Billy Ions

English footballer

Billy Ions

Personal information
Full name|  William Greenwell Ions
Date of birth|  (1994-03-11) 11 March 1994 (age 31)
Place of birth|  Ashington, England
Height|  1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s)|  Forward
Youth career
2009–2010|  Tenerife
2010–2012|  Newcastle United
2012−2013|  Leeds United[2]
Senior career*
Years|  Team|  Apps|  (Gls)
2013|  PS Kemi|  22|  (9)
2013|  West Auckland Town|  1|  (0)
2013–2014|  Newcastle Benfield|  4|  (0)
2014–2016|  PS Kemi|  89|  (46)
2016|  → SJK (loan)|  10|  (5)
2017–2020|  SJK|  64|  (14)
2020|  SJK Akatemia|  3|  (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Greenwell Ions (born 11 March 1994) is an English[3] former professional footballer who played as a forward.[4][5][6] He played youth football with CD Tenerife, Newcastle United, and Leeds United. After being released by Leeds United, Ions joined the Nike Academy. He started his professional career with PS Kemi.[7]

## Early life

[edit]

Ions, born in Ashington, Northumberland, moved to the Canary Islands in Spain with his family at a young age. While in Spain, he idolised England national team star Wayne Rooney and Spanish forward Fernando Torres to whom he compared himself to.[8][9]

## Career

[edit]

### Early career

[edit]

Ions first started playing football in the youth team of the local village of Valle de San Lorenzo in Tenerife, named "Constanza". Years later he started to play in the football school of Juan Miguel.

### Tenerife

[edit]

At the age of 15, Ions joined the youth setup at CD Tenerife.[10]

### Newcastle United

[edit]

In February 2010, he returned to England to join Newcastle United, the club he supported as a child. He made his Under-18's debut in a home match against Nottingham Forest.

### Leeds United

[edit]

Ions left on a free transfer to Leeds United in September 2012. While at Leeds, he played for the under-18 side.[2] He started in a match against Sunderland and scored a goal.

### Nike Academy

[edit]

Without a club, Ions joined the Nike Academy. During his time there he was mostly injured. While at the Nike Academy, he played in a friendly match against PS Kemi Kings whose attention he attracted after a good performance.[11]

### Palloseura Kemi Kings

[edit]

Ions joined PS Kemi Kings after his impressive performance against them in a friendly match with the Nike Academy. His manager after signing was fellow Englishman and former West Ham United defender Tommy Taylor. For most of his time at the club he has played on the left wing.[12] In his second season at the club Ions helped PS Kemi reach promotion for the first time since 2011. In the 2015 season he had another successful year, gaining back to back to promotions with the club reaching the top division. Ions was voted best player of the league by other players at the end of the season.[13]

### Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho

[edit]

On 11 August 2016, Ions agreed to move on loan to SJK for the remainder of the 2016, commencing on 21 August 2016. SJK also announced that Ions had agreed to join the club permanently upon the completion of the loan deal, for two-seasons.[14]

## Career statistics

[edit]

As of match played 28 October 2017[15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition  Club  | Season  | League  | National cup  | League cup  | Continental  | Other  | Total

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals
PS Kemi | 2013 | Kakkonen | 24 | 9 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 22 | 9
2014 | 28 | 13 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 28 | 13
2015 | Ykkönen | 27 | 17 | 4 | 4 | – | – | – | 31 | 21
2016 | Veikkausliiga | 21 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | – | – | 28 | 12
Total  | 100 | 47 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 113 | 55
SJK (loan)  | 2016 | Veikkausliiga  | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 5
SJK  | 2017 | Veikkausliiga  | 29 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 39 | 14
Career total  | 139 | 64 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162 | 74

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Newcastle United - Teams - Profiles - Academy - Academy Player Profile - Billy Ions". nufc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
2. ^ a b "News". leedsunited.com. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
3. ^ "pelaaja". Keminwww.kemi.fi. 3 November 1994. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
4. ^ "Billy Ions - Chronicle Live article".
5. ^ "A LESSON FROM LAPLAND -BILLY IONS AND KEMI KINGS". inbedwithmaradona.com.
6. ^ "Billy Ions avautuu nyt veljensä traagisesta kuolemasta: "En toivoisi kenellekään"". is.fi.
7. ^ Exclusive interview with Kemi Kings' Billy Ions englishplayersabroad.com
8. ^ "Billy's Boot - Football - Tenerife - ISLANDCONNECTIONS.EU". islandconnections.eu. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
9. ^ "Billy Ions, un delantero prometedor, en las filas de la Escuela Juan Miguel". Eldia.es. 11 August 2004. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
10. ^ "2014 Review: #6 Billy Ions". English football players abroad. 11 January 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
11. ^ "Billy Ions". wordpress.com. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
12. ^ "Ykköseen noussut seura kartoittaa pelaajia – pari ex-liigapeluria neuvotteluissa". SuomiFutis. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
13. ^ "Pelaajat valitsivat vuoden parhaat kollegansa" (in Finnish). Finnish Football Players' Association. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
14. ^ "Billy Ions siirtyy PS Kemistä SJK-paitaan" (in Finnish). SJK. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
15. ^ "B.Ions". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 August 2016.

*[Apps]: League appearances
*[Gls]: League goals