Billy Jones (footballer born 1987)

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For other people called "Billy Jones" see Billy Jones (disambiguation)

Personal information
Billy Jones
Full name	Billy Jones
Date of birth	March 24, 1987 (age 20)
Place of birth	Shrewsbury, England
Playing position	Defender/Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Crewe Alexandra
Number	3
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2003-	Crewe Alexandra	120 (8)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of January 22, 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Billy Jones (born March 24, 1987 in Shrewsbury) is a professional Footballer who plays for Crewe Alexandra. Jones started his career at Crewe Alexandra, who were known for their production of good young players, although a majority of them were attacking players.

Jones mades his professional debut in October 2003, in Crewe's 3-0 win over Derby County. Since then Jones has become a regular in Crewe's back-line and for the 2005-06 season, Jones played a majority of games in midfield. He would later become the club's top goalscorer during the same season. In his fourth year for Crewe, Jones made his 100th league appearance against Millwall.

After rejecting a new contract at Gresty Road, Jones was transfer listed by his club and is currently linked with a number of Championship and Premier League clubs.

1 Ability
2 Career
- 2.1 2003-Present: Crewe Alexandra
- 2.2 International career
3 Club stats
4 Footnotes
5 References

[edit] Ability

One of Jones' notable abilities is his influence on the players around him,^[1] he is also considered a strong tackler and despite his lack of pace, the English defender makes up for it in his ability to read the game.^[1] These attributes are similar to those of many successful centre-halfs in the Premiership, such as Sami Hyypiä and Tony Adams, the latter of which Jones models his style of play on.^[1]

[edit] Career

[edit] 2003-Present: Crewe Alexandra

Main article: Crewe Alexandra F.C.
2003-04

Billy Jones was signed by Crewe as a trainee on October 18, 2003, making his debut for the club at 16 against Derby County as a substitute for Justin Cochrane, the Railwaymen went onto win the game 3-0. Jones went onto to play a further 26 League Games, which also included his first goal for the club against Wigan Athletic, which later won the "Goal of the Season" award. Jones later added the "Young Player of the Year" award to his collection.

2004-05

Despite his young age, the young defender continued to be a regular in the Crewe first team. Jones played a total of 20 league games during the 2004-05 season, none of them being as a substitute. This was also the only season which Jones failed to score a league goal for Crewe.

2005-06

Jones had a very impressive 2005-06 season despite the club's relegation from the Football League Championship. Jones played in a central midfield role for a majority of the season before moving to a left-back role at the end of the season. Jones scored seven goals over the season, becoming the club's top goalscorer. Jones later won the "Player of the Year" award.

2006-07

"When I was playing for Shrewsbury all you would hear in town was 'Billy Jones, Billy Jones, Billy Jones'. Everything about him is impressive - he can play in so many different positions too - and no wonder other clubs are keen."

-- Ryan Lowe^[2]

Jones was joined by more experienced defenders for the 2006-07 season, namely ex-Aston Villa player Neil Cox and Notts County's Julien Baudet. He played his 100th league game for the club ten games into the season against Millwall. In October 2006, Jones rejected an extension to his contract at Crewe.^[3] A week after rejecting his contract, Crewe put Jones on the transfer list,^[4] this resulted in a number of clubs being linked with a move for the young defender, most notably Premiership club Manchester City,^[5] who were, according to the Daily Mirror, lining up a £1.5 million offer for him.^[6]

Jones was later joined by Jon Otsemobor and Luke Rodgers on the Crewe transfer list.^[7]^[8] However, Jones was in a different position to both Otsemobor and Rodgers because of his age, as Crewe manager Dario Gradi said that he would take a chance on a tribunal,^[9] meaning that Jones could stay at Crewe until the end of his contract and the club would still get a fee for Jones' transfer.

On 27 March 2007, it was revealed that Stoke City had made a bid for Jones in the January transfer window.^[10]

[edit] International career

Main article: England national football team

While Jones was playing for the Crewe youth team, he played in England's youth set-up as well. The defender has captained all-levels up to Under-20 level.

[edit] Club stats

Accurate of as March 26, 2007

Club	Season	Domestic League		FA Cup		League Cup		European Competition		Other^[11]		Total
Club	Season	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Crewe Alexandra	06-07	34	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	4	0	40	1
	05-06	44	6	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	46	7
	04-05	20	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	22	0
	03-04	27	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	28	1
Total	03-Present	125	8	2	1	5	0	0	0	4	0	136	9
Career Totals	00-Present	125	8	2	1	5	0	0	0	4	0	136	9