Andy Jones

Andrew Mark Jones (born 9 January 1963) is a former Wales international footballer. A striker, he won six caps at international level and scored one goal. In domestic football, he made 336 league and cup appearances in the English Football League and scored 116 goals.

After failing to make an impact at Wrexham, Jones found massive success in Welsh football with Rhyl. This earned him a chance in the English leagues with Port Vale in 1985. He took this chance in fine style, scoring 49 goals in 90 league appearances, helping the club to promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1985–86, and earning himself the club's Player of the Year award in 1986–87. His goal tally won him a £350,000 move to Charlton Athletic in September 1987. However, he did not find success at Charlton, and was loaned back to Port Vale and then to Bristol City. In October 1990, he signed with Bournemouth before he moved on to his final club Leyton Orient a year later.

Club career Jones played youth football in Wales for Ysgol Y, Berwyn, Bala Town and Wrexham, before joining Rhyl in 1981. After hearing that Arsenal had offered Jones a trial, Rudge drove over to Rhyl to put a contract in front of Jones before he had the chance to go to Highbury. Jones scored his first goal in the English Football League on 31 August, in a 1–1 home draw with Rochdale. He also twice played in goal after Mark Grew and Jim Arnold picked up injuries at home to Rotherham United and away at Brentford respectively. His goalscoring exploits made him an obvious winner for the club's Player of the Year award. Further strikes against York City and Chesterfield took him to six goals in eight games. In September 1987, First Division Charlton Athletic broke Vale's transfer record when manager Lennie Lawrence paid £350,000 for Jones's services after Alex Ferguson had unsuccessfully tried to sign him for Manchester United. However, his time with the "Addicks" was not a success – symbolised by a miss against Liverpool a mere from the goal. He also struggled with injuries.

Charlton avoided the relegation play-offs in 1987–88 after finishing ahead of Chelsea on goal difference, Jones scoring six goals in 25 league games. However, by 1988–89, Charlton were willing to sell Jones back to Port Vale for a £175,000 fee, but the striker refused the move. He did though agree to return to Vale on loan for four months in the latter half of the season. He hit three goals in 17 games before returning to Charlton before the play-off win over Bristol Rovers. Jones scored four goals in nine league games for Charlton in 1988–89, He made his senior debut as Ian Rush's strike partner on 1 April 1987 against Finland at the Racecourse Ground in his home town of Wrexham. The Welsh recorded a 4–0 victory, with Jones scoring one goal on the volley. After his debut he paid tribute to the Port Vale fans who had travelled to the game to support him. He played the rest of the five games in the unsuccessful Euro qualification campaign, making three appearances from the bench. Wales drew 1–1 with Czechoslovakia at Wrexham and beat Denmark at Cardiff City's Ninian Park, but were defeated at Copenhagen and Prague. Had they drawn in Denmark or beaten Czechoslovakia home or away, the Welsh would have qualified for Euro 1988. Jones made his sixth and final appearance for Wales against the Netherlands on 11 October 1989, the Dutch winning 2–1 and ending Welsh hopes of qualification out of Group 4 at the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification stage.

Style of play A goalscoring striker, he had shooting ability despite weakness with his touch and linking play.

Post-retirement After leaving the game due to injury, Jones became a financial advisor. He worked as a rep for the Mizuno Corporation and spent time as a network specialist at BT. He later took up residency in Ringwood, working as a director of his own food waste recycling company. A suite at Vale Park was named after him in July 2004.

Career statistics

Club statistics

International statistics

Port Vale F.C. Hall of Fame: inducted 2026 (inaugural)

Port Vale Football League Fourth Division fourth-place finish (promoted): 1985–86