Jon Harley (born 26 September 1979) is an English professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player. He is currently assistant manager of

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. A

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, he played for Chelsea and

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

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 ...

, Sheffield United,

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

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 ...

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

Rotherham United and

in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

, and in the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

for Maidstone United.

Early life

Born in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

, Kent, Harley grew up in the Maidstone suburb of Allington, attending Oakwood Park Grammar School and playing for the local junior team Castle Colts.

Career

Chelsea

Harley started his career with Chelsea, making his debut against Derby County in April 1998. Despite some impressive performances, especially in the 1999–2000 season, during which he was a member of Chelsea's FA Cup winning squad, albeit as an unused substitute in the final, he was unable to establish himself in the London side. He ultimately made 42 appearances for Chelsea and scored two goals, both of which were winners in the 1999–2000 FA Premier League against future club

and

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

. He also had a loan spell with

, where he scored twice, both goals coming in a 4–0 win over Crewe Alexandra on his debut. In his final season at Chelsea, Harley was third choice behind

Celestine Babayaro Celestine Hycieth Babayaro (born 29 August 1978) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a left-back or a midfielder. Babayaro spent the majority of his career playing in the Premier League, mainly for Chelsea from 1997 to 2 ...

and Graeme Le Saux.

Fulham

He signed for newly promoted

in August 2001 for £3.5million. Harley was equally unable to establish himself in the Fulham side, despite a somewhat outstanding goal against Aston Villa, in which he beat Peter Enckelman with a 40-yard strike. This was the only goal he achieved in 19 league starts over three seasons. He joined Sheffield United and later

on loan where he scored once, in a 3–3 draw against Sheffield United on his debut.

Sheffield United

He joined Sheffield United permanently in June 2004 on a free transfer, playing regularly and scoring two goals.

Burnley

A year later he moved to

in a deal for just £75,000 initially, with further payments linked to first-team appearances. Harley managed to establish himself as the club's first choice left-back, starting with a series of impressive performances. He is known for his attacking intent and often gets forward to offer support down the left-wing. Harley is also an excellent set-piece taker and was vital to many of Burnley's free-kick 'routines'. Despite his ability his form dipped mid-season, but later recovered to end the campaign with a number of solid performances, culminating in his winning the "Player of the Season" award. He remained almost ever-present during his second season with Burnley. At the start of the 2007–08 season, Harley found himself playing in the unaccustomed position of left-sided midfielder or on the bench, replaced by new signing Stephen Jordan. An injury to Jordan allowed him to regain his place and this coincided with a run of much-improved results for Burnley. On 9 March 2008, however, Harley failed to agree a new deal with Burnley, signalling his intent to leave the club during the following summer.

Watford

On 17 July 2008 Harley signed a two-year deal with

. On 4 October 2008 he scored his first Watford league goal, scoring in the 12th minute in a home game against Preston North End. Watford went on to win the game 2–1.

Notts County

On 14 July 2010, Harley signed for the

Football League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...

Champions

on a two-year deal and established himself as a regular member of the team in the 2010–11 season. In September 2011 he turned out for Australian

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

side Melbourne Victory in a bid to win a full-time contract, the move, however, fell through. In October 2011, he joined League Two side Rotherham United on a one-month emergency loan, which was then extended in November to last until January 2012. In May 2012 he was released by the club, along with 12 other players.

Portsmouth

On 16 August 2012, Harley signed for League One club Portsmouth on a short-term contract. Harley made his debut in a League One match against

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

, the match ended 1–1. He scored his only goal for Portsmouth in a 2–1 defeat away to

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 ...

on 24 October 2012. He was released alongside five other players on 15 January 2013.

Maidstone United

On 13 March 2013, Harley signed for his hometown club Maidstone United on a non-contract basis, combining his time with the semi-professional club with working as a youth coach for the Chelsea Academy.

Portsmouth

Jon Harley was appointed as assistant head coach to John Mousinho on 16 February 2023.https://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/news/2023/february/harley-appointed-assistant-head-coach/

Career statistics

Honours

Chelsea *

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 ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

References

External links

*
'Harley Exits Clarets'
Sky Sports.com, 10/05/08 {{DEFAULTSORT:Harley, Jon 1979 births Living people English men's footballers Premier League players Chelsea F.C. players Wimbledon F.C. players Fulham F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Watford F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Maidstone United F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from Maidstone Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders England men's youth international footballers England men's under-21 international footballers People from Allington, Kent Portsmouth F.C. non-playing staff English football coaches