'I shed tears when LFC signed me'
Thousands of boys dream of playing for Liverpool, and Rob Jones was no different – so when the moment arrived for the defender, he could not hold back the tears.
Still feted as one of the finest full-backs ever to represent the Reds, and England, Jones's career was unfortunately ravaged by injuries and eventually curtailed at the age of 27.
Following the recent release of his autobiography, 'Robbed', the 41-year-old has been reflecting on his spell at Anfield and why the time was right to recount his personal story.
"I never seemed to have much luck," he explained to LFC TV.
"It always seemed to be big injuries, and it was my knee that finished me at 27. They couldn't get it right. I should have been in my prime but it just wasn't meant to be.
"I had such a good time at Liverpool - got the chance to play for the team I supported as a boy, at Anfield, at Wembley, and with my heroes. I loved every minute of it."
Jones developed at the highly rated Crewe academy under Dario Gradi before being spotted by then Reds boss Graeme Souness, who moved quickly to capture his signature.
Recalling the whirlwind experience of switching to Anfield, Jones revealed that the emotion was overwhelming.
"I wanted to be a footballer and Dario gave me an opportunity while I was actually still at school.
"At 16 I got my debut for Crewe, which was a massive step. I played four or five games at the end of that season - Crewe had nothing to play for and wanted to give one of the young lads a go. I did okay.
"You always hope that a team like Liverpool would pick you up, but it's a dream. When you're playing fourth division football at Crewe, you don't think someone like Liverpool is going to be watching you.
"I played a game for Crewe on a Wednesday and we had heard that Graeme Souness was there - but looking at one of the other players.
"Liverpool had injury problems at the time and Graeme obviously saw something in me that he decided he wanted to buy me on the Friday. I knew I'd had a good game and the whole team had.
"I was out on the Thursday night and when I got home, there was a message from Dario to ring him back. He said that Liverpool wanted me to go to Anfield and sign me.
"It was unbelievable, I didn't know what to say. I was sitting on the stairs and having a little cry, because it was such a shock.
"I went straight into training on the Friday. Six months before that I was standing on the Kop watching them and the next minute I was training with them at Melwood. It was an unbelievable experience."
The Welsh-born defender, whose grandfather Bill also played for Liverpool, had little time to dwell on the transfer, though.
Souness proved his faith in the side's new right-back by selecting him to make his debut against Manchester United and Ryan Giggs - just two days after signing for the club.
"I was really nervous before the game but when the whistle blew, I was concentrating on trying to mark Giggs," Jones recalled.
"I got a few good touches early and grew in confidence. I just focused on trying to keep him quiet. In the second half, I got very tired and had to come off with cramp - I think that was just the tension from the few days.
"[That team] played some great football and won the FA Cup. But the years before that Liverpool were winning everything, so just to win the FA Cup probably wasn't good enough.
"The younger lads were coming up then - mixing players like Steve McManaman with John Barnes, Steve Nicol and Ronnie Whelan made a good team. All through my career at Liverpool there was always a good team spirit in the dressing room."
Now running a successful nursery school business alongside his wife, Jones has moved on from football but felt the time was right to tell his unique story.
"I'd been asked quite a few times over the years, but never really fancied it," he replied when quizzed about his autobiography.
"When I was approached this time, I mentioned it to the family and the kids and they said 'go for it'.
"I probably had a bit more of a story to tell now. A lot of people are interested in what you do after football - a lot of footballers go into the media but I took a different path and went into care homes and children's nursery schools.
"I thought I had a good story to finish off with so I decided to give it a go."