former club Swansea City.[14] Jones was voted player of the year for the 2012–13 season.[15] On 9 May 2014 it was announced that Jones would not be offered a new contract at the club and would leave at the end of the 13/14 season. On 7 August 2014 Jones signed for Notts County on a one-year contract.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ↑ "Gary Jones Gallery"
  3. ↑ "Jones joins up" Bradford City F.C. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  4. ↑ "Notts County 0–1 Bradford" BBC Sport. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "Gillingham 3–1 Bradford" BBC Sport. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  6. ↑ "Bradford 1–0 Fleetwood" BBC Sport. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  7. ↑ "Bradford 5–1 AFC Wimbledon" BBC Sport. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "Bradford 3–1 Morecambe" BBC Sport. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  9. ↑ "Bradford City 3–1 Morecambe" Bradford City F.C. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  10. ↑ "Bradford 1–0 Plymouth" BBC Sport. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  11. ↑ "Bradford 1–1 Arsenal (3–2 pens)" BBC Sport. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  12. ↑ "Aston Villa 2–1 Bradford (3–4)" BBC Sport. 22 January 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  13. ↑ "Bradford City's historic win 'worth £1m'" BBC Leeds & West Yorkshire. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  14. ↑ "Bradford 0–5 Swansea" BBC Sport. 24 February 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  15. ↑ "Jones wins Player of the Year title". Bradford City A.F.C. 8 May 2013.

External links