Statement from York City Football Club - Jones leaves City

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JONES LEAVES CITY

York City defender Scott Jones has left the club due to family reasons. The 28 year old’s contract with City has been terminated by mutual consent, with immediate effect today.

City boss Chris Brass said, “We are disappointed to lose Scott as he is a valuable member of the squad.

“Unfortunately due to family reasons he has had to leave the club and we wish him well for the future.”

Sheffield born Jones joined the club on loan from Bristol City towards the end of the 2001/02 season and went on sign a permanent contract for the Minstermen in the summer of 2002. During this time, he has made 27 appearances for the club.

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Scott Jones joined City on a month's loan from Bristol Rovers just prior to the transfer deadline in March 2002. Famed for scoring two goals for Barnsley against Manchester United in an FA Cup third round tie just four-years earlier, Jones jumped at the chance of a return to his native Yorkshire after an unsettled spell at the Memorial Ground.

The Sheffield-born defender was signed to bring balance to the City backline, in the absence of left-sided cover following an injury to Gary Hobson.

Jones made his debut as a late substitute in a 2-0 home win over Lincoln City replacing Michael Proctor in the 77th minute. Four days later he made his first start for the Minstermen, lining-up alongside Chris Brass and Matt Hocking in the centre of defence as City went down to a 2-1 defeat at Macclesfield.

With Jones in harness, the Minstermen then embarked on a five-game unbeaten run, conceding just one goal in the process before losing to an injury time strike at Scunthorpe (0-1) on the final day of the campaign, a game marking the last game of Scott's loan spell.

Then City boss Terry Dolan announced his intentions to make the deal a permanent one, although completing the deal proved a protracted affair. City signed left-sided Tom Cowan from Cambridge which looked to have ended their interest in Jones, particularly with new Rovers' boss Ray Graydon's initial reluctance to part with the player. Ultimately, however, the two clubs were able to come to an agreement and the former-Barnsley man arrived at Bootham Crescent to put pen-to-paper on a two-year deal just days prior to the start of the campaign.

Jones started his first game as a City player on the opening day of the season at Macclesfield and went on to complete the next two fixtures before a spell out of the side with a virus. When he returned, he struggled to regain his place in the side, with Cowan and then Hobson preferred to him in the left-sided centre-back position.

Jones' spell in the side in the latter part of January, at the height of City's off-field troubles, coincided with an upturn in fortunes for the Minstermen - at least on the playing side - with the team going seven games unbeaten. After a 1-1 draw at promotion rivals Wrexham, City lay 3rd in the table behind runaway leaders Hartlepool and Rushden. However, following that game and on the morning of a fixture against Southend, Jones was ruled out of contention after his car was struck by a lorry. His place went to Gary Hobson, who retained the position in the final run-in as City faltered.

That Wrexham game was to prove Jones' final competitive appearance in a City shirt. He remained on the bench in the final five games of the season.

When the players returned for pre-season, the 28-year-old stopper's name was a notable omission from the team for friendly matches against Sunderland and Leeds. While fans were told this was because of a virus, it probably had more to do with the family reasons which were later cited as the reason behind Jones' departure. He did come off the bench in the pre-season games against Livingston and Pickering, and played the full 90 minutes in the reserves first game against Scunthorpe. However, he wasn't part of Brass' squad for any of the first-team fixtures, primarily due to a lack of match fitness.

Yesterday's news of his release will come as something of a surprise to the majority of supporters. Whilst not having played enough consecutive games to establish himself as a favourite with fans, his performances were always dependable. Whilst fitness was a problem for Jones, there were many occasions when Hobson was Dolan's preferred choice for the third defensive berth, much to the bewilderment of fans for whom Scott would have been an infinitely better choice.

In all, he started 27 games for City in league and cup, making two substitute appearances. His only goal in a York shirt came in the 1-0 win at Swansea in only the fourth game of his loan spell, when he headed a late winner from a Bullock corner.

Whatever the nature of the seemingly sensitive reasons behind Scott's departure, we wish him and his family well for the future, and hope that we'll see him back playing professional football in the not too distant future.

Related links:
Scott Jones Player Profile
Scott Jones Statistics