Steve Jones

Early career

Jones was born in Derry, Northern Ireland and moved to Manchester with his family at age 13. In his late teens, he played for Chadderton in the North West Counties Division One before signing for Blackpool in July 1995. After spending time playing for Blackpool's youth and reserve teams, he signed for Bury on a free transfer in July 1996. Unable to settle at Bury and frustrated by the lack of first-team opportunities, Jones decided to move to the Republic of Ireland and sign for League of Ireland side Sligo Rovers in July 1997, stating that Rovers manager Nicky Reid's offer of a full-time contract was what ultimately made up his mind. On 30 August 1997, he made his debut for The Bit o' Red in the league match against Bohemians, scoring just before half-time in the 2–2 draw at The Showgrounds. He spent almost two seasons with Sligo and won the League of Ireland Cup after playing in the final against Shelbourne in February 1998. Overall, he played 46 games and scored 6 goals for Sligo before moving to Bray Wanderers in January 1999. Jones made his debut for Bray on 22 January, playing in the 0–0 league draw with Finn Harps at Carlisle Grounds. Later that year, Jones was homesick and moved back to England, later having a brief spell with Northern Premier League side Chorley where he played in the last four games of the season for The Magpies.

Leigh RMI

After Chorley were relegated at the end of the 1998–99 season, Jones signed for fellow Northern…

England Semi-Pro

Jones was called up to the England C national side in March 2001 after showing good form for Leigh RMI in the Conference. England manager John Owens selected Jones after Rushden & Diamonds winger Paul Underwood had to withdraw from the squad through injury. On 22 March, Jones started the 3–0 win against the Netherlands, however he had to come off after just 18-minutes after failing to fully recover from a bout of food poisoning. He earned a second cap in May 2001 when he scored in the 3–0 win against a Highland League Select in Inverness.

Northern Ireland

Jones has won a total of 29 caps for Northern Ireland. He was first called up for the friendly match against Finland in February 2003, he replaced the injured Kevin Horlock in the squad before being an unused substitute in the 1–0 defeat on 14 February. In May 2003, he got his first taste of international football when he was called up for the B international match against Scotland Future. He started the game against Scotland and managed to get on the scoresheet in the 2–1 defeat on 20 May. After impressing in the B international match against Scotland, Jones was called up to the senior squad on 23 May for the friendly against Italy and the Euro 2004 qualifying match against Spain. He made his debut in the 2–0 defeat against Italy on 3 June, he replaced Paul McVeigh on the 55th minute and almost scored in the 76th minute, but his firm header was well saved by Francesco Toldo. On 11 June,…

Club

As of 7 October 2014.

International

As of 12 September 2007.

Club

Sligo Rovers League of Ireland Cup (1): 1997–98 Leigh RMI Northern Premier League Premier Division (1): 1999–2000 Peter Swales Challenge Shield (1): 1999–2000 Crewe Alexandra Football League Second Division runner-up (1): 2002–03 Motherwell Scottish Cup runner-up (1): 2010–11 Airbus UK Broughton Welsh Premier League runner-up (1): 2013–14

Individual

Leigh RMI Players' Player of the Year (1): 1999–2000 Leigh RMI Supporters' Player of the Year (2): 1999–2000, 2000–01 Leigh RMI Young Player of the Year (1): 1999–2000 Football Conference Goalscorer of the Month (1): March 2001 Football Conference Team of the Year (1): 2000–01 Crewe Alexandra Supporters' Player of the Year (1): 2003–04

Personal life= team.