Joey Jones

Last updated

Joey Jones
Personal information
Full name Joseph Patrick Jones
Date of birth (1955-03-04) 4 March 1955 (age 68)
Place of birth Llandudno, Wales
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [1]
Position(s) Left-back
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1973–1975 Wrexham 98 (2)
1975–1978 Liverpool 72 (3)
1978–1982 Wrexham 146 (6)
1982–1985 Chelsea 78 (2)
1985–1987 Huddersfield Town 68 (3)
1987–1992 Wrexham 132 (11)
Total594(27)
International career
Wales U-23 4 (0)
1975–1986 Wales [2] 72 (1)
Managerial career
2001 Wrexham
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Joseph Patrick Jones (born 4 March 1955 [3] ) is a Welsh former international football full-back who most notably played for Liverpool, with whom he won two European Cups. [4]

Contents

Club career

Wrexham

Jones was born in Llandudno, and joined Wrexham in 1971. He made his debut at the age of 17 in a Welsh Cup tie against local rivals Chester City; Wrexham lost 1–0. He did, however, win the Welsh Cup with the club in 1975, when they beat Cardiff City in the final. Jones established himself as a right-back and helped Wrexham to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in 1974, the first time the club had reached that stage. [5]

Liverpool

Jones left Wrexham to join his boyhood heroes, Liverpool (he had a Liverbird tattoo, which he later had removed for medical reasons, on his forearm)[ citation needed ], when Bob Paisley paid £110,000 for his services in July 1975. [6] He made his debut on 16 August in a 2–0 league defeat to Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road. [7] He missed out on a league championship medal in 1975–76, as he did not play enough matches to qualify. [8]

In 1977 left back Jones was part of the treble-chasing Liverpool team which won the League championship and reached the finals of the FA Cup and European Cup. [8] Jones scored his first goal for the club on 9 November 1976 in the 5–1 league thrashing of Leicester City at Anfield. [7] The treble, unprecedented in English football, was not forthcoming. Liverpool lost 2–1 in the FA Cup final at Wembley to Manchester United, though Jones supplied the accurate long pass for Jimmy Case to score Liverpool's goal.[ citation needed ] However, Jones became the first Welshman to receive a European Cup winners medal when Liverpool won their first European Cup in Rome four days later, defeating Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1. [7] A memorable banner was unfurled by Liverpool supporters at the European Cup final in Rome which said "Joey Ate The Frogs Legs, Made The Swiss Roll, Now He's Munching Gladbach". [8]

Jones was in and out of the side the following year, with the renaissance of Tommy Smith and the emergence of young Scottish defender Alan Hansen severely reducing his first team opportunities. He left in the summer of 1978 after exactly 100 appearances, in which he scored 3 goals. [8]

Return to Wrexham

He returned to Wrexham [8] in 1978 for £210,000, a record that stood as Wrexham's record signing until the £300,000 signing of Ollie Palmer in January 2022. [9]

Chelsea

In 1982, Jones joined Chelsea for £34,000, having been signed by John Neal. Jones was sent off on his debut against Carlisle United at Brunton Park. However, Jones's committed attitude and pre-match fist-clenching ritual eventually made him a cult hero among the fans. He also proved instrumental in Chelsea's successful battle to avoid relegation to the Third Division. He was a part of the side which romped to promotion as Second Division champions in 1983–84. He remained with the club in the top flight for one more season, before surprisingly being sold to Huddersfield Town for £35,000 in August 1985. He finished his Chelsea career with 78 league appearances and 2 goals. [10]

Huddersfield and third spell at Wrexham

He joined Huddersfield in the summer of 1985 from Chelsea, and was named Town's player of the year in his first season. After two seasons he left to re-join Wrexham, [5] where he retired at the end of the 1991–92 season.

International career

Joey made his Wales debut in November 1975 against Austria. He went on to win 72 caps, scoring one goal, [3] his last action coming in a friendly away to Canada in May 1986.

After retirement

Jones underwent heart surgery in 2002 and has since scaled down his commitments with Wrexham, he works as the Under 18's and Reserve team coach. In 2001, he had a brief spell as caretaker manager between the departure of Brian Flynn and arrival of Denis Smith.

In 2005, Jones completed his autobiography entitled "Oh Joey, Joey!" about his life in football. This was a book of the week on Sky Sports News in February 2006.

Also in 2005, Jones was named as Wrexham's ultimate Cult Hero on BBC TV's Football Focus. Jones is much respected by Liverpool supporters and he finished in 63rd place in the 2006 poll of all-time favourite Liverpool players (100 Players Who Shook The Kop). 110,000 fans worldwide had taken part in the vote.

