David Jones (footballer)

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David Jones
Personal information
Full name	David Jones
Date of birth	November 4, 1984 (age 22)
Place of birth	Southport, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Nickname	Jonah
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Derby County
Number	7
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2003-2007 2005-2006 2006 2006-	Manchester United → Preston North End (loan) → NEC Nijmegen (loan) Derby County	00 (0) 24 (3) 17 (6) 23 (6)
National team2
2004	England U21	1 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:18, 31 March 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 16:19, 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

David Jones (born November 4, 1984 in Southport, Lancashire) is an English football player with Welsh dual nationality who plays for Derby County in the English Football League Championship. A predominantly left-footed central midfielder, Jonah (as he is nicknamed by team-mates and fans) is best described as a box-to-box midfielder, equally adept at breaking up opposition attacks or creating and participating in those of his own team.^{[citation needed]} He is 5'11" tall and weighs 10 and a half stone.

Contents 1 Coming through the ranks 2 2004-05 - A breakthrough, of sorts 3 2005-06 - A season on loan 4 2006-07 - Moving on 5 Notes 6 External links

[edit] Coming through the ranks

Jones signed for Manchester United as an apprentice on July 2 2001, and broke into the Under-19 side in late 2002, where he was soon made captain. He went on to make 18 appearances (and score 1 goal) as the U19s progressed to the final of the prestigious FA Youth Cup in April 2003, where a 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough in the second leg saw him lift the trophy at Old Trafford.

The following season saw Jones promoted to the reserve team, where he quickly established himself as a regular in the heart of midfield. He was named as a substitute for a League Cup tie against West Bromwich Albion in December 2003, but did not feature in the game. He was called up to the England Under 21 squad before the end of the campaign. Although qualified to play for Wales and highly regarded within the Welsh national setup, David opted to play for England at that level and made what was to be his only appearance for the Under 21 side in a 2-2 away draw with Sweden on March 30 2004, coming on as a second-half substitute for Nigel Reo-Coker. David has recently stated that although he appeared for the England Under 21 team he should play for the Wales full team in the future.

[edit] 2004-05 - A breakthrough, of sorts

In the 2004-05 season, Manchester United introduced a second reserve team to play in the Pontins' Holiday League, in addition to the existing FA Premier Reserve League North side. Jones was named as captain of the latter (widely regarded as the 'senior' of the two) and also made regular appearances for the former, taking the increased responsibility and workload in his stride. After being allocated squad number 31, he finally appeared in his first senior game for the club on 1 December 2004, coming on as a late substitute as United beat Arsenal 1-0 at home to progress in the League Cup. A first full appearance soon followed as he was selected in the starting XI for an FA Cup 3rd round tie against non-league Exeter City at Old Trafford on January 8 2005. The game ended in a 0-0 draw, one of the biggest FA Cup shocks in years and a major embarrassment for United, but Jones was the only red-shirted player to emerge from the game with any credit from the media.^{[citation needed]}

Nonetheless, further first-team opportunities were hard to come by, with the experienced duo of Roy Keane and Paul Scholes proving impossible to displace. Jones had to make do with reserve football for the rest of the season, and enjoyed no little success - an unprecedented haul of four trophies followed for the reserves, with Jones lifting the FA Premier Reserve League North trophy and then captaining the side to victory over Charlton Athletic Reserves (winners of the FAPRL South) to take the national title. He also featured as the reserves secured the Pontins Holiday League title and the Pontins Holiday League Cup, and was once again captain as United were narrowly denied a fifth trophy at the hands of Manchester City Reserves in the final of the Manchester Seniors Cup.

[edit] 2005-06 - A season on loan

Jones was sent on loan to Football League Championship side Preston North End to gain first-team experience. Allocated the number 31 shirt, Jones made his P.N.E. debut at Watford on 6 August 2005, and was initially used as a substitute. Some early cameos from the bench soon saw him establish himself as first-choice in midfield however, and he scored his first goal for the club in a 4-0 away win at Ipswich Town on 29 August 2005, curling home a 25 yard free-kick. Jones played a key role in a long unbeaten run which pushed Preston up into the Championship play-off picture, making 25 appearances (including 3 as substitute) and scoring 3 goals by mid-January 2006.

