Jon Ashton

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 Championship club Ipswich Town.

A product of Leicester City's youth academy, Ashton made seven Premier League appearances for the club during the 2001–02 season.

During his time at Leicester, he was loaned out to Notts County and Oxford United to gain first-team experience.

He signed his first professional contract with Leicester in January 2001, and made his first-team debut in the Premier League in March 2002, playing the full match in a 2–0 defeat to Leeds United at Filbert Street.

Ashton went on to play a further six matches towards the latter stages of the 2001–02 season.

The club were relegated to the First Division that season and Ashton signed a new three-year contract on 31 May 2002.

He started in the club's first match of the 2002–03 campaign, a 6–1 defeat against Ipswich Town at Portman Road.

Ashton only played one further match for Leicester, before being loaned out to Notts County on a one-month loan agreement on 8 November 2002.

A day after completing the loan move, he made his Notts County debut in a 2–2 draw against Mansfield Town, and played a further three games during his time there.

He joined Oxford on a permanent basis in September 2003 and played 103 matches for the club over three league seasons, before being released in May 2006.

On his return to Leicester, Ashton made one further appearance for the club, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute in the team's 1–1 draw with Norwich City on 27 April 2003.

At the end of the season, Leicester made Ashton available for transfer.

Ashton joined Third Division club Oxford United on an initial one-month loan deal ahead of the start of the 2003–04 season, making his debut on the opening day of the season in a 1–0 victory against Lincoln City at Sincil Bank.

After making seven appearances in all competitions during the first month of the season, with Oxford remaining unbeaten during that period, his move to the club was made permanent on 8 September 2003.

He played regularly during the season, making 38 appearances, as Oxford finished the season in ninth position in Division Three.

He continued to play regularly for Oxford throughout the 2004–05 season, making 31 appearances in all competitions, with Oxford finishing the season in a mid-table position.

During the season, Ashton received the first red card of his career when he was sent-off after receiving two yellow cards in Oxford's 4–0 defeat to Southend United on 6 November 2004.

Ashton signed for Rushden & Diamonds ahead of the 2006–07 season, spending one season there before joining Essex club Grays Athletic on a free transfer in May 2007.

He spent one-and-a-half years with Grays, during which he earned four caps for the England C team.

Under the new management of Brian Talbot, Ashton played 34 games during the club's 2005–06 season, scoring his first goal for Oxford, and the first of his professional career, in a 1–1 draw with Rochdale on 4 February 2006.

After being openly criticised by Talbot following a 2–1 defeat at Stockport County, Ashton made just one further appearance that season.

In May 2006, he was released by new manager Jim Smith.

A month after being released by Oxford, he signed for Conference National club Rushden & Diamonds, and made his debut on the opening day of the 2006–07 season in a 1–0 defeat to Crawley Town.

He was a regular in central defence for Rushden throughout the season, and he scored his first goal in the club's 4–1 away victory against Tamworth on 12 September 2006.

The goal was scored from the penalty spot late on in the second half to secure a comfortable victory.

Despite playing regularly during his time there, Ashton was transfer-listed by new Rushden manager Garry Hill in April 2007, and was later told he was free to find a new club.

He played 42 games for Rushden during his only season with the club, scoring twice.

A month later, he joined fellow Conference Premier club Grays Athletic on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract.

Ashton made his Grays debut in a 0–0 draw away to recently relegated Torquay United on 12 August 2007, playing the whole match.

Two weeks later, he scored his first goal for Grays in a 1–0 win against Altrincham, heading in Charley Hearn's left-wing cross to give Grays the lead in the second-half.

He made 47 appearances in all competitions during a season in which Grays finished tenth in the Conference Premier standings.

Ashton signed for fellow Conference Premier club Stevenage Borough for an undisclosed fee in January 2009.

He made 234 appearances during his six years at Stevenage, helping the club earn back-to-back promotions from the Conference Premier to League One.

Ashton left Stevenage in the summer of 2015 and joined Crawley Town of League Two.

He then signed for National League club Braintree Town in July 2016, before returning to Grays Athletic on loan.

Having initially joined Grays permanently ahead of the 2017–18 season, Ashton was offered a player-assistant manager contract at hometown club Nuneaton Town, which he signed in August 2017.

The season proved to be Ashton's final season playing; as he returned to Stevenage as a fitness coach, before joining Ipswich Town performing the same role in May 2021.

He was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, and grew up in Whitestone, attending St Thomas More Catholic School.

Ashton started his career at Leicester City as part of the club's youth academy.