Jonathan Hunt

Jonathan Richard Hunt (born 2 November 1971) is an English former footballer who made more than 200 appearances in the Football League for a variety of clubs and played in the Premier League for Derby County. Football career Born in Camden, London, Hunt was a striker in youth football before converting to midfield, and developed into a skilful right-sided midfielder. He came through the ranks at Barnet, and had loan spells in the Isthmian League with St Albans City, Hendon, Woking and Basingstoke Town. Under Barry Fry's management, he made 33 Football League appearances and won promotion to Division Two in 1992–93, before following Fry first to Southend United, and then to Birmingham City in September 1994 in a part-exchange deal that took Dave Regis, Roger Willis and £100,000 to Southend in return for Hunt and Gary Poole. The most successful time of Hunt's career was spent at Birmingham where he played over a hundred games. His first season was disrupted by injury, but he was still able to contribute to Birmingham becoming Division Two champions, and he played in the final of the 1994–95 Football League Trophy at Wembley, the game won by Paul Tait's golden goal. While at the club he scored 18 league goals, and was leading scorer in the 1995–96 season with 15 goals in all competitions, a performance that earned him the club's Player of the Year award. Hunt moved on to Premier League Derby County for £500,000. Although he did play (and score) in the top flight, he only made seven first-team starts, and his career started to go downhill from there. He made loan moves to Sheffield United and Ipswich Town, both of the First Division, before joining Sheffield United on a permanent basis in a swap deal for Vassilis Borbokis. He played regularly until Neil Warnock took over as manager, and was then made available for transfer. A trial at Norwich City proving unsuccessful, Hunt made yet another loan move, this time to Cambridge United of Division Two. At the end of the 1999–2000 season Sheffield United cut their losses, paid up the remaining two years of his contract and released him.