Richard Glynn "Ritchie" Jones (born 26 September 1986) is an English former professional
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 ...
who played as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
.
He is a product of the
Manchester United youth system and was joined the club at the age of nine, Jones made five appearances for the first team, playing in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
and
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
. During his time at United, he also went on loan to a number of lower league teams to gain first-team experience. He has made league starts for
Colchester United
Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
and
Barnsley in 2006–07,
Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to:
* Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset
* Yeovil Town L.F.C.
Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...
in the 2007–08 season and, in 2006, went on loan to Belgium's
Royal Antwerp
Royal Antwerp Football Club, often referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp, is a Belgian football club based in the city of Antwerp. Founded around 1880 as ''Antwerp Cricket Club'' by English students residing in Antwerp, 15 years before ...
for a month. Since leaving United he has played for
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
They were founded i ...
,
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
,
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
...
,
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
,
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...
and
FC Edmonton
FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 to 2017. The club went on hiatus when NASL ceased competitive operat ...
.
Career
Manchester United
Jones was a member of the
Manchester United Academy
Manchester United Football Club Under-21s is the most senior of Manchester United's youth teams and the club's former reserve team. They play in the Premier League 2, the highest tier of the Professional Development League. The team is effectiv ...
from the age of nine, and scored the golden goal to win the
Milk Cup
SuperCupNI, formerly called the Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament and the Dale Farm Milk Cup, is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland. The cup matches are mainly played in the North Coast area o ...
in 2003, beating Preston in the final. He captained United's Youth Cup team and was part of the United reserve side that won four trophies in 2004–05, and three trophies in 2005–06. Jones appeared for the
Manchester United first team five times during his career with the club. He made his senior debut for United on 26 October 2005 in a
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
game against Barnet. Jones was also named as a substitute in a Champions league game away to French team
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...
. This was followed by a place on the bench against
Aston Villa in the Premier League, and then another appearance away to Birmingham in the League Cup.
His next appearance was in a highly emotional night against
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
at
Old Trafford, when he came on for the last half-hour and almost scored in a game that was dedicated to the late
George Best
George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest p ...
. His last appearance before going on loan for first-team experience was away to
Burton Albion
Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home grou ...
in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
, although the match ended as a scoreless draw. In the 2004–05 season, Jones played for United's reserve side in the Central League and the Premier Reserve League, both of which United won. His goals also helped United get to the final of two cup competitions. In August 2006, former Arsenal manager Don Howe wrote about Jones in ''The Telegraph'', commenting on his ability, versatility and praise for his United performances.
In January 2006, Jones was sent on loan to Manchester United's "feeder club",
Belgian Second Division club
Royal Antwerp
Royal Antwerp Football Club, often referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp, is a Belgian football club based in the city of Antwerp. Founded around 1880 as ''Antwerp Cricket Club'' by English students residing in Antwerp, 15 years before ...
, to gain further first-team experience. However, after playing just two games for Antwerp, his loan spell was cut short to provide cover for an injury-hit United midfield. At the start of the 2006–07 season, Jones made two more first-team appearances, playing in pre-season friendlies against
Preston North End and
Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020.
Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 ...
, in which he was credited with an assist for
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while ...
's goal. He then played in United's 2–1 League Cup win over
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
, in which his cross set up
Ole Gunnar Solskjær
Ole Gunnar Solskjær (; born 26 February 1973) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who played as a forward who last managed Premier League club Manchester United. As a player, Solskjær spent the majority of his car ...
to score United's first goal.
In October 2006, he was loaned to
Colchester United
Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
for a month to provide cover for injuries at the Championship club. His performances earned him praise from the Colchester United manager,
Geraint Williams
David Geraint Williams (born 5 January 1962) is a Welsh football manager and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a midfielder from 1980 until 2000, notably featuring in the Premier League for Ipswich Town, as well as in the Foo ...
, saying Jones was a credit to his club, and though Jones expressed a desire to remain at Colchester, he returned to Manchester United at the end of his loan. In February 2007, he joined fellow Manchester United youngster
Adam Eckersley on loan at
Barnsley until 7 May 2007. He was given the number 10 shirt, and made four appearances for the Tykes before returning to Manchester United. At the start of the 2007–08 season, Jones played in a pre-season friendly alongside Owen Hargreaves in midfield against
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...
. Manchester United won 3–1, with Jones scoring one of the goals.
![Ritchie Jones Man Utd](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Ritchie_Jones_Man_Utd.jpg)
However, on 14 August 2007, Jones signed for
Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to:
* Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset
* Yeovil Town L.F.C.
Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...
on a short-term loan until 31 December 2007 to gain further first-team football. He made his debut for Yeovil on 18 August 2007 against Port Vale. It was his cross that led to the only goal in a 1–0 win for Yeovil. On 28 December 2007, Jones returned to Manchester United as planned to compete for his place in United's first team. In March 2008, Jones went on trial with Championship side
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
for a week. Burnley manager
Owen Coyle
Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Scottish Championship club Queen's Park. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one ...
said he liked the look of Jones, but felt it inappropriate to say any more while Jones is under contract at another club.
Hartlepool United
On 27 June 2008, it was announced that Jones was to be released by Manchester United at the end of his contract on 30 June. On 4 July 2008, Jones signed for
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
They were founded i ...
on a free transfer, beating off competition from
Hearts and
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
.
