Linden Jones (born 5 March 1961) is a Welsh 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 ...

Club career

Jones was born in

New Tredegar New Tredegar () is a former mining town and community in the Rhymney Valley, Caerphilly county borough, Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. New Tredegar is now home to 'The Winding House', a county museum which opened in 20 ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

. He began his career at

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 ...

joining them as an apprentice at the age of sixteen. He made his début on 24 February 1979 in a 1–0 victory 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 the age of seventeen. Four days later on 28 February he became the youngest player ever to be sent off playing for Cardiff when he was red carded during a 4–1 win over

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

. He became an important player for the club over the next few years especially during the 1982–83 season when he helped them to promotion. In September 1983, Jones left the club as part of a remarkable exchange deal between Cardiff and Newport County.

Nigel Vaughan Nigel Mark Vaughan (born 20 May 1959) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He gained ten international caps for Wales. Club career Newport County Vaughan was born in Caerleon. He started his playing career at h ...

and Karl Elsey joined the Bluebirds and Jones, along with

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

and

Tarki Micallef Constantinous "Tarki" Micallef (born 24 January 1961) is a Welsh people, Welsh former professional Association football, footballer. Career The son of a Greek people, Greek restaurateur, Micallef was born in the Grangetown, Cardiff, Grangetown ...

, moved to

Somerton Park Somerton Park was a football, greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Newport, South Wales. Football In April 1912, Newport County had been accepted to play in the Southern League for the 1912–13 season. Shortly afterwards, the site ...

in return. He was a regular for Newport until the club began suffering financial difficulties and he was allowed to join

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 ...

. He eventually left the club in 1992 and moved into non-league football before fully retiring in 1996, at the age of 36, due to a severe knee injury. In March 2002 he joined

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

as their football in the community manager. He also holds a

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

A coaching licence and, along with FAW disability officer Jamie Clewer, helped form the Swansea VIPs (Visually Impaired Players) a team for blind or partially sighted players.

International career

Jones played several times for the Wales U21 squad but never went on to gain a cap at senior level, despite being called up to the squad on occasions."Linden Jones on coaching & health"

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Retrieved on 17 March 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Linden 1961 births Living people Welsh men's footballers Wales men's under-21 international footballers Cardiff City F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Reading F.C. players English Football League players Swansea City A.F.C. non-playing staff People from New Tredegar Footballers from Caerphilly County Borough Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders