Matt Jansen

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Matthew Brooke Jansen (born 20 October 1977) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Jansen was tipped to become one of English football brightest stars but his career was cruelly cut short following a motorcycle accident which almost cost him his life. A highly regarded centre forward, he was named Blackburn Rovers’ Player of the Season three times and twice finished as the club’s leading scorer. His early performances drew interest from Juventus, Arsenal, Newcastle United and Manchester United. He launched his career with hometown club Carlisle United but his goalscoring abilities earned him a move to Crystal Palace and the Premier League where he immediately hit the ground running. His performances caught the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson but he opted for a move to Blackburn Rovers where he played for seven years including a goalscoring performance for Blackburn in their League Cup victory over Tottenham in 2002. In 2002, after narrowly missing out on a place in the England World Cup squad, he flew to Rome for a holiday and was involved in a motorcycle accident that left him fighting for his life. Jansen recovered but his sustained a head injury which changed him as a player. He tried a loan spell with Coventry City before moving to Bolton Wanderers on a free but never felt confident. Jansen teamed up with former teammate Dean Saunders at Wrexham but was still struggling to come to terms with his accident finally playing for former teammate Gary Flitcroft at Leigh Genesis, and Chorley. He later went on to manage Chorley from 2015 to 2018. Jansen's career was one of two halves, the first full of promise and the second denied fulfilment by fate.