Jason David Ian Puncheon (born 18 June 1986) is an English

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. He was most recently head coach of Cypriot club

Akritas Chlorakas Akritas Chlorakas () is a Cypriot football club based in Chloraka, Paphos. The club was founded in 1971 and currently plays in the Cypriot Second Division. Akritas' colours are green and white, and they play their home games at the Chloraka M ...

. Following his goal against Everton on his

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

debut, he has scored in all of the top four divisions of English league football, scoring for Barnet in League Two, Milton Keynes Dons and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in League One,

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

and Blackpool, Southampton and Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, Greater London, Puncheon began his career with

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

, and moved with the team to Milton Keynes, where the club became Milton Keynes Dons in 2004. He was released in January 2006. He moved to Barnet in June of the same year, after brief spells with Fisher Athletic and

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

. He was named

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

Player of the Third Round in 2007 and the following season after scoring a succession of brilliant goals (including a last minute 35-yard free kick versus Bradford) was named in the PFA Team of the Season.

Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth Argyle signed Puncheon from Barnet for £250,000 in 2008. He endured an unsuccessful 18-month spell at the club, making six league appearances. He was loaned to former club MK Dons three times in two years, where he scored 12 goals in 61 appearances.

Southampton

On 30 January 2010, Puncheon joined

which then led to his loan deal at MK Dons to be cut short. He scored his first goal in a 5–1 victory over Walsall, and scored again a few days later, in a 5–0 victory over Huddersfield. He was unable to contribute to Southampton winning the 2009–10 Football League Trophy as he was cup-tied. At the start of the 2010–11 season, he was a regular in the first team. However, when Alan Pardew lost his job just days after a 4–0 win away to Bristol Rovers, Southampton hired

Nigel Adkins Nigel Howard Adkins (born 11 March 1965) is an English professional football manager and former footballer and physiotherapist. He was most recently the manager and technical director at Tranmere Rovers. Adkins played as a goalkeeper for Tran ...

as manager. Under Adkins, he stayed in the first team, but found himself under increasing pressure from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for his place. Eventually Adkins lost patience with Puncheon's erratic performances, and dropped him to the bench in favour of 17-year-old Chamberlain, who was later sold to Arsenal for a reported £15m. On 16 November 2010, Puncheon moved on an emergency loan deal to

. He scored his first goal on his first game for Millwall in their 1–0 victory over

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

. On 1 January 2011, Puncheon scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in the 3–0 victory over Crystal Palace. On 31 January 2011, Puncheon joined

on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut, scoring a goal, at Everton on 5 February. He scored his second goal against Chelsea on 7 March at

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a association football, football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two be ...

. Puncheon re-joined the Saints after Blackpool's failed attempt to fight off relegation. On 31 August 2011, Puncheon joined

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

on loan until 2 January 2012. He returned to the Saints after his unsuccessful loan spell at QPR, but on 21 January 2012, he publicly criticised executive chairman Nicola Cortese. However just days later, it was revealed that Puncheon had apologised to Cortese and would be available for selection in the first team. He then started the next two matches: a 1–1 draw in the

at Millwall and a 1–1 draw in the Championship against

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

. He scored his first goal of the 2012–13 season with a 30-yard volley in a league cup win at

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

. He scored his first Premier League goal for Southampton in a 4–1 home victory against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

. His second came when Southampton won 3–1 away to Queens Park Rangers. He scored his third Premier League goal in the 61st minute against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

to secure Southampton a vital 1–0 victory and move them out of the relegation zone. His fourth was scored to give Southampton a 2–2 draw away to the champions of Europe, Chelsea. On 9 February 2013, he scored his fifth in Southampton's 3–1 home win against 2011–12 champions

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. On 1 March 2013, Puncheon signed a new contract with Southampton, expiring in 2016.

Crystal Palace

On 21 August 2013, Puncheon signed a one-year loan with Crystal Palace. He missed a penalty as Palace lost 2–0 away to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

on 11 January 2014, but made up for his miss by scoring the only goal of their 1–0 win against Stoke City the following weekend. On 31 January 2014, Puncheon made his loan spell into a permanent move, for a fee of around £1.75m. Puncheon's three goals in January and a further three in back-to-back wins in April that lifted Palace away from the relegation zone, led boss Tony Pulis to issue a 'hands off' warning to other clubs interesting in signing Puncheon. On 16 August 2014, in Palace's first match of the new season away to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, Puncheon took a corner which was headed in by Brede Hangeland for the first goal of the game. He was sent off for his second booking in the 89th minute, after which Arsenal scored their winning goal. On 17 January 2015, Puncheon scored his third goal of the season and second in as many games against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

in a 3–2 away win. Crystal Palace had come from 2 goals down to claim victory to boost their survival hopes. Palace manager Alan Pardew praised Puncheon's performance, describing him as "the best player on the pitch by a country mile". On 6 April 2015, Puncheon scored the winning goal for Crystal Palace against Manchester City. Puncheon's goal came from a freekick which went past Manchester City's goalkeeper Joe Hart. He opened the scoring in the 2016 FA Cup Final against Manchester United with a goal in the 78th minute, but Palace went on to lose the match 2–1 after extra time. On 18 July 2017, Puncheon replaced Scott Dann as captain. In January 2018, manager

Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstad in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to t ...

announced that Puncheon would play no further part in the 2017–18 season following a

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint, wrist joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in ...

injury sustained while playing against Manchester City. In May 2019, Crystal Palace issued a statement that Puncheon would leave the club at the end of the 2018–19 season after having made 169 appearances and scored 16 goals.

Loan to Huddersfield Town

On 4 January 2019, Puncheon signed for Premier League club

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

on loan until the end of the season.

Cyprus

In August 2019, Puncheon completed a move to Cypriot football with

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

side

Pafos Paphos, also spelled as Pafos, is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. It is the fourth-largest cit ...

. After three seasons with the club, he moved to

Anorthosis Famagusta Anorthosis Famagusta (), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Famagusta multi-sport club founded in 1911 in Varosha, Famagusta.

, where he spent one season before retiring. After a year in management, Puncheon returned to playing in the 2024–25 season in Cypriot regional football with Kissos Kissonergas.

Managerial career

Peyia 2014

Puncheon was appointed head coach of

Cypriot Second Division The Cypriot Second Division () is the second highest association football, football division of the Cypriot football league system. Administered by the Cyprus Football Association, it is contested by 16 teams, with the top three teams being Prom ...

club Peyia 2014 ahead of the 2023–24 season. He left the role at the end of January in his first season.

AEZ Zakakiou

On 10 February 2024, Puncheon was appointed head coach of Cypriot First Division club

AEZ Zakakiou Athletic Union of Zakaki () is a Cyprus, Cypriot association football, football club based in Zakaki, Limassol. The club was founded in 1956. Their colours are green and white and they play at Zakaki Municipal Stadium, but are currently playing a ...

. He was sacked less than one month later after failing to win any of his first seven games.

Ayia Napa

On 29 October 2024, Puncheon was appointed manager of

Ayia Napa Ayia Napa ( , ), officially Romanization, romanised Agia Napa, is a Tourism in Cyprus, tourist resort at the far eastern end of the southern coast of Cyprus. Etymology The name Ayia Napa is derived from a Venetian Cyprus, Venetian-era monaster ...

on a contract until the end of the season. On 19 November, it was announced that Puncheon's contract had been mutually terminated, having won both his games in charge with no goals conceded.

Akritas Chlorakas

On 20 November 2024, the day after leaving Ayia Napa, Puncheon was appointed head coach of

. Akritas finished third in the table in 2024-25, winning promotion to the First Division, with Puncheon winning the players' association manager of the season award for the Second Division. However, in June 2025, he was forced to resign as he did not meet the requirement for First Division managers to have a

UEFA Pro Licence The UEFA coaching licences are documents testifying credentials of manager (association football), managers/ coach (sport), coaches among members of UEFA. The governing body for association football, football in Europe mandates several licences, e ...

and was unable to obtain special dispensation from the Cypriot authorities.

Personal life

Puncheon is of Jamaican descent and is eligible for the

Jamaica national football team The Jamaica national football team, nicknamed the "''Reggae Boyz''", represents Jamaica in men's international Association football, football. The team's first match was against Haiti national football team, Haiti in 1925. The squad is under ...

. In December 2017, Puncheon was arrested and charged with possession of an offensive weapon, common assault, and a public order offence of "causing fear or provocation of violence" after a fight outside a nightclub in

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'', and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The ea ...

. On 5 January 2018, Puncheon appeared in court where he denied the charge of assault. The charge of possessing an offensive weapon was withdrawn and he was bailed to appear again in court on 4 June. He later changed his plea to guilty and was given a community order requiring him to carry out 210 hours of unpaid work, and pay the doorman involved £250 compensation.

Career statistics

Managerial

Honours

Southampton *

Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

runner-up: 2010–11 Crystal Palace *

runner-up: 2015–16 Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 2007–08 League Two, 2009–10 League One

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Puncheon, Jason 1986 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Croydon People from Croydon English men's footballers Men's association football wingers English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus English expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Wimbledon F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Fisher Athletic F.C. players Lewes F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Pafos FC players Anorthosis Famagusta FC players English Football League players Isthmian League players National League (English football) players Premier League players Cypriot First Division players Black British sportsmen English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent English people convicted of assault English football managers AEZ Zakakiou managers Ayia Napa FC managers Akritas Chlorakas managers Cypriot First Division managers Cypriot Second Division managers Expatriate football managers in Cyprus 21st-century English sportsmen