Keith Jones (English footballer)

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Keith Jones
Personal information
Full name Keith Aubrey Jones [1]
Date of birth (1965-10-14) 14 October 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth Dulwich, England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) [2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
–1983 Chelsea
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1983–1987 Chelsea 52 (7)
1987–1991 Brentford 169 (13)
1991–1994 Southend United 90 (11)
1994–2000 Charlton Athletic 158 (6)
2000–2002 Reading 39 (0)
Total512(37)
International career
1981 England Schoolboys 8 (0)
1983 England U17 2 (0)
Managerial career
2006–2007 Atlanta Silverbacks Women
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Keith Aubrey Jones (born 14 October 1965) is an English retired professional footballer, best remembered for his time as a midfielder in the Football League with Brentford and Charlton Athletic. He also played for Southend United, Chelsea, Reading and was capped by England at youth level. He later became a youth and women's coach.

Contents

Club career

Chelsea and Brentford (1983–1991)

A midfielder, Jones began his career in the Chelsea youth system and made his senior debut in a 3–0 Second Division defeat to Barnsley on 26 March 1983. [3] [4] After one further appearance late in the 1982–83 season, he returned to the youth team and would not appear again until 1984–85, [5] by which time the Blues had been promoted to the First Division. [4] [6] Injuries allowed Jones to break through into the team in September 1984 and he remained a squad player until September 1987, [4] [5] when he dropped down to the Third Division to join Brentford for a tribunal-fixed fee of £40,000. [3] By the beginning of the 1988–89 season, Jones had been appointed club captain and was a part of the Bees teams which reached the sixth round of the 1988–89 FA Cup and the 1991 Third Division play-off semi-finals. [7] His efforts during the 1990–91 season were recognised with his inclusion in the Third Division PFA Team of the Year. [8] In October 1991, a contract dispute with manager Phil Holder saw Jones transfer to Second Division Southend United for a tribunal-fixed fee of £175,000. [3]

Southend United, Charlton Athletic and Reading (1991–2002)

Despite making over 100 appearances for the club, [2] Jones' four years with Southend United yielded little success on the pitch and he transferred to First Division rivals Charlton Athletic for a £150,000 fee in September 1994. [3] [9] In just under six years at The Valley, he was a part of two teams which won promotion to the Premier League – the first in 1998 after victory in the First Division play-off final and the second two years later, when the club won the First Division title. [10] [11] [12] Jones was transfer-listed in May 2000 and signed a two-year contract with Second Division club Reading on a free transfer on 1 July 2000. [13] [14] Now the twilight years of his career, Jones was utilised as a squad player and was a part of the team which won automatic promotion to the First Division on the final day of the 2001–02 season. [14] [15] [16] He was released in May 2002 and retired from football. [7] [17]

International career

Jones was capped by England at schoolboy and U17 level. [18] [19]

Coaching career

Jones began his coaching career in 2000, while still a player. [20] He coached at Chelsea and Tooting & Mitcham United, [21] before moving to the United States in 2006 to coach Atlanta Silverbacks Women. [20] Jones moved to Arizona youth club SC del Sol in 2009. [20]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Chelsea 1982–83 [4] Second Division 20000020
1984–85 [4] First Division 2120052264
1985–86 [4] First Division14210304 [a] 0222
1986–87 [4] First Division17300311 [a] 0214
Total54710113507110
Brentford 1987–88 [22] Third Division 361101 [b] 0381
1988–89 [22] Third Division40382414 [b] 0566
1989–90 [22] Third Division42210403 [b] 0502
1990–91 [23] Third Division45632418 [c] 16010
1991–92 [23] Third Division613091
Total1691313415216121320
Southend United 1991–92 [24] Second Division3450000345
1992–93 [24] First Division291000000291
1993–94 [24] First Division225000000225
1994–95 [24] First Division700070
Total901150409110812
Charlton Athletic 1994–95 [24] First Division31100311
1995–96 [24] First Division25000003 [d] 0280
1996–97 [25] First Division1702000190
1997–98 [10] First Division44331103 [d] 0514
1998–99 [26] Premier League 2210030251
1999–00 [11] First Division1711000181
Total15867170601787
Reading 2000–01 [27] Second Division24031001 [b] 0281
2001–02 [15] Second Division160100000170
Total400410010451
Career total5093730637537261350

Honours

As a player

Charlton Athletic

Reading

Individual

As a manager

Atlanta Silverbacks Women

As an individual

References

  1. "Keith Jones". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 Keith Jones at Soccerbase
  3. 1 2 3 4 Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2011, p. 365.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Keith Jones". 11v11.com. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 "Keith Jones – Biography 1983/84-1987/88 – Chelsea FC". Sporting Heroes. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  6. Chelsea F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  7. 1 2 "Brentford FC Played for both: Chelsea" . Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  8. Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 45.
  9. Southend United F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  10. 1 2 3 "Games played by Keith Jones in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 "Games played by Keith Jones in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  12. 1 2 3 Charlton Athletic F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  13. "CAFC". Archived from the original on 13 June 2000. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  14. 1 2 "Keith Jones". Archived from the original on 16 June 2001. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  15. 1 2 3 "Games played by Keith Jones in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  16. 1 2 Reading F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  17. "Reading release trio". 24 April 2002. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  18. "England Matches – Schoolboys (Under-15) 1980–89". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  19. "England Matches – Under-17's 1982–2010". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  20. 1 2 3 "SC del Sol | Youth Soccer | Phoenix |". SC del Sol | Youth Soccer | Phoenix |. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  21. "The Terrors: Cadette force for the future?". This Is Local London. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  22. 1 2 3 Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. pp. 429–431. ISBN   978-1906796716.
  23. 1 2 Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2013). The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. pp. 476–477. ISBN   9781906796723.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Keith Jones – League appearances. – Charlton Athletic FC". Sporting Heroes. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  25. "Games played by Keith Jones in 1996/1997". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  26. "Games played by Keith Jones in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  27. "Games played by Keith Jones in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  28. Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 148.
  29. 1 2 3 "Garrett Smith Named FieldTurf Coach of the Year for Women's Soccer". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 17 January 2018.