Ashley Ward (born 24 November 1970) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre forward.

Having come through the Manchester City academy, he notably played in the Premier League for Norwich City, Derby County, Barnsley, Blackburn Rovers and Bradford City, as well as in the Football League with Wrexham, Leicester City, Crewe Alexandra and Sheffield United.

Early life

Ward was born in Middleton, Lancashire<!--Middleton was in Lancashire at the time; now it is in Greater Manchester-->, the son of a coal mining engineer. He attended William Hulme's Grammar School, which opted for rugby and lacrosse as the school sports over football.

Football career

Ward had a spell with Manchester United in the 1986–87 season, making 16 appearances for the club's Junior B team. He then played for Cheadle Town Youth, and chose to become an apprentice at Manchester City above an offer from Blackburn Rovers. and scored his first Crewe goal in a 1–1 draw against Rochdale on 12 March 1993,

Ward contributed to Derby's 1996-97 Premier League campaign, scoring a late winner against Chelsea. One of his other goals came as Derby beat Manchester United 3–2 at Old Trafford. Barnsley signed Ward from Derby County in September 1997, shortly after their promotion to the Premier League. Throughout their debut season in the Premier League he scored some important goals, including the only goals in 1–0 victories against Liverpool and Aston Villa at Anfield and Villa Park, respectively.

In November 1998, whilst still playing for Barnsley in a match at Sunderland, Ward scored, missed a penalty and got sent off in the space of five minutes, with all incidents also involving Sunderland defender Darren Williams.

After spells at Blackburn Rovers, Bradford City and Sheffield United, Ward retired in the summer of 2005.

Personal life

Ward and his wife Dawn, who is known for appearing on The Real Housewives of Cheshire, run a number of businesses together, including, a commercial property business, operating Abafields, a nursing home in Bolton bought for development but now operating under a manager. He also manages a £15million luxury property development company Bilton Ward Developments. Formed in 2002 the company specialises in the building and renovation of luxury homes, however this has now gone into liquidation, mainly for footballers including Kevin Campbell and Wayne Rooney. Interior design is often done by former Changing Rooms designer Laura McCree.

In March 2011, Ward was linked with a possible move to buy Wrexham.

References

  • Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk
  • Bilton Ward Developments