In his first season at Hartlepool United, Jones came second in an end-of-season fans vote for 'Young Player of the Year', resulting in Hartlepool taking up their option to extend Jones' contract to the end of the 2009–10 season. On 12 May 2010, Jones was granted a free transfer from Hartlepool United.
Oldham Athletic
Two months later, on 7 July 2010, Jones signed a one-year contract with
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
, with the option to extend the deal by a further year, becoming
Paul Dickov
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
's first signing as Oldham manager.
It was reported that Jones had also been offered contracts by a
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
team and two other
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 ...
sides. Jones scored his first and only goal for Oldham in a 5–2 defeat against Peterborough United on 10 September 2010, heading home a pass from
Paul Black to open the scoring.
Paul Dickov praised the hard-working Jones for his unselfish work rate. However, in April, Jones reacted with anger after manager Dickov left him out of the squad against
Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to:
* Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset
* Yeovil Town L.F.C.
Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...
and was disciplined because of that.
Later that month, Jones was offered a new contract by the club. However, on 9 May 2011, Jones declined Oldham's offer of a one-year extension to his contract, despite Dickov's keenness to keep him on. The two parties agreed that Jones would leave on a free transfer at the end of his current contract. Jones was then rumoured to be linked with a move to clubs from
Major League Soccer.
Bradford City
On 13 July 2011, Jones joined
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
...
on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract. On 13 September, Jones scored his first goal for Bradford against
Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...
. In the 2011–12 season, Bradford reached the Northern area semi-final of the Football League Trophy; in the previous rounds, Bradford knocked out Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United, both via penalty shoot-outs, with Jones scoring a penalty in both games.
In 2012–13, Bradford again reached the Northern area semi-final of the Football League Trophy. Jones scored in the quarter-final against Port Vale to progress to the semi-final against
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
. On 11 December 2012, Jones featured for Bradford in the famous victory over Arsenal in the League Cup quarter-final at Valley Parade. However, having only made 10 appearances in the 2012–13 season because of damaging his ankle ligaments, Jones left the club by mutual consent at the end of January 2013.
Rochdale and Grimsby Town
On 12 February 2013, Jones signed for
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
until the end of the season. Jones sustained an ankle injury and would only make three appearances for the club. At the end of the season, Rochdale did not offer Jones an extension to his contract and he was released by the club.
On 11 September 2013, following a short trial with the
San Jose Earthquakes in the United States, Jones joined
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...
on trial, and a few days later he joined the club on a rolling monthly contract. Grimsby manager
Paul Hurst
Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town.
As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, b ...
said there was no doubt he would like to agree a permanent deal for the midfielder, as he was concerned that rival clubs could start to circling for Jones after a promising start to his career. On 10 October 2013, he signed a contract keeping him at the club until mid-January. On 27 November 2013, he was released by the club by mutual consent, having played six times.
FC Edmonton
On 15 January 2014, Jones signed with
NASL club
FC Edmonton
FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 to 2017. The club went on hiatus when NASL ceased competitive operat ...
.
Jones made his NASL debut with the Eddies in their season opener on 12 April, starting in central midfield against the
Tampa Bay Rowdies
The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...
. His first ever goal with FC Edmonton, a scissor kick against the
Carolina RailHawks
North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system.
The team has played its home games ...
on 16 August, saw Jones named to the NASL Team of the Week. Jones made it into the NASL Team of the Week for a second time on 15 October, again against Carolina Railhawks, after scoring and providing an assist in FC Edmonton's win against them. After a very successful Fall season, FC Edmonton narrowly missed out on a playoff place by one point.
On 10 May 2015, Jones captained the side against New York Cosmos and scored one of FC Edmonton's two goals. On 22 June 2016, FC Edmonton and Jones mutually agreed to terminate his contract, in order to allow him to recuperate from a serious knee injury suffered in November 2015.
International career
Jones has also played for
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
at every level from Under-15 to Under-20, scoring the winning goal for the Under-17 side in the Nordic Championship final in Sweden. He was a member of the England Under-19 squad that reached the final of the
2005 UEFA European Under-19 Championship
The 2005 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was held in Northern Ireland between 18 and 29 July 2005.
Venues
Qualifications
There were two separate rounds of qualifications held before the Final Tournament.
1. 2005 UEFA European Under-19 ...
, before losing out to France. He acted as captain during some of these matches.
In 2010 Trevor Brooking, Director of football development at the FA, cited Ritchie Jones in a newspaper article regarding the situation with the England National Team. He stated "A classic example is the 2005 England U19 tournament team, none of whom is anywhere near the full national team now at the age of 24
..Typical is skipper Ritchie Jones, who was then at Manchester United but is now a midfielder at Oldham. One crucial reason is that Premier League clubs are not willing to trust in local youth in the way that other countries do".
Career statistics
References
External links
*
Ritchie Jones profilea
Vital Hartlepoolat hartlepoolunited.co.uk
at StretfordEnd.co.uk
at MUFCInfo.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Ritchie
1986 births
Living people
Footballers from Manchester
English footballers
English expatriate footballers
Association football midfielders
Barnsley F.C. players
Colchester United F.C. players
Manchester United F.C. players
Royal Antwerp F.C. players
Yeovil Town F.C. players
Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players
Bradford City A.F.C. players
Rochdale A.F.C. players
Grimsby Town F.C. players
FC Edmonton players
Expatriate footballers in Belgium
Expatriate soccer players in Canada
Hartlepool United F.C. players
English Football League players
England youth international footballers
Challenger Pro League players
National League (English football) players
North American Soccer League players
English expatriate sportspeople in Canada