Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

John Hartson (born 5 April 1975 in Swansea, Wales)
is a professional football (soccer)|footballer,
currently signed to Celtic F.C.|Glasgow Celtic. As
of 2004, he has made 44 appearances for Wales
national football team|Wales in international
football.  He is a barnstorming centre forward of
the old school.

He was raised in Trallwn, near the Llansamlet area
of Swansea, son of Cyril Hartson, who played for
Llanelli F.C. during the 1970s.  He is bilingual,
a speaker of the Welsh language, having attended
Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr (at the time, and until 2003, the
only Welsh-medium school in the area).  His career
began in 1992 as a trainee at Luton Town F.C., and
he has since played for Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal, West
Ham United, Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon and Coventry
City before a pound sterling|£6million transfer
to Celtic allowed him to develop his full
potential, becoming one of the most feared
strikers in British football today.

In March 2004, he dropped out for the remainder of
the football season for surgery to his back;
however, he is now back in action in time for the
qualifying campaign for the Football World Cup
2006|2006 World Cup, to be held in Germany.

In April 2005 he shared the Scottish PFA Players'
Player of the Year award with Fernando Ricksen and
a short time later in May he was voted the
Scottish Football Writers' Association player of
the year. 

He currently lives in Glasgow, with wife Lowri
(also from Swansea) and two children.  He is
regularly sighted returning to his roots in
Swansea, occasionally taking a break to the Gower
in Summer.

start box
succession box|title=Scottish PFA Players' Player
of the Year|before=Chris Sutton |after=Not yet
announced|years=2005
succession box|title=Scottish Football Writers'
Association|Scottish Football Writers' Association
Player of the Year|before=Jackie McNamara
|after=Not yet announced|years=2005
end box