Jonathan Charles Meades (born 2 March 1992) is a retired

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 le ...

who last played for

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

. He represented Wales at both under-17 and under-21 level.

Career

Early years

Meades came through the youth system of

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

under the supervision of then Head of Academy

Neal Ardley Neal Christopher Ardley (born 1 September 1972) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a right midfielder. He is currently the manager of Solihull Moors. Ardley was capped at Under-21 level by England. Ar ...

. On 19 August 2010, it was announced that the 18-year-old defender would go on a three-month loan deal to Norwegian football club

Moss FK Moss Fotballklubb is a Norwegian football club, founded on 28 August 1906. They play in the 2. divisjon, the third highest division in the Norwegian football league system. They played in the Norwegian top flight between 1937-1939, 1953-1954, 1 ...

who at that time were playing in the

Adeccoligaen The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon and OBOS-ligaen (named sponsor is property developer OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon are p ...

. The defender made his debut for

on 22 August 2010 in a 2–0 win at home over

Alta IF Alta Idrettsforening is a sports club from Alta, Norway. The club is most known for its association football department, which played in the 1. divisjon until 2014. Alta currently plays in 2. divisjon, the third tier of the Norwegian football le ...

. Although he was sent off after a second bookable offence in the 84th minute, he was still named as man of the match. Having served his one-match suspension, Meades made a further 9 appearances for the Kællan, scoring once in a 4–2 defeat by

Tromsdalen UIL Tromsdalen UIL is a Norwegian sports club founded in 1938, from Tromsdalen in the municipality of Tromsø. It has sections for football, athletics, skiing and gymnastics. The men's football team plays in 2. divisjon, the third level in Norwegian ...

on 10 October 2010. Meades was released by Cardiff manager

Malky Mackay Malcolm George Mackay (born 19 February 1972) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player, who is currently the manager of Ross County. Mackay, who played as a defender, began his playing career in Scottish football with Quee ...

at the end of the 2011–12 season having failed to break into the first team after being plagued by injuries, suffering

patellar tendonitis Patellar tendinitis, also known as jumper's knee, is an overuse injury of the tendon that straightens the knee. Symptoms include pain in the front of the knee. Typically the pain and tenderness is at the lower part of the kneecap, though the uppe ...

in his knee and having to have an operation on his calf.

AFC Bournemouth

The left-back featured twice for

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

during pre-season whilst on trial, against

Havant & Waterlooville Havant & Waterlooville Football Club is a professional football club based in Havant, Hampshire, England. The club participates in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, after relegation from the National League in the 20 ...

and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

respectively. His performances were enough to impress then manager Paul Groves and he signed a two-year contract with the Cherries on 9 August 2012. However, Meades failed to break into the first team and on 5 November 2012 new Bournemouth manager

Eddie Howe Edward John Frank Howe (born 29 November 1977) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the head coach of Premier League club Newcastle United. A defender during his playing career, Howe spent most of his playing ...

loaned him to

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

. On 20 May 2013, it was announced that Meades had left Bournemouth after his contract was terminated by mutual consent. Meades' initial two-month deal at AFC Wimbledon saw him joining then teammate

Steven Gregory Steven Michael Gregory (born 19 March 1987) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Wycombe Wanderers Gregory began his career as a 15-year-old in the youth ranks of Wycombe Wanderers, his highlight being captai ...

and former Cherries captain

Warren Cummings Warren Thomas Cummings (born 15 October 1980) is a Scottish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. He played for Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, AFC Bournemouth, West Bromwich Albio ...

and reunited him with

, who had left his post as Head of the Cardiff City Academy to become manager of AFC Wimbledon on 10 October 2012. Meades made his senior

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

debut for AFC Wimbledon on 6 November in a 2–0 loss to

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

. With Meades having established himself as a regular in the starting XI, it was announced on 8 January 2013 that Ardley had extended Meades' loan spell with AFC Wimbledon by a further month. On 31 January 2013, it was announced that AFC Wimbledon had once again extended Meades' loan from Bournemouth until the end of the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season. On 20 April 2013, Meades scored his first Football League goal in a 2–2 draw with

2012–13 Football League Two The 2012–13 Football League Two (referred to as the Npower Football League Two for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of the league under its current title and twentieth season under its current league division format. It started on 18 ...

Champions Gillingham. Meades capped the end of a successful loan spell on 27 April 2013, the final day of the 2012–13 Football League Two season, by helping AFC Wimbledon to avoid

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

from the Football League after a 2–1 victory over

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...

. The 21-year-old was subsequently awarded the Natalie Callow Memorial Trophy for AFC Wimbledon's Young Player of the Year, as voted for by the fans.

Oxford United

On 22 May 2013 Meades joined

Football League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

on a two-year deal, having rejected the offer of signing a contract with AFC Wimbledon. He suffered an ankle-ligament injury in a pre-season friendly against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

and he did not appear in the Oxford first team during his first season. He made only seven league appearances (10 in all competitions) for Oxford in 2014–15 and returned on a free transfer to AFC Wimbledon in June 2015.

AFC Wimbledon

In his second spell at

, Meades made 100 appearances, 91 of them in the League, before retiring due to injury after the 2017–18 season, at the age of 26.

International career

Meades was first called up to represent Wales at under-17 level on 17 March 2008, in a 1–1 draw against Slovenia under-17s in the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship Elite Round. Meades made his first appearance for Wales under-21s on 6 September 2011 in a 3–1 defeat by Montenegro under-21s in the qualifying stages of the

2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

, in which he came on as a 74th-minute substitute for Elliott Hewitt. Meades featured once again for Wales under-21s in the UEFA Under-21 qualifying stages on 10 September 2012 as a 76th-minute substitute for

Adam Henley Adam David Henley (born 14 June 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for National League North club Chorley. He primarily operates as a right-back, but can also be deployed at left-back. Born in the United States and rai ...

in a 5–0 defeat by Czech Republic under-21s. On 6 February 2013, Meades again represented Wales under-21s in a friendly fixture against Iceland under-21s, ending as a 3–0 victory. Meades' fourth cap for the under-21s came on 22 March 2013 in a 1–0 victory over Moldova under-21s in the qualifying stages of the

2015 UEFA European under-21 Football Championship Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * 15 (Buckcherry album), ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * 15 ...

Career statistics

Honours

AFC Wimbledon *

Football League Two play-offs The EFL League Two play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from fourth to seventh in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are part of the annual Engli ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meades, Jonathan 1992 births Living people Welsh men's footballers Welsh expatriate men's footballers Footballers from Gloucester Cardiff City F.C. players Moss FK players AFC Bournemouth players AFC Wimbledon players Oxford United F.C. players Wales men's youth international footballers Wales men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football defenders Norwegian First Division players English Football League players Expatriate men's footballers in Norway English people of Welsh descent Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Norway