Born in
East Ham, London, Jones was rejected as a youth team player at
Colchester United before impressing the coaches at Queens Park Rangers (QPR). He made his professional debut on 22 April 2006, coming on for the final seven minutes as a substitute for
Steve Lomas in a 1–2 home loss to promotion-chasing
Watford. Eight days later, he made his second appearance of
the season, coming on for
Stefan Bailey in the 68th minute of a defeat by the same score away to the already-crowned winners of the
Football League Championship,
Reading. Jones had his first professional start on 12 August 2006, in a 2–0 win over
Southend United at
Loftus Road. He assisted
Nick Ward's goal in the 41st minute, which gave QPR their first win of the
new season. Brian Glanville of
The Sunday Times opined that Jones and fellow youngster
Dexter Blackstock combined in the forward line "as though they had been playing together for years". Ten days later in the second round of the
Football League Cup at home to
Northampton Town, Jones came on for
Marc Bircham in the 84th minute, and three minutes later headed
Marcus Bignot's cross for his first career goal, winning the match 3–2. On 5 September, Jones made his only international appearance, replacing
Giles Barnes in a goalless friendly draw for
England under-19 against the
Netherlands at the
Bescot Stadium in
Walsall. Eighteen days later, he scored his first league goal, opening a 2–0 home win over
Hull City, the first match of
John Gregory's tenure. Jones followed this the following weekend as QPR came from behind to win 2–1 at
Southampton, scoring the decisive goal after rounding goalkeeper
Kelvin Davis. On 17 November, as a substitute for Blackstock, Jones scored the only goal in a 1–0 away win over high-flying
Cardiff City, connecting with Ward's cross with less than three minutes left of the match. Many
Premier League clubs showed interest in Jones after several solid performances, and Gregory at one point stated that he was resigned to him leaving.{{cite news Colchester made a £200,000 offer for Jones in June 2007, which was rejected, but they made another bid the following day, which was also turned down.{{cite news
Style of play Writing Jones's obituary in
The Guardian, QPR fan Benjie Goodhart remembered him as the club's "own
Wayne Rooney, the prodigy, all precocious talent and burgeoning potential", and attributed him the essential qualities for a forward including strength, speed, intelligence and confidence. He was perceived by the supporters to be the epitome of a new era under manager Gregory and prospective new owner
Flavio Briatore, and could do "things for real that his peers acted out on their games consoles". Goodhart also praised Jones for taking the
London Underground back home from games alongside the supporters. ==Death==