Honours

Wrexham

Liverpool

Chelsea

Individual

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Rush</span> Welsh footballer and manager (born 1961)

Ian James Rush is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best Welsh players in the history of the sport. At club level Rush played for Liverpool from 1980–1987 and 1988–1996. Additionally, he is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, having scored a total of 346 goals in all competitions at the club. He also holds the records for being the highest goalscorer in the history of the EFL Cup and the finals of the FA Cup. At international level, Rush made 73 appearances for the Wales national football team and remained the record goalscorer with 28 goals between 1980 and 1996, until the record was broken by Gareth Bale in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrexham A.F.C.</span> Association football club in Wrexham, Wales

Wrexham Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wrexham, Wales. Formed in 1864, it is the oldest club in Wales and the third-oldest professional association football team in the world. They compete in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Hughes</span> Welsh association football player and manager

Leslie Mark Hughes is a Welsh football coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of Bradford City.

James Robert Case is an English retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He gained national prominence with Liverpool in the 1970s and early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Thompson</span> English footballer and manager (born 1954)

Philip Bernard Thompson is an English retired footballer, who played as a defender for Liverpool team of the 1970s and 1980s. During this time, he also represented the England national football team on 42 occasions, and captained England on six occasions. After retiring as a player, he later served Liverpool as assistant manager and, during the 2001–02 season, acted as caretaker for 6 months while manager Gérard Houllier was ill. He was a pundit on Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports for 22 years until August 2020, does on and off work as a pundit for TV 2 (Norway), and is a regular Visiting Fellow at the University of Liverpool where he teaches on the Football Industries MBA.

Terence McDermott is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Nicknamed "Terry Mac", he is best known as a member of the Liverpool team of the 1970s and early 1980s, where he won three European Cups and five First Division titles. Either side of his time at Anfield, he played for Newcastle United, with his second stint seeing him reunite with former Liverpool teammate Kevin Keegan. Internationally, he was capped 25 times for England, and was part of the of UEFA Euro 1980 and the 1982 FIFA World Cup squads.

The 1977–78 season was the 98th season of competitive football in England.

Michael Gary Stevens is an English physiotherapist and retired footballer who played as a right-back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graeme Sharp</span> Scottish footballer and manager

Graeme Marshall Sharp is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. Sharp played as a forward for Dumbarton, Everton, Oldham Athletic and Bangor City. He enjoyed great success with Everton, helping them win English league championships in 1985 and 1987, the FA Cup in 1984 and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1985. He made 12 international appearances for Scotland, and was selected in their 1986 World Cup squad.

Christopher Peter Armstrong is an English former footballer who played professionally as a striker from 1989 to 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Jones (footballer, born 1971)</span> English footballer

Robert Marc Jones is an English football coach and former professional footballer.

John Neal was an English football player and manager.

The 1981–82 season was the 102nd season of competitive football in England. It was also the first season that the three-points-for-a-win system was introduced.

The 1980–81 season was the 101st season of competitive football in England.

Michael Reginald Thomas is a Welsh former footballer who played as a winger. At club level, he played for Wrexham, Manchester United, Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion, Stoke City, Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion, Derby County, Shrewsbury Town and Leeds United. As a Welsh international, he made 51 appearances and scored four goals.

Philip Boersma is an English former professional footballer, who played as a midfield/striker for Liverpool and Middlesbrough among others.

Barry Horne is a Welsh former professional footballer, former chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association and sports television pundit.

Gary Michael Bennett is an English retired professional footballer. He played for six different clubs in the Football League, with the majority of appearances being made for Chester City and Wrexham.

The 1976–77 season was the 78th completed season of The Football League.

Stephen Douglas Fox was an English professional footballer who played as a winger. He made 278 appearances in the Football League playing for Birmingham City, Wrexham, Port Vale and Chester City.

References

  1. Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 194. ISBN   978-0-356-14354-5.
  2. Alpuin, Luis Fernando Passo (20 February 2009). "Wales – Record International Players". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 10 March 2009.
  3. 1 2 Joey Jones at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
  4. "Every Welsh Player To Win The Champions League | Football Stories". 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  5. 1 2 "The Legends: Joey Jones". thisisthebarmyarmy.co.uk. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  6. "Player profile: Joey Jones". LFC History. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 "Joey Jones: Liverpool FC 1975–1978". Football Heroes. Sporting Heroes. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Joey Jones: Profile". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  9. "Wrexham sign Palmer from AFC Wimbledon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  10. "Joey Jones: Chelsea FC". Football-heroes. Sporting Heroes Collection. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  11. Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 147.