Jon Ashton

Oxford United Ashton joined Third Division club Oxford United on a one-month loan ahead of the start of the 2003–04 season and made his debut in a 1–0 victory against Lincoln City on the opening day. After seven appearances during an unbeaten start to the season, the move was made permanent on 8 September 2003.

He continued to feature consistently during the 2004–05 season, playing 31 matches in all competitions, In the 2005–06 season, under manager Brian Talbot, Ashton made 34 appearances and scored his first professional goal in a 1–1 draw with Rochdale on 4 February 2006. After being publicly criticised by Talbot for his role in a defeat to Stockport County on 11 March 2006, he played just once more that season and was released by successor Jim Smith in May 2006.

Rushden & Diamonds A month after his release from Oxford, Ashton signed for Conference National club Rushden & Diamonds, making his debut on the opening day of the 2006–07 season in a 1–0 defeat to Crawley Town. He was a regular in central defence and scored his first goal for the club from the penalty spot in a 4–1 away victory against Tamworth on 12 September 2006. Despite appearing regularly, Ashton was transfer-listed by new manager Garry Hill in April 2007 and subsequently told he was free to find a new club. He made 45 appearances in all competitions and scored twice during his sole season at Rushden. and scored his first goal two weeks later with a header in a 1–0 win against Altrincham. Ashton made 47 appearances in all competitions during the 2007–08 season as Grays finished tenth in the Conference Premier, and was named both Players' Player of The Year and Supporters' Player of The Year at the club's end-of-season awards on 12 May 2008. He played 19 further matches in the first half of the 2008–09 season, but was transfer-listed after stating he would not be remaining at the club once his contract expired.

Stevenage Ashton subsequently signed for fellow Conference Premier club Stevenage Borough for an undisclosed fee on 29 January 2009, reuniting him with manager Graham Westley, who had previously managed him at Rushden & Diamonds. and went on to make 13 appearances during the remainder of the 2008–09 season. Ashton made 45 appearances in his first full season, scoring three times, earning promotion to the Football League for the first time in the club's history. He was part of a defence that conceded 24 goals in 44 games, keeping 27 clean sheets. Like the previous season, Stevenage's success relied on a strong defence, keeping 19 clean sheets and conceding the fewest goals in League Two. He made 38 appearances, scoring once, At the end of the season, Ashton was named both the club's Players' Player of the Year and Player of the Year. He signed a new two-year contract with the club in September 2011, and made 53 appearances in all competitions during the 2011–12 season, Only league champions Charlton Athletic conceded fewer goals that season. Ashton made nine appearances as Stevenage remained unbeaten in the league during the opening two months, before suffering an Achilles injury in a 2–2 draw with Bury at Broadhall Way on 29 September 2012, which proved to be his final game of the season. Following manager Gary Smith's departure in March 2013, Ashton joined the club's coaching staff while a new manager was appointed. At the end of the season, with his contract expiring in June 2013, he signed a new two-year deal with Stevenage, keeping him at Stevenage until the summer of 2015.

Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Ashton was appointed club captain following the departure of Mark Roberts. Manager Graham Westley described him as "the ideal man to lead our team forward", highlighting his leadership and history at the club. Ashton made 48 appearances in all competitions as Stevenage were relegated to League Two after finishing last in League One. He signed a new contract on 17 May 2014, and played 21 times during the 2014–15 season, including in the League Two play-offs, as Stevenage failed to secure an immediate return to League One after losing at the semi-final stage. He left the club upon the expiry of his contract in July 2015. Across six years at Stevenage, Ashton made 234 appearances, placing him 12th in the club's all-time appearance records. He made his debut in a 1–1 draw against former club Oxford United on 8 August 2015, and went on to make 30 appearances as Crawley finished 20th in League Two.

Having made 15 appearances for Braintree during the first half of the 2016–17 season, he returned to former club Grays Athletic on an initial one-month loan on 25 January 2017, which was later extended for a further month. Ashton made nine appearances during the remainder of the loan spell, and signed permanently for the Isthmian League North club on 8 July 2017. He left Grays to become player-assistant manager at his hometown club, Nuneaton Town of the National League North, joining on 2 August 2017. Ashton made 17 appearances for Nuneaton in the dual role before retiring from playing at the end of the season.

International career Ashton was called up to the England C team, who represent England at non-League level, in May 2007 for the Four Nations Tournament in Scotland. He earned three caps during the competition, scoring once in a 3–0 victory over Scotland on 25 May 2007. The following month, he won a fourth cap in a friendly against Finland under-21s. reuniting with manager Dino Maamria, who had been his assistant manager during his playing career at Stevenage.

Style of play Ashton was primarily deployed as a centre-back, though he was also occasionally used as a right-back. During his time at Rushden, he initially played as a holding midfielder before reverting to central defence following injuries within the squad. He was described by FourFourTwo in 2012 as a "no-nonsense" centre-back with agility and "a good turn of pace" when named among the magazine's Top 50 Football League players.

He is a qualified Pilates instructor and owns a Pilates business, having discovered during his playing career that it helped extend his time in football.

Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals

2000–01 Premier League

2001–02 Premier League

2002–03 First Division

2003–04 Premier League

9!!0!!0!!0!!1!!0!!0!!0!!10!!0 Notts County (loan) 2002–03 League Two

2005–06 League Two

97!!1!!2!!0!!3!!0!!1!!0!!103!!1 Rushden & Diamonds 2006–07 Conference National

2007–08 Conference Premier

2008–09 Conference Premier

57!!2!!4!!0!!0!!0!!6!!0!!67!!2

2008–09 Conference Premier

2009–10 Conference Premier

2010–11 League Two

2011–12 League One

2012–13 League One

2013–14

Individual Stevenage Player of the Year: 2010–11