Jon Worthington
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Jonathan Alan Spencer Worthington (born 16 April 1983) 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 Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...
who was recently interim manager of 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 ...
. Worthington previously played 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 ...
for Huddersfield Town, Yeovil Town,
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...
and
Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...
and in the
Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...
for
Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Established in 1997, the current Flee ...
,
Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...
and
FC Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in the National League (division), National League, the fifth level of English football league system. They replac ...
. After retiring, Worthington worked as a
physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...
at Halifax Town, before rejoining Huddersfield. Initially a physio in the club's academy, he subsequently became a youth team coach for the club.


Playing career


Huddersfield Town

Born in nearby
Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...
, Worthington began playing for
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 ...
at the age of nine, eventually moving through the club's youth academy and into the first team. He primarily plays as a hard tackling central
midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
. Many Terriers fans regarded Worthington as being the main lynchpin of the Town midfield. Other midfielders have attempted to fill that role such as
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...
, Andy Holdsworth,
Adnan Ahmed Adnan Farooq Ahmed (Urdu: ; born 7 June 1984) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in England, he represented the Pakistan national team. He had an 11-year career in football, including a six-year international ...
, Mark Hudson and loan signing
Ronnie Wallwork Ronald Wallwork (born 10 September 1977) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. An England under-20 international, he began his career at Manchester United, where he made his professional debut in 1997. He ne ...
, but fans felt that the Town midfield four was incomplete without Worthington in the middle. He was made
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
in 2004 after previous captain Efe Sodje was stripped of the captaincy after being
sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...
in a
Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...
match against
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 ...
which Town lost 6–3 in extra time. He was given the captaincy over Nathan Clarke who was named vice-captain. Worthington picked up 16 yellow cards in the 2005–06 season. Another other low point was that through injury he missed Huddersfield Town's high-profile
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 ...
tie against Chelsea at
Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...
in 2008. Following Andy Ritchie's departure as manager of the Terriers in 2008, Worthington was relieved of his captaincy duties by caretaker manager Gerry Murphy, so he could focus on his playing duties. The captaincy was taken up by
Rob Page Robert John Page (born 3 September 1974) is a Welsh Manager (association football), football manager and former association football, player who was most recently the manager of the Wales national football team, Wales national team. In an 18-yea ...
.


Yeovil Town

After being out of new manager Lee Clark's plans, Worthington moved on loan to Yeovil Town on 30 January 2009. He made his debut the following day in the 1–0 win over
Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...
at
Brisbane Road BetWright Stadium, traditionally known as Brisbane Road and originally known as Osborne Road, is a football stadium in Leyton, East London, England. It has been the home ground of Leyton Orient since 1937, before which it was the home of amat ...
. His loan was extended by another month on 3 March, following impressive displays under new player-manager
Terry Skiverton Terence John Skiverton (born 26 June 1975) is an English former footballer who enjoyed a long playing career at Yeovil Town for 11 years that led him to appear 382 times in all competitions. He then became their manager and subsequently, assist ...
. He was recalled on 26 March. However, it was revealed on 17 April, that manager Lee Clark did not see Worthington in his future plans and said he was not going to offer him a new contract.


Oldham Athletic

On 26 May 2009, he joined
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...
, becoming
Dave Penney David Mark Penney (born 17 August 1964) is an English football manager and former player. Born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, Penney entered professional football at the relatively late age of 21. He had been working as a bricklayer an ...
's second new signing after Rob Purdie. In July 2010 he was transfer-listed by the club, along with five other first team players. He joined
Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Established in 1997, the current Flee ...
on loan on 18 November 2010 returning on 2 January 2011. On 25 January 2011, he joined
Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...
on a one-month emergency loan deal. He was recalled by Oldham after one match and released by the club on 27 January 2011 allowing him to seek another club before the closure of the winter transfer window. . He then signed for Bradford on a permanent basis, signing a four-month contract.


Mansfield Town

In June 2011, it was announced that Worthington had joined
Conference Premier The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...
side
Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...
on a one-year deal


FC Halifax Town

In July 2012, he joined
FC Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in the National League (division), National League, the fifth level of English football league system. They replac ...
on a one-year deal. Worthington was played in a more attacking role at Halifax than he had been used to previously in his career, but he had great success including two goals against Abbey Hey in the FA Cup in a 6–0 victory. Worthington also bagged a goal from the edge of the box on Boxing Day 2012 against
Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...
. In January 2013, Worthington suffered an injury against
Solihull Moors Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional association football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the Na ...
after going in for a challenge which won The Shaymen a penalty. He made his return against Droylsden in February and scored a goal in the 6–0 victory over The Bloods.


Coaching career

In the summer of 2014, Worthington was appointed as player-
physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...
at
FC Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in the National League (division), National League, the fifth level of English football league system. They replac ...
. After retiring from playing at the end of the 2014–15 season, Worthington returned to
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 ...
as academy physio. Having spent four years as a physio in the Huddersfield academy, in June 2019 Worthington was appointed the club's new under-17 coach. The following year, Worthington was promoted to under-19 coach. In January 2021, he took on the additional role of B Team coach. On 9 March 2025, Worthington was appointed interim head coach for the remainder of the season following the sacking of Michael Duff.


Personal life

Worthington studied at the
University of Salford The University of Salford is a Public university, public research university in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre. The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which opened in 1896, be ...
for a degree in Physiotherapy, graduating in 2015.


Career statistics


Honours

Huddersfield Town *
Football League Third Division play-offs The EFL League Two play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from fourth to seventh in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are part of the annual Engli ...
:
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Worthington, Jon 1983 births Living people Alumni of the University of Salford English football coaches Men's association football midfielders Association football physiotherapists British physiotherapists Bradford City A.F.C. players English Football League managers English Football League players English men's footballers FC Halifax Town non-playing staff FC Halifax Town players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Footballers from Dewsbury Huddersfield Town A.F.C. managers Huddersfield Town A.F.C. non-playing staff Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players National League (English football) players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players 21st-century English sportsmen