Matt Jackson (footballer)

Matthew Alan Jackson (born 19 October 1971) is an English former professional footballer.

This article is about the English footballer. For the professional wrestler, see The Young Bucks. For other people, see Matthew Jackson.

Matt Jackson
Personal information
Full name Matthew Alan Jackson
Date of birth (1971-10-19) 19 October 1971
Place of birth Leeds, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Wigan Athletic
(Head of Football Operations)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1991 Luton Town 9 (0)
1991 → Preston North End (loan) 4 (0)
1991–1996 Everton 138 (4)
1996 → Charlton Athletic (loan) 8 (0)
1996 → Queens Park Rangers (loan) 7 (0)
1996 → Birmingham City (loan) 10 (0)
1996–2001 Norwich City 161 (6)
2001 → Wigan Athletic (loan) 7 (0)
2001–2007 Wigan Athletic 160 (4)
2007–2008 Watford 6 (0)
2007 → Blackpool (loan) 3 (0)
Total 513 (14)
National team
1992–1993 England U21 10 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

As a player, he was a defender from 1990 until 2007, notably in the Premier League for Everton and Wigan Athletic, as well as in the Football League for Luton Town, Preston North End, Charlton Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Birmingham City, Norwich City, Watford and Blackpool. He earned 10 caps for the England U21 side.[lower-alpha 1]

Playing career

Jackson was born on 19 October 1971 in Leeds. He grew up in Bedford and attended Sharnbrook Upper School.[2] After initially turning down the club to concentrate on finishing his A-Levels,[3][4] he started his footballing career at Luton Town, making his professional debut in 1990. He made nine league appearances for the club before signing for Everton for a fee of £600,000 in 1991.

He featured prominently in Everton's FA Cup-winning season, scoring a memorable 20-yard volley against Bristol City in the Fourth Round to secure a 1–0 victory for Everton.[5] He also scored the opening goal in the 4–1 win against Tottenham Hotspur in the semi final, and his initial cross ultimately set up Paul Rideout's winning goal in the final.[4]

In 1996, he joined Norwich City for a fee of £450,000. In 1997, he became team captain, and was voted Norwich City player of the year in 1998.

On 19 October 2001, Jackson moved to Wigan Athletic on a month's loan from Norwich,[6] making his debut a day later in a 3–2 defeat against Wrexham.[7] He made seven appearances during his loan spell before joining the club permanently on a free transfer, signing a two and a half year contract.[8] He would go on to form a central defensive partnership with Jason De Vos that was central to winning the Second Division Championship in the 2002–03 season.

After De Vos left Wigan for Ipswich Town, Jackson again formed another sound partnership with Ian Breckin and helped Wigan to their second promotion in three years when they finished runners-up in the Football League Championship in 2004–05.

In November 2006, Jackson scored for Wigan in a 3–2 win against Charlton Athletic, his first goal in the Premier League in over 13 years[9] (setting a league record for time between goals – 4,935 days – which still stands as of April 2019).[10][11] Jackson signed for Watford on 24 May 2007, after rejecting a new one-year contract with Wigan.[12]

He spent a month on loan at Blackpool during late October and early November 2007. Watford recalled him on 5 November after an injury to Jay DeMerit.[13] Jackson retired from football on 6 August 2008.[14]

Personal life

After retiring, he was employed as a football consultant by IMG working in player development. In 2015 he was working for Wigan Athletic as an Operations Manager but as of 2020, he is no longer listed at the club in that role.[15][16]

Honours

Notes
  1. Jackson was also once called up for Scotland U21 under the grandparent rule, although before he made any appearances it was confirmed that he did not meet the criteria.[1]
  1. Keevins, Hugh (27 February 2004). "I knew dad shouldn't be Wales boss when he got pelters from the Manic Street Preachers; Jon blasts FIFA over cap ruling". Daily Record. Retrieved 17 October 2018 – via The Free Library.
  2. "England football captaincy for Sharnbrook pupil". Bedfordshire Sport News. LSN Media. 15 February 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  3. "Matt sounds war cry". Blackpool Gazette. Johnston Publishing. 19 October 2007. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  4. "When Everton won the FA Cup". BBC Sport. 17 April 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  5. "FA Cup winning manager Joe Royle remembers how Everton struggled with Bristol City". Liverpool Echo. Trinity Mirror. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  6. "Jackson joins Latics". BBC Sport. 19 October 2001. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  7. "Wrexham hit back to rock the Latics". Liverpool Echo. 20 October 2001. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  8. "Jackson Inks Latics Deal". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  9. Barker, Neil (13 November 2006). "Cracker-Jack Matt sets Wigan soaring". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  10. "Premier League stats: Will this be the highest scoring season?". BBC Sport. 11 December 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  11. "Tyler's stats: Paul Pogba reaches career high for Manchester United". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  12. "Jackson leaves Wigan for Watford". BBC Sport. 24 May 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
  13. "Watford recall Jackson from loan". BBC Sport. 5 November 2007.
  14. "Jackson Retires". Watford Football Club. 6 August 2008. Archived from the original on 19 September 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
  15. "Dave Whelan: Wigan Athletic's saviour, but legacy tarnished?". BBC Sport. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  16. "Who's Who". Wigan Athletic.
  17. "Samways drops a gentle hint". Independent. 14 August 1995. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Jon Newsome		 Norwich City Captain
1997-2001		 Succeeded by
Neil Emblen
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