''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 Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

. He began his career at

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 ...

joining them as an apprentice at the age of sixteen. He made his début on 24 February 1979 in a 1–0 victory over Leyton Orient at the age of seventeen. Four days later on 28 February he became the youngest player ever to be sent off playing for Cardiff when he was red carded during a 4–1 win over Blackburn Rovers. He became an important player for the club over the next few years especially during the 1982–83 season when he helped them to promotion. In September 1983, Jones left the club as part of a remarkable exchange deal between Cardiff and Newport County. Nigel Vaughan 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 ...

joined the Bluebirds and Jones, along with John Lewis and

Tarki Micallef Constantinous "Tarki" Micallef (born 24 January 1961) is a Welsh former professional footballer. Career The son of a Greek restaurateur, Micallef was born in the Grangetown area of Cardiff and was a Welsh schoolboy international before joining ...

, moved to Somerton Park in return. He was a regular for Newport until the club began suffering financial difficulties and he was allowed to join Reading. He eventually left the club in 1992 and moved into non-league football before fully retiring in 1996, at the age of 36, due to a severe knee injury. In March 2002 he joined

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

as their football in the community manager. He also holds a UEFA A coaching licence and, along with FAW disability officer Jamie Clewer, helped form the Swansea VIPs (Visually Impaired Players) a team for blind or partially sighted players.

International career

Jones played several times for the Wales U21 squad but never went on to gain a cap at senior level, despite being called up to the squad on occasions."Linden Jones on coaching & health"
BBC Retrieved on 17 March 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Linden 1961 births Living people Welsh footballers Wales under-21 international footballers Cardiff City F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Reading F.C. players English Football League players Swansea City A.F.C. non-playing staff People from New Tredegar Sportspeople from Caerphilly County Borough Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders