Robert William Jones (born 3 November 1979) is an English football coach and 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 lea ...

. Jones played as a defender having started his career with

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

, before playing as a semi-professional for Whitby Town, Northallerton Town, Spennymoor United and

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

, he soon moved into

the 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

in 2003 with

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

. After a brief loan spell with Macclesfield Town, Jones joined

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

, where his performances in the 2005–06 season earned him a move to

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

club Hibernian. Jones captained Hibs as the club won the 2007 Scottish League Cup final, in which he scored the opening goal. He moved to

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

in 2009 for a club record fee, before signing for Sheffield Wednesday in 2011. Jones won promotion with Wednesday in 2011–12, but signed for

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

on 31 July 2012. He was appointed to a player/coach role with Doncaster in January 2013.

Playing career

Early career

Born in

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Val ...

North East England North East England, commonly referred to simply as the North East within England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of County DurhamNorthumberland, , Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and part of northern North Yorkshire. ...

, Jones began his career with

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

as a schoolboy, where he played initially as a striker before being moved to play at

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. After becoming disillusioned he gave up professional football and became a teacher, while playing

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

with

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

side Whitby Town. He then went to Northallerton Town of the Northern League for the 1999–2000 season, before moving back to the Northern Premier League with Spennymoor United towards the end of the season. Jones then moved on to

at the beginning of the 2001–02 season. During his spell with the

Tyneside Tyneside is a List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne in Northern England. The population of Tyneside as published in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 774,891 ...

club he made 87 appearances, scoring 19 goals from the centre of defence.

Stockport County

On 29 March 2003, Jones was signed by

for a fee of £5,000. Jones made his professional debut on 9 August 2003 in a 1–0 defeat against

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

. Originally signed as cover, Jones struggled to break into the first team both under Carlton Palmer and his replacement

Sammy McIlroy Samuel Baxter McIlroy (born 2 August 1954) is a Northern Irish retired footballer who played for Manchester United, Stoke City, Manchester City, Örgryte (Sweden), Bury, VfB Mödling (Austria), Preston North End and the Northern Ireland na ...

. By the end of the season Jones had only managed 16 appearances, scoring two goals against

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

and

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

. During his spell with County he had a spell on loan with Macclesfield Town where he played one match, a 2–2 away draw against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

Grimsby Town

Jones signed on a free transfer for

Russell Slade Russell Mark Slade (born 10 October 1960) is an English former professional football manager and coach. Having had an extended career at reserve team level, Slade entered professional sports coaching with Notts County in 1993. He briefly took ...

in July 2004 after impressing on trial. During the 2004–05 season, his first year at

Blundell Park Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1899, but only one of the original stands remains. The current capacity of the ground is 9,05 ...

Jones struggled to cement his place in the first team, and was often overlooked in favour of Terrell Forbes and Justin Whittle. Jones made his debut on the opening day of the season in a 1–0 away defeat against

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

. During the 2005–06 season Jones moved on to play a central role in the team in his second season. The club made a strong start to the season in both league and cup which included a 1–0 victory over

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

in the League Cup second round during September 2005. It was following this match that Jones who impressed at centre half was carried off the pitch by Grimsby fans. The club failed to gain automatic promotion from League Two on the final day of the season and had to settle for the play-offs. Despite beating local rivals Lincoln City in the semi-final Grimsby lost the final 1–0 to

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

. Following the club's failure to secure promotion Jones was one of several key players who departed the club in the summer of 2006 with the club agreeing a deal to sell Jones to

club Hibernian.

Hibernian

Jones signed for Hibernian on a four-year contract in June 2006. He was very well received by Hibs supporters, who created his own individual song to the tune of "

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

" by

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet ( ) were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids (New Romantics), ...

. Jones was made captain of Hibernian in January 2007, replacing

Kevin Thomson Kevin Thomson (born 14 October 1984) is a Scottish professional Association football, football coach and former player. Thomson played as a midfielder for Hibernian F.C., Hibernian (three spells), Rangers F.C., Rangers, Middlesbrough F.C., Mid ...

. Jones went on to captain Hibs to their first piece of silverware in 16 years by beating

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

5–1 in the 2007 Scottish League Cup final. He opened the scoring in that match with a header from a

corner kick A corner kick, commonly known as a corner, is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defe ...

. Due to his height, Jones is effective in the air both defensively and at attacking set pieces. As of January 2009, Jones has scored ten goals in

matches.

