Craig Jones (footballer, born 1987)

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.

Craig Jones
Personal information
Full name Craig Stephen Jones
Date of birth (1987-03-20) 20 March 1987
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)
International career
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)

Club career

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]

International career

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]

Personal life

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]

Career statistics
As of match played 12 September 2017
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Bury 2013–14[12] League Two 371202000411
2014–15[13] 40320001[lower-alpha 1]0433
2015–16[14] League One 36331102[lower-alpha 1]0424
2016–17[15] 13000101[lower-alpha 2]0150
2017–18[16] 3000100040
Bury total 12977150401458
Career total 12977150401458
  1. Appearances in the Football League Trophy
  2. Appearance in the EFL Trophy

Honours
with Rhyl
with The New Saints

Individual

References
  1. "Craig Jones Signs For Rhyl". Aberystwyth Town. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  2. "Rhyl wingman joins the Saints". The New Saints. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  3. "Champions League: Helsingborg 3–0 The New Saints". BBC Sport. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  4. "Bury deal for The New Saints' Craig Jones". Shropshire Star. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  5. "Saints' wingman Jones in Leeds United trial". Welsh Premier League. Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  6. "Bury complete signings of Craig Jones and Mark Cullen". BBC Sport. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  7. "Neil Danns: Bury offer new contract to veteran midfielder". BBC Sport. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  8. "Nomads sign former Bury FC captain Craig Jones".
  9. "Connah's Quay Nomads confirm the departure of Craig Jones".
  10. "Hat-Trick for Belle Vue Boy as Wales beat Gibraltar". welshpremier.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  11. "Following in Brynley's footsteps". Chester Chronicle. 16 November 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  12. "Games played by Craig Jones in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  13. "Games played by Craig Jones in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  14. "Games played by Craig Jones in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  15. "Games played by Craig Jones in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  16. "Games played by Craig Jones in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  17. "People A to Z". welsh-premier.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  18. "Dream team 2008/09". welsh-premier.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  19. "Dream team 2009/10". welsh-premier.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  20. "Dream team 2010/11". welsh-premier.com. 3 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  21. "Dream team 2011/12". welsh-premier.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
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