Craig Jones (born 20 March 1987) is retired footballer who played as a midfielder. Previously, he was club captain at Bury. He is a three times Welsh Premier League champion. He previously played for Welsh clubs Airbus UK Broughton, Aberystwyth Town, Rhyl, TNS and Connah's Quay.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Craig Stephen Jones | ||
Date of birth | (1987-03-20) 20 March 1987 (age 35) | ||
Place of birth | Chester, England | ||
Position(s) | Right wing, Right back | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2004–2005 | Airbus UK Broughton | 55 | (9) |
2005–2007 | Aberystwyth Town | 32 | (11) |
2007–2009 | Rhyl | 74 | (14) |
2009–2012 | The New Saints | 111 | (25) |
2012–2018 | Bury | 158 | (9) |
2018 | Connah's Quay Nomads | 4 | (0) |
National team | |||
2007–2010 | Wales under-23 semi-pro | 6 | (0) |
2008–2012 | Wales semi-professional | 3 | (3) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:46, 7 December 2018 (UTC) |
Jones' career started with Airbus UK Broughton and Aberystwyth Town. He joined Rhyl in the May 2007,[1] winning a Welsh Premier League championship medal with the club and representing them in Europe. He then joined The New Saints in May 2009.[2] He played for the club in qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League, against clubs such as Helsingborg,[3] Anderlecht, and Bohemians scoring in both home legs against the Belgian and Irish champions. In July 2012, he played his final matches for The New Saints playing a significant role in both legs of the second-round qualifying matches of the UEFA Champions League against Swedish Treble-winning side (comprising Super Cup, League and Swedish Cup titles) Helsingborg. In total he scored 25 goals in 111 appearances for the club.[4]
In January 2012 he went on trial with Leeds United for seven days.[5] After attracting interest from several English League and European Clubs, Jones signed a two-year deal with League One club Bury in August 2012, after Bury paid out an undisclosed fee for his services from TNS.[6]
He was released by Bury at the end of the 2017–18 season.[7]
In August 2018, Jones returned to the Welsh Premier League signing for Connah's Quay Nomads.[8] Jones made six appearances in all competitions for the Nomads, including playing in a Scottish Challenge Cup victory over Falkirk where he assisted the winning goal. He departed the club three months later after struggling to attain the required level of fitness.[9]
Jones won 9 caps for Wales at the semi-pro under-23 level, and captained the side once. He was selected for the senior semi-pro team for the 2008 Four Nations, scoring a hat-trick against Gibraltar.[10]
His father Brynley was also a professional football player, having played for Chester City in the Football League, as well as Bangor City and Oswestry Town.[11]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Bury | 2013–14[12] | League Two | 37 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 1 |
2014–15[13] | 40 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 43 | 3 | ||
2015–16[14] | League One | 36 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 42 | 4 | |
2016–17[15] | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
2017–18[16] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
Bury total | 129 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 145 | 8 | ||
Career total | 129 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 145 | 8 |
Individual