Ashley Ward facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ashley Stuart Ward | ||
| Date of birth | 24 November 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Middleton, Lancashire, England | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Cheadle Town | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1989–1991 | Manchester City | 1 | (0) |
| 1991 | → Wrexham (loan) | 4 | (2) |
| 1991–1992 | Leicester City | 10 | (0) |
| 1992 | → Blackpool (loan) | 2 | (1) |
| 1992–1994 | Crewe Alexandra | 61 | (25) |
| 1994–1996 | Norwich City | 53 | (18) |
| 1996–1997 | Derby County | 40 | (9) |
| 1997–1998 | Barnsley | 46 | (20) |
| 1998–2000 | Blackburn Rovers | 54 | (13) |
| 2000–2003 | Bradford City | 84 | (17) |
| 2003–2005 | Sheffield United | 33 | (5) |
| Total | 388 | (110) | |
|
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Ashley Ward (born 24 November 1970) is an English former professional footballer. He played as a centre forward.
Ashley played for many teams during his career. These included Norwich City, Derby County, Barnsley, Blackburn Rovers, and Bradford City in the top division, the Premier League. He also played in the Football League for clubs like Wrexham and Sheffield United.
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Ashley Ward was born in Middleton, Lancashire. His father was a coal mining engineer. Ashley went to William Hulme's Grammar School. Interestingly, this school focused on rugby and lacrosse instead of football.
Ashley had a short time with Manchester United in 1986–87. He played 16 games for their Junior B team. Later, he joined Cheadle Town Youth. He then chose to become a trainee at Manchester City. He picked them over an offer from Blackburn Rovers.
Football Career Highlights
Ashley played for Leicester City before moving to Crewe Alexandra. This is where he really started to make a name for himself.
Making a Mark at Crewe
Ashley joined Crewe Alexandra in 1992. He made his first appearance for Crewe in an EFL Trophy match. He scored his first goal for them in March 1993. He added five more goals that season.
The next season, even with injuries, he scored 13 goals in 24 games. One of his goals helped Crewe get promoted from the third tier. In the 1994–1995 season, he scored three goals in the first five games. He then scored in six games in a row for Crewe. This included two games where he scored three goals, known as hat-tricks.
Premier League Adventures
In December 1994, Ashley was signed by Norwich City for £350,000. He had a great start, scoring two goals in his first game against Chelsea. He scored three goals in his first two games. He finished that season with eight goals. He then scored 10 more league goals before moving to Derby County in March 1996.
Ashley helped Derby in their 1996-97 Premier League season. He scored a late winning goal against Chelsea. Another memorable goal came when Derby beat Manchester United 3–2 at Old Trafford.
In September 1997, Barnsley signed Ashley from Derby County. This was soon after Barnsley had been promoted to the Premier League. During Barnsley's first season in the Premier League, he scored some very important goals. These included the only goals in 1–0 wins against Liverpool and Aston Villa.
In November 1998, while playing for Barnsley against Sunderland, Ashley had a very eventful five minutes. He scored a goal, missed a penalty, and then was sent off. All these events involved the same Sunderland player.
After playing for Blackburn Rovers, Bradford City, and Sheffield United, Ashley Ward retired from football in 2005.
Life After Football
After retiring from football, Ashley Ward started several businesses. He runs them with his wife, Dawn. She is known for being on the TV show The Real Housewives of Cheshire.
They have a business that deals with commercial properties. They also manage a nursing home. Ashley also managed a company that built and renovated luxury homes. This company worked on homes for footballers like Kevin Campbell and Wayne Rooney.
In March 2011, there were reports that Ashley Ward might be interested in buying Wrexham.
Awards and Achievements
Individual
- Barnsley Player of the Year: 1997–98
