Mick Jones (soccer player, April 1945)

Mick Jones
Personnel
Surname	Michael David Jones
birthday	April 24, 1945
place of birth	Worksop ,  England
position	Center Forward
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1962-1967	Sheffield United	149 (63)
1967-1975	Leeds United	219 (77)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1964-1967	England U-23	9 0(4)
1965-1970	England	3 0(0)
1 Only league games are given.

Michael David "Mick" Jones (born April 24, 1945 in Worksop ) is a former English football player . As a center forward with a classic character, he won two English championships ( 1969 , 1974 ) and trade fair trophies ( 1968 , 1971 ) as well as the FA Cup ( 1972 ) with Leeds United . He formed an effective storm duo , especially with Allan Clarke . Plagued by injuries, he had to end his career at the age of 30.

Athletic career

Club career

Sheffield United (1962-1967)

Jones was noticed early on as a good football player and later he demonstrated his special skills as a goal scorer in the school team when he scored 14 goals in a game. He also worked for youth teams from Rotherham and Worksop - in Worksop his father was active as a goalkeeper - later for Dinnington Miners' Welfare and at the same time he began to work in a bicycle factory. In March 1961 he successfully completed a trial training session at Sheffield United and a year and a half later he signed his first professional contract with the first division club in November 1962.

After tests in the reserve team, he made his first-team debut on April 20, 1963 in a 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford, and his first two goals followed four days later against Manchester City (3-1). In the years that followed, Jones was instrumental in ensuring that the "Blades", who had only returned to the English elite class in 1961, were mostly able to secure relegation and at times even reached the top half of the table. He was considered one of the best attackers in English football and was first in 1964 in the English U-23 team and the following year senior team appointed. In September 1967 he moved to league rivals Leeds United after a total of 76 goals in 172 competitive games .

Leeds United (1967-1975)

Jones was the first player for Leeds United whose transfer fee reached the 100,000 pound mark. The active there coach Don Revie bet that the newcomer could replace the injured Alan Peacock . Barely 22 years old, Jones was not yet considered a “fully trained player”, but he was expected to result in a large number of goals. The new "number 9" won the trade fair cup straight away with the new club in the first year and with his goal he decided the final against Ferencváros Budapest (first leg: 1-0, second leg: 0-0). However , he did not contribute to the league cup victory in the same year, since he had been under contract at the beginning of the season in Sheffield and was locked after the change for the league cup competition ("cup-tied"). The following year he won the English championship with Leeds and with 14 championship goals he was his team's top scorer. However, Revie was not completely satisfied with the penetration power on the offensive and so he put Allan Clarke at his side in the summer of 1969 , who also cost a six-figure sum. From then on, both formed an extremely effective storm duo and complemented each other with different playing styles. While Jones was physically robust and looking for the duels, Clarke convinced more with a good understanding of position and game intelligence.

In the 1969/70 season the attacking formation, from which Peter Lorimer and Johnny Giles stood out in addition to the two , was the most successful in the English top division and the team fought for a long time for a “triple” from the English championship, FA Cup and European Cup . In the end, the team missed all the titles, with Jones making a lasting impression, especially in the narrow defeat in the FA Cup final against Chelsea . He scored a goal both in the first game at Wembley Stadium (2-2) and in the replay at Old Trafford (1: 2, each after extra time). After another narrowly missed championship behind Arsenal , further titles in the trade fair cup in 1971 and in the English cup in 1972 followed . Clarke prepared the 1-0 winning goal in the FA Cup final against Arsenal himself, flexed his elbow at the last minute and then tortured his way out into the box of honor with his right arm tied. On the last day of the league against Wolverhampton Wanderers , which took place two days later , he could not take part and the 2-1 defeat was decisive for Leeds to only win the runner-up behind Derby County one more time. Another personal highlight in the 1971/72 season was his hat-trick against Manchester United within 15 minutes on February 19, 1972 .

In 1973 Jones reached two cup finals with Leeds, but lost both 0-1 - in the FA Cup against second division AFC Sunderland and in the European Cup Winners' Cup against AC Milan . A final highlight in his career was the 1973/74 season, which brought him the second English championship , but also a career-ending injury. He scored fourteen league goals and was voted the club's best player, but suffered a severe knee injury during training. After his last goal for the 2-0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford on February 9, 1974, he only came to short appearances and in three appearances in the starting XI at the end of the season he played with pain-numbing agents. After a summer 1974 without any sporting activity, he had his knee operated and in February 1975 he tried a comeback with the reserve team. However, the pain did not subside and the doctors did not signal an imminent improvement and since the club had found a successor in his position in Joe Jordan , Jones ended his active career at the age of 30.

After his footballing career, Jones opened his own sports shop in Maltby, South Yorkshire , where he and his son sold clothing items. He also worked in the catering industry.

English national team

Jones' first appearance in the English U-23 selection took place on November 25, 1964 against Romania and the 5-0 win he opened with the first goal. Almost three months later he played in the 0-0 draw against Scotland against his team-mate Billy Bremner ; Norman Hunter and Paul Reaney from Leeds were available for England . From then on he became a permanent fixture in the youth team and at the age of 20 he gained his first experience in the English senior team . On May 12, 1965 and four days later he was twice in the starting lineup of the "Three Lions" against Germany and Sweden and with 1: 0 and 2: 1 he was victorious. Although he had his share in the winning goal in the first game, the appearance against the Scandinavians remained without highlights. In the run-up to the 1966 World Cup, coach Alf Ramsey, who was undecided about the strikers, tried out other alternatives in his own country and gave Alan Peacock , Barry Bridges and Joe Baker the next probationary opportunities. After Jones was then included in the provisional 28-man roster, he fell victim to the reduction to 22 players. Instead, Jones was still used in the U-23 selection and in the last appearance on May 10, 1967 against Austria (3-0), he stormed for the first time at the side of Allan Clarke , who at that time was still under contract with Fulham was standing.

On January 14, 1970, Jones played a third and final A international match for England, which ended in a goalless draw against the Netherlands at Wembley - with Terry Cooper , Jack Charlton and Norman Hunter, three other Leeds players were in England that day Starting formation.

Title / Awards

• Trade fair cup (2): 1968 , 1971
• English Championship (2): 1969 , 1974
• English Cup (1): 1972
• Charity Shield (1): 1969

literature

• Martin Jarred & Malcolm MacDonald: Leeds United - The Complete Record . DB Publishing, 2012, ISBN 978-1-78091-031-4 , pp. 229 .

Web links

• Profile at ozwhitelufc.net.au
• Mick Jones as England international
• Statistical data from the Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database
• Profile at Playerhistory.com ( Memento from February 13, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )

Individual evidence

1. ^ "England - U-23 International Results- Details" (RSSSF)