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Jonathan James Ashton (born 4 October 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is a first-team fitness coach at EFL Championship club Ipswich Town.
A graduate of Leicester City's youth system, Ashton made seven Premier League appearances during the 2001–02 season and had loan spells at Notts County and Oxford United, joining Oxford permanently in September 2003. He made 103 appearances for the club before moving to Rushden & Diamonds and subsequently Grays Athletic in May 2007, where he also won four caps for the England C team.
He signed for Stevenage Borough in January 2009 and made 234 appearances across six years, helping the club achieve successive promotions from the Conference Premier to League One. After leaving Stevenage in 2015, Ashton had spells with Crawley Town, Braintree Town and his hometown club Nuneaton Town, where he ended his playing career in 2018. Following his retirement, he moved into fitness coaching, initially with Stevenage before joining Ipswich Town in May 2021.
He continued to feature consistently during the 2004–05 season, playing 31 matches in all competitions, and was sent off for the first time in his career in a 4–0 defeat to Southend United on 6 November 2004. 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.
He played his first match of the 2010–11 season in Stevenage's first-ever victory in the Football League, a 3–1 win over Stockport County on 21 August 2010. 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, as Stevenage earned promotion to League One in their debut Football League season. 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, scoring once, as Stevenage finished sixth and were beaten in the League One play-off semi-finals. Only league champions Charlton Athletic conceded fewer goals that season.
Ashton remained at Stevenage for the 2012–13 season, with the club stating that they had rejected several transfer bids for him and fellow centre-back Mark Roberts from Doncaster Rovers. 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. Although he returned to first-team training in January 2013, he ruptured the Achilles in a training session, ruling him out for the remainder 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.
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-coach 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.
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.
Individual
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.
Coaching career
Following his retirement, Ashton returned to Stevenage as first-team fitness coach in June 2018, reuniting with manager Dino Maamria, who had been his assistant manager during his playing career at Stevenage. The two had also previously worked together at Nuneaton Town, where Maamria was manager and Ashton served as assistant manager. He remained at Stevenage for three seasons before joining Ipswich Town as first-team fitness coach in May 2021.
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.
Personal life
Ashton was arrested alongside Danny Foster in May 2008, facing three counts of vandalism after the pair removed a number of advertising banners in Aviemore.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition Leicester City 2000–01 Premier League 0 2001–02 Premier League 0 2002–03 First Division 0 2003–04 Premier League 0 Notts County (loan) 2002–03 Second Division 0 Oxford United 2003–04 Third Division 0 2004–05 League Two 0 2005–06 League Two 1 Rushden & Diamonds 2006–07 Conference National 2 Grays Athletic 2007–08 (2025). 9781869833596, Tony Williams Publications. ISBN 9781869833596Conference Premier 2 2008–09 (2025). 9781869833664, Tony Williams Publications. ISBN 9781869833664Conference Premier 0 Stevenage 2008–09 Conference Premier 0 2009–10 (2025). 9781869833688, Tony Williams Publications. ISBN 9781869833688Conference Premier 3 2010–11 League Two 1 2011–12 League One 1 2012–13 League One 0 2013–14 League One 0 2014–15 League Two 0 Crawley Town 2015–16 League Two 0 Braintree Town 2016–17 National League 0 Grays Athletic (loan) 2016–17 Isthmian League 0 Nuneaton Town 2017–18 National League North 0
Honours
Stevenage
External links
Categories: 1982 Births, Living People, Footballers From Nuneaton, English Men's Footballers, England Men's Semi-pro International Footballers, Men's Association Football Defenders, Leicester City F.c. Players, Notts County F.c. Players, Oxford United F.c. Players, Rushden & Diamonds F.c. Players, Grays Athletic F.c. Players, Stevenage F.c. Players, Crawley Town F.c. Players, Braintree Town F.c. Players, Nuneaton Town F.c. Players, Premier League Players, English Football League Players, National League Players, Isthmian League Players, Pilates Instructors, 21st-century English Sportsmen
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