Alex Jones (footballer, born 1994)

Alex Jones
Personal information
Full name Alexander Jones[1]
Date of birth (1994-09-28) 28 September 1994[2]
Place of birth Sutton Coldfield, England
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Port Vale
(on loan from Birmingham City)
Number 26
Youth career
2006–2014 West Bromwich Albion
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 West Bromwich Albion 0 (0)
2015– Birmingham City 0 (0)
2015 → Grimsby Town (loan) 4 (0)
2016– → Port Vale (loan) 16 (9)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:44, 27 November 2016 (UTC).


Alexander "Alex" Jones (born 28 September 1994) is an English footballer who plays for League One side Port Vale, on loan from Championship club Birmingham City. A striker, he began his career with West Bromwich Albion, and in 2015 spent time with Grimsby Town of the National League. A loan move to A-League club Wellington Phoenix in 2016 fell through because of an administrative error by New Zealand Football. He joined Port Vale on a five-month loan deal in August 2016.

Club career

West Bromwich Albion

Jones was born in Sutton Coldfield,[4] and began his football career as a youngster with West Bromwich Albion at the age of 12.[5] He was a member of the team that won the UK finals of the Nike Premier Cup in 2009, and took up a two-year scholarship in 2011.[4][6] When his initial scholarship ended in 2013, he was given a third year.[7] During the 2013–14 season he helped the club's reserve side win the Birmingham Senior Cup,[8][9] and in May 2015 he signed his first professional contract, of one year with the option of a second.[10] Jones sustained an injury during a pre-season friendly that kept him out for three months; he scored twice on his return to the under-21 team,[11][12] and came up with another two goals in his next three matches.[13] Nevertheless, the club decided not to take up the option on his contract – which came as a shock to the player[14] – and in the latter part of the season he had trials with Walsall and Birmingham City.[15]

Birmingham City

After appearing in two under-21 matches as part of his trial, the Championship club were sufficiently impressed to offer Jones a two-year contract, which he accepted.[16] He played regularly for the club's under-21 team in the 2015–16 season, and in November, he joined National League club Grimsby Town on a month's loan to gain experience of senior football.[17] Although only meeting the team on the way to the match, he came on as a late substitute and set up a goal for Patrick Amond as Grimsby won 3–0 away to Barrow.[18] Jones made six appearances during the month; although he did not score, his contribution to the team was such that Grimsby wanted to keep him on, but Birmingham were not prepared to extend the loan.[19]

West Bromwich Albion's goalkeeping coach Jonathan Gould, who formerly coached at Wellington Phoenix, had recommended Jones to the New Zealand-based A-League club before his move to Birmingham, but at the time they had no vacancy for a foreign player. In January 2016, they renewed their interest, and Jones signed on loan to the end of the 2015–16 season.[20] Birmingham's development coach Richard Beale said the player would benefit from playing regular senior football, and that he deserved his chance because of his professionalism and positive attitude despite not being able to force his way into Birmingham's first team.[21] The move fell through when New Zealand Football failed to forward the completed paperwork to FIFA before the transfer deadline despite having received it from the Phoenix three days previously.[22] An appeal to the world governing body was unsuccessful, as FIFA "ruled to protect the integrity of their global deadlines for the transfer of players".[23] He remained with Birmingham and was a member of the reserve team that lost the 2016 Birmingham Senior Cup final to National League North champions Solihull Moors.[24]

Jones joined League One side Port Vale on a five-month loan deal in August 2016.[25] He remained eligible to play in non-first team fixtures for Birmingham City during the loan spell.[26] He made his Football League debut at Vale Park on 16 August, as an 84th-minute substitute for Anton Forrester in a 1–0 win over Rochdale; he won a penalty within two minutes of coming onto the field, though JJ Hooper missed the ensuing penalty, and Jones also had a shot blocked by the last defender after running past goalkeeper Josh Lillis deep into stoppage time.[5][27][28] On 27 August, he scored twice to help the "Valiants" record a 3–1 victory over Scunthorpe United despite being played at wide right of the front three.[29] Manager Bruno Ribeiro praised him after the match, saying that "he was fantastic, he scored two goals and worked hard... he is one more option for a winger".[30] Jones said that he enjoyed playing out of position at right-wing for Port Vale as Ribeiro allowed him a free creative role with few defensive duties, and he also admitted he hoped to extend the loan as he did not suit the style of play at his parent club.[31] He was nominated for the League One Player of the Month award for August and September after scoring six goals in eight games.[32]

Style of play

Jones has excellent finishing skills, and scored his first nine goals for Port Vale from just 19 shots.[33]

Career statistics

As of match played 4 December 2016
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Birmingham City 2015–16[34] Championship000000—00
2016–17[35] Championship000000—00
Total 000000—00
Grimsby Town (loan) 2015–16[2] National League4010—1[lower-alpha 1]060
Port Vale (loan) 2016–17[35] League One16911001[lower-alpha 2]01810
Career total 2092100202410
  1. ↑ Appearance in FA Trophy
  2. ↑ Appearance/s in the EFL Trophy.

