Before they were Rovers: Rob Jones

Once again we take a look at a current Rovers player, and where they was before coming to the Keepmoat, this week it is super Rob Jones we look at.

If you read the article about Mark Duffy, you will remember how he was playing none league but impressed and has since risen through the leagues, Rob Jones has a simular story.

Rob's footballing story started at York City, where he spent his youth career, believe it all not and many who have watched Rob may understand this, whilst at York he was playing as a striker before being moved to left back.
It is reported that he almost fef love with playing football and became disillusioned, he nearly gave up. Rob became a teacher, one that you would certainly hand in your homework on time for, whilst doing this he played non league football for Whitby Town in the Northern Premier League. In 1999 he moved to Northallerton Town and in 2000 he moved to Spennymoor United.

In the summer 2001 Rob moved to Gateshead town, he went on to play in 87 games for Gateshead, playing in central defense, he scored a staggering 19 goals before leaving the club in 2003.

Rob at Stockport 2003

In March 2003 he signed his first professional contract at Stockport County, he was signed to provide backup for centre defense and only manager to make 16 appearances during his time at the club, he still scored 2 goals though! Whilst at Stockport, Rob spent a short period on loan to Maccelsfield Town where he made just 1 appearance. 2004 saw the end of his time at Stockport and he was released.

Rob during his days at Grimsby

He joined Grimsby after a successful trial, first team chances during his first season were hard to come by, however during his second season Rob became a more important for the club. Rob played in the 2005 win against Tottenham Hotspurs in the League cup, impressing so much, the fan carried Rob off the pitch at Blundell Park. Grimsby that were hopeful of promotion into League 1 missed out on the automatic spots and instead played in the playoffs, beating local rivals Lincoln City in the semi but losing to Cheltenham in the final. Following this, Rob and a number of other players left the club. He had made 60 appearances scoring 5 goals before leaving in 2006.

Ripped shirt? Jones doesn't care

Rob moved north to Scottish side Hibernian, in his first season he was made captain and became a fans favorite, the Hibs fans also gave him the chant, still used today, "always believe in Rob Jones". In 2007 he helped Hibs win the 2007 league cup, scoring the first goal of the match in the final, a game they won beating Kilmarnock 5-1. The summer of 2007 saw Jones receive a lot of interest from clubs including Leeds, Ipswich and Colchester, with a 6 figure offer being made. All offers were rejected for Rob, which frustrated him. He remained for a further 2 years, still impressing he was linked with a number of Championship clubs including, Scunthorpe, Derby, Nottingham Forest, Bristol City and Swansea. He left Hibs after making 96 appearances and scoring 8 goals.

As always, Rob is fully committed

Summer 2009 saw him join Scunthorpe for a Club record fee by manager Nigel Atkins. Rob remained at the club making 42 appearances and scoring 2 goals until a 2011 loan move to Sheffield Wednesday, here he would make 8 appearances and scored 1 goal.

In the close season 2011 Rob made his loan spell at Hillsborough permanent. Like at most clubs he has been at he became a fans favorite and was also made captain, he made a further 33 appearances for Sheffield Wednesday and scored a further 4 goals, he also helped them earn promotion from League 1 in 2011-2012 season, it was this promotion that saw the end of his time at his childhood favorite time. It was thought Rob wasn't good enough to play with the club at Championship level.

Rob tells Miguel Llera to man up or get off the field wearing that hat

In 2012 Rob joined Rovers where he remains today, I recall a Wednesday supporting friend said to me after we had signed him 'he is a great player, true leader, and will score a few goals' even though these words came from a Sheffield supporting mouth, they couldn't be more true. Although this season he has struggled with injuries he played an important part in our promotion last season. Rob also took over as a player/coach following the departure of Dean Saunders, along with Brian Flynn, however he is now concentrating on playing. With Rob still looking some way from returning to playing due to setbacks, he is still heavily involved in the team and often seen on match days helping the players in the dressing room.

Rob celebrating after helping Rovers win League 1 at Brentford

We know nothing hurts Rob Jones, we saw him gain concussion and have a nice lump on his head and saw him return the next game. But we hope Rob doesn't rush himself back with this big injury, better to be safe. Rob will always be remembered by Rovers fans for the way he plays. True Passion.

So far in his career, playing at centre back the 6ft.7 giant has a goal scoring record that would rival some strikers, in fact, after spending too much time researching I have found 2 strikers that Rob's record rivals. For Rovers Rob has scored 8 in 56, Mark McCammon scored just 6 in 54 and it took Neil Roberts 61 games for his 8 goals.

When asked what he wants to do after he finishes playing, Rob replied he wants to become a manager, I and many fans of teams that he has played for will think he will do an excellent job when he does hang up the boots.

There you have it, Rob Jones, before he was Rovers, a career that nearly ended before it had truly started. It goes to show that not everyone is right, many would of thought that having not made the grade at York and becoming a teacher would of been the end of his career, but he came back even stronger and went on to have a great career.


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