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...

reported in the summer of 2007 that Jones had been angered by Hibs turning down an offer for him from

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

were also interested in Jones at the same time.

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 level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

made a "six figure offer" for Jones during January 2009, but this was rejected by Hibs. Hibs also stated their intention to report Colchester to

and

the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

because Colchester publicised their offer, even though the offer document stated that it was "confidential". Hibs later rejected a second offer from Colchester for Jones.

Scunthorpe United

The 2009 close season saw Jones linked with several

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 sys ...

clubs including

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

and

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

. He eventually signed for

for an undisclosed "club record" fee.

Sheffield Wednesday

On 17 March 2011, Jones signed an emergency loan deal with

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

until the end of the 2010–11 season. At the end of the season, Wednesday signed Jones on a two-year contract.

Gary Megson Gary John Megson (born 2 May 1959) is an English former football player and manager. He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers and ...

then appointed Jones team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

for the 2011–12 season.

Doncaster Rovers

On 31 July 2012, Jones continued his tour of South Yorkshire, leaving recently promoted side Sheffield Wednesday to join League One club

, effectively replacing George Friend, who had just signed for Middlesbrough. Jones scored his first goal for Doncaster in a League Cup win over

on 28 August 2012. Following the departure of manager

Dean Saunders Dean Nicholas Saunders (born 21 June 1964) is a Welsh football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a striker in a career which lasted from 1982 until 2001. He played for Liverpool and Aston Villa in the 1990s, and ...

, Jones and former

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

manager Brian Flynn were put in temporary charge of the squad. After Flynn was appointed manager on a permanent basis, Jones was given a player/coach role to assist Flynn. On the final day of the 2012–13 season Rovers faced title rivals

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

away from home and in the final minute conceded a penalty which would have seen Doncaster fall to 3rd and seen the club have to make do with a play-off spot, however

Marcello Trotta Marcello Trotta (born 29 September 1992) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Turris. Club career Early career Born in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Italy, Trotta began his career in the youth team at Serie A club ...

hit the crossbar and in the resulting scramble Doncaster went on the break to score in the final seconds with

James Coppinger James Coppinger (born 18 January 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He began his career at Newcastle United, making one appearance in the Premier League, and later spent two years at Exeter ...

's goal not only rescuing them from the play-offs but handing them the League One title after leaders

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

could only manage a draw away at

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

. At the end of the season Flynn stood aside and was promoted to Director of Football, where he was replaced by

Paul Dickov Paul Dickov (born 1 November 1972) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player who works as a television pundit for Manchester City TV. Dickov played as a forward from 1990 to 2011, starting his career with Arsenal. He won ...

. Dickov in turn appointed his own coaching staff and named former

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

manager

Brian Horton Brian "Nobby" Horton (born 4 February 1949) is an English former footballer and manager. He spent 16 years as a professional player and 22 years as a manager, making 689 appearances and managing 1,098 matches. In addition to this, he spent four ...

as his assistant resulting in Jones relinquishing his coaching duties and returning to be a full-time member of the playing squad. Jones took over as

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caret ...

when Dickov was dismissed on 8 September 2015, and remained in charge until

Darren Ferguson Darren Ferguson (born 9 February 1972) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of League One club Peterborough United, in his fourth stint as manager of the club. In between his stints with Peterborou ...

took over as manager on 18 October. Jones left Doncaster by mutual consent on 1 February 2016.

Hartlepool United

On 3 March 2016, Jones signed for League Two club

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

on a contract until the end of 2015–16.

Coaching career

Jones is now a coach at the

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

based soccer academy

RIASA The Richmond International Academic and Soccer Academy (RIASA) is an association football academy based in Leeds, England which was founded in 2010. History RIASA was founded in 2010 and is based at Leeds Beckett University's Headingley campus. I ...

, which brings over players from

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

for academic studying and football coaching.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Hibernian *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

: 2006–07 Sheffield Wednesday *

Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

runner-up: 2011–12 Doncaster Rovers *Football League One:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 2012–13 League One *

Player of the Year: 2005–06 *

Player of the Year:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Rob 1979 births Living people Footballers from Stockton-on-Tees English men's footballers Men's association football defenders York City F.C. players Whitby Town F.C. players Northallerton Town F.C. players Spennymoor United A.F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Northern Premier League players Northern Football League players English Football League players Scottish Premier League players English football managers Doncaster Rovers F.C. managers English Football League managers Doncaster Rovers F.C. non-playing staff Schoolteachers from County Durham RIASA managers