References

  1. ↑ "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/07/2015 and 31/07/2015" (PDF). The Football Association. p. 18. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 "A. Jones". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  3. ↑ "Grimsby Town". FootballSquads.com. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Academy Player Profiles 2011/12". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 11 August 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2016. Goalscorer, shows good movement and he has combined very well with Joel Ambalu over a number of years. Member of the 2009 Nike Cup-winning side.
  5. 1 2 Baggaley, Mike (19 August 2016). "Port Vale: Alex Jones keen to build on great first impression". The Sentinel. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  6. ↑ "West Bromwich Albion crowned UK Champions". ManchesterUnitedPremierCup.com. 16 April 2009. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009.
  7. ↑ "Rose earns first pro deal". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Stourbridge 1 Albion 2". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 18 February 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "Albion 2 Tamworth 1 in Birmingham Senior Cup final". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  10. ↑ "West Brom tie down academy stars on professional deals". Express & Star. Wolverhampton. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "Albion XI fall to friendly defeat". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  12. ↑ "Jones bags brace in Under-21 win". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "Under-21s held at Derby". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  14. ↑ Dick, Brian (24 May 2015). "New Birmingham City arrival calls for Premier League clubs to offer more youngsters first-team football". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  15. ↑ Dick, Brian (16 April 2015). "Birmingham City offer trial to West Bromwich Albion youngster". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  16. ↑ "Blues sign former West Brom youngster". Birmingham City F.C. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  17. ↑ "Alex Jones makes Mariners loan move". Birmingham City F.C. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  18. ↑ "Grimsby Town loan signing Alex Jones out to prove himself". Grimsby Telegraph. 12 November 2015. Archived from the original on 16 November 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  19. ↑ "On-loan Grimsby Town striker Alex Jones recalled by Birmingham City". Grimsby Telegraph. 12 December 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  20. ↑ Gray, Russell (31 January 2016). "Phoenix sign striker on loan deal". wellingtonphoenix.com. Football Federation Australia. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  21. ↑ Dick, Brian (2 February 2016). "Birmingham City assure New Zealand-bound Alex Jones his progress will be closely monitored". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  22. ↑ Pine, Jason (11 February 2016). "Football: Paperwork blunder puts English striker Alex Jones' Phoenix career in doubt". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  23. ↑ Hyslop, Liam & Wilson, Clay (16 February 2016). "Alex Jones' stint with the Phoenix ends without a game as NZ Football blames lack of internet access for bungle". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  24. ↑ Dick, Brian (5 May 2016). "Birmingham Senior Cup final: Birmingham City U21s 1 Solihull Moors 2". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  25. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (12 August 2016). "Port Vale sign Birmingham City striker Alex Jones on loan". The Sentinel. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  26. ↑ "Alex Jones makes Port Vale move". bcfc.com. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  27. ↑ "Port Vale 1–0 Rochdale". BBC Sport. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  28. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (16 August 2016). "Port Vale 1–0 Rochdale report: Nathan Smith heads Valiants to win". The Sentinel. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  29. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (28 August 2016). "Port Vale 3, Scunthorpe 1: Star man and player ratings". The Staffordshire Sentinel. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  30. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (29 August 2016). "Port Vale: Bruno Ribeiro hails 'fantastic' Alex Jones". The Staffordshire Sentinel. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  31. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (30 September 2016). "Port Vale: Alex Jones keen to stay with Valiants". The Sentinel. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  32. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (29 September 2016). "Port Vale: Alex Jones in running for League One player award". The Sentinel. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  33. ↑ Earle, Robbie (17 November 2016). "Robbie Earle: Alex Jones follows some great Port Vale finishers". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  34. ↑ "Games played by Alex Jones in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  35. 1 2 "Games played by Alex Jones in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
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