Rhodri Jones (born 19 January 1982 in Cardiff) is a Welsh former footballer, author and television director. He played as a centre-back and central midfielder and was part of the youth system at Manchester United before joining Rotherham United. After retiring from the professional game through injury, he played in the Welsh Premier League with Cwmbran Town and Carmarthen Town, captaining Carmarthen in the UEFA Cup qualifying rounds. He later became a television director and author.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | January 19, 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Cardiff, Wales | ||
| Positions | |||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2001 | Manchester United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2002 | Rotherham United | 0 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | Cwmbran Town | 34 | (5) |
| 2004–2006 | Carmarthen Town | 44 | (5) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Early life
editJones was educated at the Welsh language schools of Ysgol y Wern and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf.[citation needed]
Football career
editJones joined Manchester United's youth system at the age of 16 in July 1998. He did not make a first-team appearance but did play for the club's reserve side.[1] Upon his release in 2001, he moved to Rotherham United.[2] Jones also represented Wales at youth level, making five appearances for the Wales under-18 team during the 1999–2001 UEFA youth qualifying campaigns, including a match against Italy at Penydarren Park in 1999.[3][4]. A knee injury forced his retirement from professional football in 2002, but he returned to the game in 2003 while studying at Cardiff University,[5] in the Welsh Premier League, firstly with Cwmbran Town,[6][7] and from 2004, Carmarthen Town, appearing for Cwmbran in the 2003 Welsh Cup final[8] and Carmarthen Town in the 2005 Welsh Cup final defeat.[9] He also skippered Carmarthen in the 2005 UEFA Cup Qualifying Rounds.[10][11][12][13] He retired again due to injury, in 2006.[14] He briefly resumed his career with Carmarthen Town in 2008[15] before finally retiring in the summer of 2008.
Post-football career
editFollowing his retirement from football, Jones published a Welsh-language autobiographical book Meddwl am Man U.[16] Jones has also worked as a Welsh-language television director, and his credits include Hafiach (2025), Parch (2015) and Pobl y Cwm.
Career statistics
edit| Club | Season | League | Domestic cups | Europe | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rotherham United | 2001–02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cwmbran Town | 2002–03 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Cwmbran Town | 2003–04 | 28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 5 |
| Carmarthen Town | 2004–05 | 23 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 3 |
| Carmarthen Town | 2005–06 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 5 |
| Career total | 78 | 10 | 19 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 104 | 13 | |
References
edit- ↑ "redStat - Manchester United Statistics". www.redstat.co.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ↑ "Flown From the Nest = Rhodri Jones". ex-canaries.co.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ↑ "Rhodri Gwyn Jones". 11v11.com. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ↑ "Wales youth side beaten by Italy". South Wales Echo. 25 September 1999. p. 71.
- ↑ Bagnall, Steve (6 December 2004). "Soccer star airlifted to hospital after fit". North Wales Live. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ↑ "Lopez lays Cwmbran low". BBC Sport. 14 August 2003. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ↑ Live, North Wales (9 February 2004). "Caernarfon Town 1, Cwmbran Town 2". North Wales Live. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ↑ "Barry clinch triple double". BBC Sport. 11 May 2003. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ↑ "WELSH CUP FINAL 2004/05". www.welshsoccerarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ↑ "Gary Lloyd and Mark Jones relive Carmarthen Town's heroic comeback against Longford - Y Clwb Pêl-droed". 28 July 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ↑ "Carmarthen 5-1 Longford". 28 July 2005. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ↑ UEFA.com. "History: Carmarthen 0-2 Copenhagen | UEFA Europa League 2005/06". UEFA.com. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ↑ "Carmarthen 0-2 FC Copenhagen". BBC Sport. 25 August 2005. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ↑ "Carmarthen skipper forced to quit". 23 July 2006. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ↑ "Jones hopeful of Old Gold return". BBC Sport. 2 January 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ↑ Jones, Rhodri. "Meddwl am Man U" [Thinking about Man U (Manchester United)]. www.ylolfa.com (in Welsh). Talybont: Y Lolfa. ISBN 9781800990388. OCLC 1231548490. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2026.