| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jonathan Alan Spencer Worthington | ||
| Date of birth | (1983-04-16)16 April 1983 (age 41) | ||
| Place of birth | Dewsbury, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Huddersfield Town (interim manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–2002 | Huddersfield Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2009 | Huddersfield Town | 213 | (12) |
| 2009 | →Yeovil Town (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2009–2011 | Oldham Athletic | 16 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | →Fleetwood Town (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2011 | →Bradford City (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2011 | Bradford City | 15 | (0) |
| 2011 | Mansfield Town | 17 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | FC Halifax Town | 35 | (7) |
| Total | 309 | (19) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2024 | Huddersfield Town (caretaker) | ||
| 2025– | Huddersfield Town (interim) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Jonathan Alan Spencer Worthington (born 16 April 1983) is an English professionalfootball coach and formerplayer who is currently interim manager ofEFL League One clubHuddersfield Town.
Worthington previously played in theFootball League for Huddersfield Town,Yeovil Town,Oldham Athletic andBradford City and in theConference forFleetwood Town,Mansfield Town andFC Halifax Town. After retiring, Worthington worked as aphysiotherapist at Halifax Town, before rejoining Huddersfield. Initially a physio in the club's academy, he subsequently became a youth team coach for the club.
Born in nearbyDewsbury,[1] Worthington began playing forHuddersfield Town at the age of nine, eventually moving through the club's youth academy and into the first team. He primarily plays as a hard tackling centralmidfielder. Many Terriers fans regarded Worthington as being the main lynchpin of the Town midfield. Other midfielders have attempted to fill that role such asMichael Collins,Andy Holdsworth,Adnan Ahmed,Mark Hudson and loan signingRonnie Wallwork, but fans felt that the Town midfield four was incomplete without Worthington in the middle.
He was madecaptain in 2004 after previous captainEfe Sodje was stripped of the captaincy after beingsent off in aFootball League Trophy match againstBlackpool which Town lost 6–3 in extra time. He was given the captaincy overNathan Clarke who was named vice-captain.
Worthington picked up 16 yellow cards in the2005–06 season. Another other low point was that through injury he missed Huddersfield Town's high-profileFA Cup tie againstChelsea atStamford Bridge in 2008.
FollowingAndy Ritchie's departure as manager of the Terriers in 2008, Worthington was relieved of his captaincy duties by caretaker managerGerry Murphy, so he could focus on his playing duties. The captaincy was taken up byRob Page.
After being out of new managerLee Clark's plans, Worthington moved on loan toYeovil Town on 30 January 2009. He made his debut the following day in the 1–0 win overLeyton Orient atBrisbane Road. His loan was extended by another month on 3 March, following impressive displays under new player-managerTerry Skiverton. He was recalled on 26 March. However, it was revealed on 17 April, that manager Lee Clark did not see Worthington in his future plans and said he was not going to offer him a new contract.
On 26 May 2009, he joinedOldham Athletic, becomingDave Penney's second new signing afterRob Purdie.
In July 2010 he was transfer-listed by the club, along with five other first team players.[2] He joinedFleetwood Town on loan on 18 November 2010 returning on 2 January 2011.[3] On 25 January 2011, he joinedBradford City on a one-month emergency loan deal.[4] He was recalled by Oldham after one match and released by the club on 27 January 2011 allowing him to seek another club before the closure of the winter transfer window..[5] He then signed for Bradford on a permanent basis, signing a four-month contract.[6]
In June 2011, it was announced that Worthington had joinedConference Premier sideMansfield Town on a one-year deal[7]
In July 2012, he joinedFC Halifax Town on a one-year deal.[8] Worthington was played in a more attacking role at Halifax than he had been used to previously in his career, but he had great success including two goals againstAbbey Hey in the FA Cup in a 6–0 victory. Worthington also bagged a goal from the edge of the box on Boxing Day 2012 againstGainsborough Trinity. In January 2013, Worthington suffered an injury againstSolihull Moors after going in for a challenge which won The Shaymen a penalty. He made his return against Droylsden in February and scored a goal in the 6–0 victory over The Bloods.
In the summer of 2014, Worthington was appointed as player-physiotherapist atFC Halifax Town.[9]
After retiring from playing at the end of the 2014–15 season, Worthington returned toHuddersfield Town as academy physio.[10] Having spent four years as a physio in the Huddersfield academy, in June 2019 Worthington was appointed the club's new under-17 coach.[11] The following year, Worthington was promoted to under-19 coach.[12] In January 2021, he took on the additional role of B Team coach.[13]
On 9 March 2025, Worthington was appointed interim head coach for the remainder of the season following the sacking ofMichael Duff.[14]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Huddersfield Town | 2002–03[15] | Second Division | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| 2003–04[16] | Third Division | 39 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 46 | 3 | |
| 2004–05[17] | League One | 39 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 42 | 3 | |
| 2005–06[18] | League One | 41 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[c] | 1 | 47 | 5 | |
| 2006–07[19] | League One | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 30 | 2 | |
| 2007–08[20] | League One | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | |
| 2008–09[20] | League One | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1[b] | 0 | 22 | 1 | |
| Total | 213 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 237 | 14 | ||
| Yeovil Town (loan) | 2008–09[20] | League One | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Oldham Athletic | 2009–10[21] | League One | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 2010–11[22] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| Fleetwood Town (loan) | 2010–11[1] | Conference Premier | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Bradford City | 2010–11[22][d] | League Two | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| Mansfield Town | 2011–12[1] | Conference Premier | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| FC Halifax Town | 2012–13[1] | Conference North | 25 | 6 | 5 | 3 | — | 4[e] | 0 | 34 | 9 | |
| 2013–14[1] | Conference Premier | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[f] | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||
| 2014–15[1] | Conference Premier | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[g] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 35 | 7 | 6 | 3 | — | 6 | 0 | 48 | 10 | |||
| Career total | 309 | 19 | 13 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 346 | 24 | ||
Worthington studied at theUniversity of Salford for a degree in Physiotherapy, graduating in 2015.[23]
