Ian Ashbee was born in Birmingham on 6 September 1976 and was a Birmingham City fan as a kid, but it was with Derby that he got his first chance in professional football. He made one senior appearance for the Rams in Roy McFarland's last match in charge at the Old Baseball in the 1994/5 season.
He would make a couple of preseason appearances for the Rams under Jim Smith but would not make another first team appearance for the Midland's club. The following summer, Ashbee was loaned to IR Knattspyrnudeild of Iceland, where he scored three goals in eight games.
In December of 1996 Ashbee made the switch to Cambridge, joining up with Roy McFarland again, as his first signing. Ashbee would go on to 11 goals in 204 appearances for the club. Ashbee was able to play in the midfield holding role and right across the back. It was this versatility that made Ashbee an ever present in the U's 1999 promotion winning team that were runners up in the Football League Division Three.
It was Ashbee's no-nonsense style of play that attracted Hull City's new manager Jan Molby. He signed Ashbee on a free transfer as his third signing with the Tigers in 2002.
However, Ashee's debut for the East Yorkshire club was less than auspicious when he was sent off for a second bookable offence against Southend United at Boothferry Park
Molby made him the team skipper and after Molby was replaced by new manager Peter Taylor, he remained the custodian of the Hull City, Captain's armband.
In Peter Taylor's first game in charge at Torquay United, Ashbee scored a fantastic volleyed goal that was voted "Goal of the Season" by City fans for the 2002/3 season.
The 2003/4 season would prove to be the start of the Tiger's rise through the divisions and Ashbee's first historic promotion as Hull captain. It was fitting that it was his goal away to Yeovil that would be the goal that secured runners up position.
Ashbee would go on to produce another piece of Hull City history when he captained the club to back to back promotion in the following season. The 2004/5 season was were he scored his first goal for the club at home with one of the goals in the 6-1 demolition of Tranmere on the way to winning promotion.
Unfortunately for Ashbee after leading the Tigers to ninth in the Championship in 2005/06 he was diagnosed with a fractured knee.Under further examination, it was discovered that his injury was much worse. He was suffering from a osteochondral defect. The doctors weren't saying that he might not play football again, but that he might not walk again.
He underwent surgery which involved having 14 holes drilled in his knee to promote new bone growth to try to save his career and missed the rest of the 2005/6 season.
Fortunately, for Ashbee and Hull City, the surgery was a success, and after four months of walking with crutches, even more months of rehab, and slow hard work with physical therapists, he managed to recover.
Ashbee returned from injury in the 2006/7 season and despite the departure of Peter Taylor to Crystal Palace, his replacement Phil Parkinson and then Phil Brown both saw that Ashbee retained as the club captain.
Brown stuck with Ashbee as the club captain for the 2007/8 campaign, with fantastic results. The 2007/8 season was the most successful seasons in Hull City's 104 year history culminating in a first trip to Wembley for the club for the Play-off final against Bristol City.
Ashbee had the proud distinction of leading the Tiger's out at Wembley Stadium as the Tiger's beat Bristol City 1-0 and the privilege of leading Hull into the top flight of English football for the first time in the club's history.
Another achievement for Ashbee in winning promotion to the Premiership along with three others was winning promotion through all four professional tiers of English football. Ashbee also had the singular distinction of captaining the same club through all four professional English divisions.
During the 2008/9 season with his goal against Blackburn, Ashbee marked another remarkable high point by been one of a very small handful of players to have scored for the same club in all four divisions. He was awarded the Piers Morgan on Sport, Sport's Personality for 2008 at the end of the season beating out Christiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and Steven Gerrard
Ashbee suffered another career-threatening injury, rupturing a posterior cruciate ligament in his knee. It was initially thought that he would return to action in the Autumn, however on 18 August 2009 it was reported that Ashbee required further surgery on the knee and would miss the entire 2009/10 season.
Upon his return on the first game of the 2010/11 season, Ashbee scored the second goal in Hull City's 2–0 victory over Swansea on 7 August 2010.
After 246 league appearances for Hull and 10 goals Ashbee joined his former manager Phil Brown at Preston on the final day of the transfer window.