John Lewis (born 15 October 1955) is a former

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

Career

Lewis was born in

Tredegar Tredegar (pronounced , ) is a town and community situated on the banks of the Sirhowy River in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, in the southeast of Wales. Within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, it became an early centre of the In ...

and was spotted by Cardiff City while playing for

Pontllanfraith Pontllanfraith ( cy, Pontllanfraith ) is a large village and community located in the Sirhowy Valley in Caerphilly County Borough, Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It is situated adjacent to the town of Blackwood, with t ...

in a

Welsh Football League The Welsh Football League (also known as the Nathaniel Car Sales Welsh Football League for sponsorship reasons) was a club football league in Wales. For its final season in 2019–20 season it operated at levels 3 and 4 of the Welsh football leag ...

match and was quickly offered a contract by then manager Jimmy Andrews. He made his Cardiff debut against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

in September 1978. He went on to become a regular fixture in the Bluebirds line-up over the next few years before eventually leaving the club along with

Linden Jones ''For the Welsh cricketer see Lyndon Jones''. Linden Jones (born 5 March 1961) is a Welsh former professional footballer. Club career Jones was born in New Tredegar, Monmouthshire. He began his career at Cardiff City joining them as an appr ...

and Tarki Micallef to join Newport County in a swap deal that saw

Nigel Vaughan Nigel Mark Vaughan (born 20 May 1959 in Caerleon) is a Welsh former professional footballer and Wales international. He gained ten international caps during his football career. Club career Newport County Vaughan started his playing career at ...

and

Karl Elsey Karl William Elsey (born 20 November 1958) is a Welsh former professional footballer. His clubs included Swansea City, Queens Park Rangers, Newport County, Cardiff City, Gillingham, Reading and Maidstone United. In total he made over 450 Fo ...

go the other way and join Cardiff.Newport County A-Z of transfers
/ref> After establishing himself in the County side he went on to become the club's player-manager when Jimmy Mullen left for

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in 1987 but could not prevent the club being relegated in the 1986–87 season and was subsequently sacked after Newport took only one point from their first six games in the following season. He moved on to spend one season at Swansea City making 25 appearances before moving to Hereford before retiring.

Wales Under-21s

He also made one appearance for the Wales under-21 team.

Coaching career

Lewis was manager at Newport County and

Merthyr Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

. In February 2006 returned to Merthyr as coach.

Managerial statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, John 1955 births Living people Sportspeople from Tredegar Welsh footballers Wales under-21 international footballers English Football League players Cardiff City F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Abergavenny Thursdays F.C. players Welsh football managers Newport County A.F.C. managers Merthyr Tydfil F.C. managers Rhayader Town F.C. players Association football midfielders Bohemian F.C. players Llanelli Town A.F.C. players Ebbw Vale F.C. players Barry Town United F.C. players Pontllanfraith A.F.C. players Merthyr Tydfil F.C. players