Joey Jones, the much-loved former Liverpool, Wrexham and Wales left-back, has died at the age of 70. News of his passing prompted an outpouring of affection from across the football community, reflecting a career built on heart, humility and a deep bond with supporters.
Born in Llandudno and schooled in the North Wales game, Jones broke through at Wrexham before earning a move to Liverpool, where he made 100 appearances in a trophy-laden three-year spell. With the Reds he lifted two European Cups, a UEFA Cup and a league championship, becoming a cult hero for his relentless commitment.
Jones won 72 caps for Wales and represented his country with the same all-action style that endeared him to club fans. After Liverpool he had spells with Chelsea and Huddersfield Town before returning home to Wrexham to close out his playing days.
His connection with Liverpool folklore is forever tied to the famous banner unveiled at the 1977 European Cup final “Joey ate the frogs’ legs, made the Swiss roll, now he’s munching Gladbach” a cheeky nod to the club’s victories over Saint-Étienne and FC Zürich en route to the showpiece. Jones later said supporters saw him as “one of them,” a grafter who gave everything.
The original banner spent two decades in Jones’s garage before finding a permanent home in the club museum, a memento he said he treasured as much as his winners’ medal because it captured the bond between player and fans.
At Wrexham he helped win the Welsh Cup and reach the FA Cup quarter-finals in 1974, and he later served briefly as caretaker manager. Even serious health setbacks heart surgery in 2002 and a minor stroke in 2015 did not keep him away from the Racecourse Ground for long; he returned in 2021 as youth team ambassador and remained a familiar, encouraging presence.
Tributes flooded in. Former teammate Mickey Thomas called Jones his best friend and sent love to the family. Wrexham AFC hailed a true club legend who had time for everyone. The Football Association of Wales praised an iconic defender whose honest, no-nonsense game embodied the spirit of supporters. Former Liverpool figures Jamie Carragher and John Aldridge, and FAW chief executive Noel Mooney, also paid their respects.
Jones’s legacy lives in silverware, in stories told on terraces, and in the generations of young players he inspired. He will be deeply missed.
