Richard Ashcroft and then attended Winstanley College, where he met Nick McCabe. His teachers referred to him as "the cancer of the class", though one member of staff recalled him being "incredibly intelligent". Ashcroft was an avid football player, playing junior football for Wigan Athletic. For some time Ashcroft wanted to be a professional football player, idolising George Best, but as he grew older he lost interest in this, turning to music instead. Ashcroft formed The Verve (originally just Verve) in 1990 with McCabe, Jones, and Salisbury. The band signed to Hut Records and became well known for their appetite for both
Lee Ashcroft Jewell's stewardship, though Ashcroft did not feature in any league games at the JJB Stadium. He instead joined Port Vale on loan in October 2002. After four appearances for Brian Horton's "Valiants", he moved on to Huddersfield Town in December of the same year, again on loan. Huddersfield were so short of funds at the time that the loan could only go through when a wealthy supporter agreed to pay Ashcroft's wages. He appeared four times in the Second Division under Mick Wadsworth, before returning to Wigan, where he was released in February 2003. Later in the month he moved