By this time, Manchester United had been rocked by the departure of captain Roy Keane to Celtic and injuries to fellow midfielders Paul Scholes and Quinton Fortune, leaving them extremely short on numbers in the middle of the park (a problem that was to be exacerbated by a serious injury to Alan Smith in February). However Jones swapped Preston for Holland as he joined Eredivisie side NEC Nijmegen on a loan deal until the end of the season. Wearing number 5, he again had to spend time on the substitutes bench to begin with, but impressed sufficiently in brief appearances against Ajax and Sparta Rotterdam to be brought on at half-time against ADO Den Haag on 22 January 2006. He did not disappoint, scoring two goals in a 5-0 rout to secure a place in the starting line-up for the next game, where he again scored twice, this time to salvage a draw against Willem II. One of those goals was from the penalty spot.

He started every game for the rest of the season in a left centre midfield role in NEC's 4-3-3 formation, and while the team's form dipped, Jones continued to impress, becoming something of a fan's favourite at De Goffert.^{[citation needed]} During the match against Heracles Almelo, he scored a goal from at least 30 yards. In the match against FC Groningen, he again scored a goal from a free kick, just 25 yards out. That match, he received the Man of the Match award. In the short time he was with NEC Nijmegen, he got himself placed second on their Man of the Year list, with 134 points, thirty points behind talented striker Romano Denneboom. The team ended 10th in 2006 and Jones returned to England having signed a new three-year deal at Manchester United.

[edit] 2006-07 - Moving on

After gaining experience in Holland, Jones returned to Manchester United for the 2006-07 season hopeful of making a real push for a first-team place. Highly rated by Sir Alex Ferguson, who said that this season may be the year when Jones could break into the team. His chances weren't helped however by the £14m signing of Michael Carrick from Tottenham, coupled with some rather lacklustre performances in pre-season - although he did get on the scoresheet in a friendly against Spanish side Sevilla FC at Old Trafford.

Jones' real chance to shine was to come in the Carling Cup. With Manchester United drawn to play Crewe in the 3rd Round, manager Sir Alex Ferguson picked a side of fringe players and promising youngsters. David partnered namesake Ritchie Jones at the heart of United's midfield. Against (on paper) weaker opposition, this was a real opportunity for Jones to stake a claim.

However, he failed to make the most of the chance. United played poorly, scraping through 2-1 after extra time thanks to a Kieran Lee goal. Jones turned in a particularly disappointing display.

A chance to redeem himself was just around the corner however. In the 4th Round, United were drawn to play Southend at Roots Hall. Southend were at the time bottom of the Championship league and most agreed that it would be a walk in the park for United.

Things did not go to plan. Despite the presence of international stars such as Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, Jones was part of a performance even more disastrous than the one against Crewe. Against all odds, Freddy Eastwood grabbed the only goal of the game to humiliate the holders and send them crashing out of the competition. Again, Jones failed to show the kind of quality he would need in order to succeed in United's first-team.

Perhaps because of this, on November 15 United accepted a bid estimated to be in the region of £1m from Derby County for Jones' services. The deal would see Jones initially move on loan to Pride Park until the January transfer window - the first possible opportunity to make the transfer a permanent one. In moving to Derby, Jones would link up once again with Billy Davies, manager of Preston during his successful loan spell there.

The deal was completed on the 17th of November and Jones bid farewell to Old Trafford. On the 4th of January 2007, Jones' transfer become official, in a £1 million plus deal, bringing a close to Jones' Manchester United career.^[1]

This new chapter in Jones' career has started promisingly, with the midfielder establishing himself as first choice in midfield and contributing significantly to Derby's push for promotion, most memorably when scoring a stoppage-time free-kick in the home game with Sheffield Wednesday to win his side the game. This prompted Billy Davies to describe him as "what I'd call an old-fashioned midfield player - plays around corners with eyes in the back of his head and a wonderful left foot".^[2]

His impressive start at Derby has led to some debate over where Jones' international future may lie. Despite having represented England under-21's earlier in his career he is still eligible to play for either England or Wales, and the midfielder has revealed former Manchester United team-mate and Wales captain Ryan Giggs has tried to persuade him to commit himself to the latter. As of yet, Jones remains undecided, preferring to concentrate on his club form for the time being.^[3]

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• David Jones career stats at Soccerbase
• ESPN Soccernet Profile

Derby County F.C. - Current Squad
2 Edworthy | 3 Camara | 4 McEveley | 5 Leacock | 6 M. Johnson | 7 Jones | 8 Bisgaard | 9 Howard | 10 Fagan | 11 Peschisolido | 12 Macken | 13 Grant | 14 Jackson | 16 Lupoli | 18 S. Johnson | 19 Currie | 20 Holmes | 21 Malcolm | 22 Oakley | 23 Moore | 24 Mears | 25 Pearson | 27 Teale | 28 Barnes | 31 Meredith | 32 Cumberworth | 34 Bossekota | 35 Cann | 43 Bywater | Manager: Davies