Nathan Jones (Welsh footballer)

Playing career

Nathan Jones was born in the mining village of Blaenrhondda in the Rhondda Valley and started out in the youth setup at Cardiff City, his local club. Cardiff let him go in the summer of 1991, and he then turned out for Maesteg Park, Ton Pentre, and Conference side Merthyr Tydfil. After a two-year spell at Penydarren Park, he moved to Luton Town in July 1995 for £10,000, joining David Pleat’s squad. Feeling homesick there, he headed to Spain to play for Badajoz in the Segunda División under English manager Colin Addison.

That season, Badajoz came within a single goal of promotion to La Liga, edged out by Extremadura in 1995–96. Dropping to Segunda División B with Numancia in 1996–97, he helped the club win promotion through the play-offs, and he often points to his time in Spain as a key influence on his life and career. Returning to England in 1997, Jones signed for Southend United, where he spent three seasons, including a loan at Scarborough in 1998–99. That loan ended in relegation, sealed by Jimmy Glass’s famous goal for Carlisle United.

He then moved to Brighton & Hove Albion, racking up over 150 appearances across five seasons and earning three promotions. Joining Yeovil Town in 2005, he became a first-team regular and captained the side at Wembley in the 2007 League One play-off final, which ended in a 2–0 loss to Blackpool. He began his FA Level Three Coaching Badge in summer 2008 and had already taken on the role of first-team coach for Yeovil Town Ladies in November 2007. On 18 February 2009, he was named player-assistant manager at Yeovil, working under player-manager Terry Skiverton.

After Skiverton was replaced by Gary Johnson, Jones was shifted back to first-team coach. He left Yeovil by mutual consent on 1 June 2012, having played 211 matches over seven years.

Coaching career

On 27 June 2012, Jones joined Championship club Charlton Athletic as their under-21 professional development coach. On 19 July 2013, he joined Brighton & Hove Albion as assistant head coach under Óscar García. After García's departure and the appointment of Sami Hyypiä, Jones became first-team coach. Following Hyypiä's resignation on 22 December 2014, Jones served as caretaker manager.

On 6 January 2016, he left Brighton to become manager of League Two club Luton Town on a two-and-a-half-year contract, winning 11 of 21 matches in the remainder of 2015–16 and guiding the club to an 11th-place finish. Ahead of 2016–17, he released 12 players and signed eight new ones; Luton spent only one week outside the top seven and reached the EFL Trophy semi-final. He signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract on 20 March 2017. Luton finished fourth in 2016–17 but lost 6–5 on aggregate to Blackpool in the play-off semi-final.

Personal life

Jones speaks both English and Spanish and is open about his Christianity, often mentioning his faith in press conferences and adding "God willing" when discussing his tactics. He credits his beliefs for helping him through tough periods. His body features several religious tattoos: praying hands and a crucifixion scene on his left arm, Jesus Christ on his right biceps, and Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam across his back.