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Matt Jackson (footballer)

English footballer (born 1971)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 24, 2026
Entity authorityQ3299492
Source-derived summary

Matthew Alan Jackson (born 19 October 1971) is an English former professional footballer who is the technical director of EFL Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

As a player, Jackson 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 ten caps for the England U21 side.

Playing career

Jackson was born on 19 October 1971 in Leeds. He grew up in Bedford and attended Sharnbrook Upper School. After initially turning down the club to concentrate on finishing his A-Levels, 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. 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.

In 1996, he joined Norwich City for a fee of £450,000.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Matt Jackson (footballer)” as english footballer (born 1971). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Matt, Jackson and footballer.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1971, 1990, 2007, 1991—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1971-10-19. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Matt, Jackson and footballer providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Matt Jackson (footballer)”, the useful work is to connect “english footballer (born 1971)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3299492. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1971, 1990, 2007 and 1991.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Matt Jackson (footballer)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Matt Jackson (footballer) primary sources, Matt Jackson (footballer) archive and Matt research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Matt Jackson (footballer)”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Matt Jackson (footballer)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.