Rob Jones (soccer player, 1971)

Rob Jones
Rob Jones in profile.
Personnel
Surname	Robert Marc Jones
birthday	5th November 1971
place of birth	Wrexham ,  Wales
size	173 cm
position	Full-back
Juniors
Years	station
1987-1988	Crewe Alexandra
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1988-1991	Crewe Alexandra	75 (2)
1991-1999	Liverpool FC	183 (0)
1999	West Ham United	0 (0)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1993	England U-21	2 (0)
1992-1995	England	8 (0)
1 Only league games are given.

Robert Marc "Rob" Jones (born November 5, 1971 in Wrexham ) is a former English football player born in Wales . The full-back developed into an English international at Liverpool FC early in the 1990s and won the FA Cup in 1992 . However, a series of injuries caused setbacks and at the age of 27 his professional career ended prematurely.

Athletic career

Club career

Crewe Alexandra (1988-1991)

Jones' football career began in Crewe, England, around 40 kilometers east of Wrexham, the Welsh hometown. The grandson of Bill Jones , who in 1950 with the FC Liverpool in the FA Cup final at left-back against Arsenal FC with 0: 2 lost, signed in September 1987 its first student contract at Crewe Alexandra . Before he was promoted to "trainee" in July 1988, he made his debut on April 9, 1988 in a fourth division game against Darlington FC and when his club was promoted to the third division in the following season 1988/89 , Jones contributed twelve missions . During this season he also signed his first professional contract in December 1988.

In the 1990/91 season Jones conquered the right-back position a regular place and although Crewe relegated to the fourth division, Jones had often convinced with good performances. Nevertheless, the steep career path that followed was surprising, because despite his constant performance, Jones was only one of many talents under Crewe's coach Dario Gradi . And so in October 1991 grandstand guest and Liverpool coach Graeme Souness was also interested in teammate Steve Walters before Jones convinced him as a right defender. For 300,000 pounds Jones finally moved to the "Reds" in the top English division.

Liverpool FC (1991–1999)

Just 24 hours after signing the contract, Jones made his debut for Liverpool. Opponent was Manchester United at Old Trafford and the newcomer was tasked with guarding Ryan Giggs . He fulfilled this task to satisfaction and promoted by injury problems in his position, Jones became a regular player faster than expected. At the end of the successful year, which brought Jones a first appearance in the English senior team , the FA Cup victory stood after a 2-0 final win against AFC Sunderland in the sold-out Wembley Stadium . His style of play was praised in expert circles as a "complete full-back", with strengths in conquering the ball (often without having to play a foul), fast passes and precise cross runs. Unfortunately, he suffered from an early shin splints , which initially cost him a possible participation in Euro 1992 in Sweden and which severely affected his further professional career. He played primarily on the left side of defense 30 of 42 league games in a 1992/93 season, which ended disappointingly in sixth place and with early cup defeats.

The physical problems continued. Nevertheless, he was still considered "first choice" in the club, although he had to change his style of play after the coach change to Roy Evans and the associated switch to a 3-5-2 system. He succeeded first and with a 2-1 final win against second division side Bolton Wanderers , he won the league cup in 1995 . A year later they played another final at Wembley, but lost 1-0 to Manchester United in the FA Cup . In the meantime he had lost his right wingback position to Jason McAteer and in the final he was instead used on the left side. After the defeat, Jones' attending doctors urgently instructed him to take an extended football break of at least six months. The reason for this was the fracture of a vertebra in the spine, which could have led to paralysis. Jones had previously played despite this injury. In January 1997 Jones returned to the professional team, but although the treated wound was overcome, he failed in the renewed fight for the regular place. In addition, there was a series of knee injuries that made him no longer able to act without pain. When his contract in Liverpool expired at the end of the 1998/99 season, he left the Reds after a total of 243 competitive games (and without a goal of his own).

Jones made one last attempt at West Ham United in the summer of 1999 . He played a few preparation games and the "Hammers" offered him a contract before the knee problems worsened. After the clear diagnosis that he would never be able to play football at the highest level again, the promising career ended before his 28th birthday.

English national team

After a rapid sporting development from fourth division to first division regular player at Liverpool FC , Jones made his debut on February 19, 1992 in a 2-0 win over France for the English national team under coach Graham Taylor . He initially had great competition on the right-back position with Lee Dixon and the experienced Gary Stevens , but although they had to cancel their participation in the upcoming Euro 1992 in Sweden due to injury, Jones could not benefit from it due to his own injuries.

Under Taylor's successor Terry Venables , Jones became more and more a fixture of the "Three Lions" in 1994, but hopes of participating in Euro 1996 in his own country were ultimately not fulfilled. On the one hand, this was due to constant concerns about injuries; in addition, Gary Neville had been able to claim more and more the role of right-back from the summer of 1995. The spinal problems in the summer of 1996 and the following knee injuries ultimately ensured that he could not add any more to his eighth international match on March 29, 1995 against Uruguay (0-0).

Title / Awards

• English Cup (1): 1992
• English League Cup (1): 1995
• PFA Team of the Year (2): 1992, 1995

literature

• Hugman, Barry J .: Premier League: The Players - A Complete Guide to Every Player 1992-93 . Tony Williams Publishing, 1992, ISBN 978-1-869833-15-2 , pp. 213 f .

Web links

• Profile at LFCHistory.net
• Rob Jones in England's senior team
• Rob Jones in the soccerbase.com database

Individual evidence

1. ^ "England - U-21 International Results 1986-1995 - Details" (RSSSF)
2. ↑ "Rob Jones: Liverpool FC Biography (Part 1) 1991 / 92-1992 / 93" (Sporting Heroes)
3. ↑ "Rob Jones: Liverpool FC Biography (Part 2) 1993 / 94-1998 / 99" (Sporting Heroes)
4. ↑ "Rob Jones: England Biography 1992-95" (Sporting Heroes)