He began his career at Northampton Town, making his professional debut in 2009 and winning back-to-back Player of the Season awards in 2011 and 2012. He moved to Championship side Derby County in June 2012 for a fee of around £400,000, before signing for Wolverhampton Wanderers in January 2014 after a successful loan period. Eighteen months later, having been part of Wolves' promotion from League One, he moved to Wigan Athletic. He spent five years with Wigan where he won the League One title twice, in 2016 and 2018 respectively, and amassed 188 appearances and 32 goals.
Career
Northampton Town
Born in Rothwell, Northamptonshire, Jacobs came through the youth ranks at Northampton Town, and made his debut on 6 October 2009 in a 2–1 home win against Bournemouth in the Football League Trophy.[2] His next appearance came in the next round of the competition, when Northampton lost 3–1 at Milton Keynes Dons.[3] In February 2010, he was loaned out for a month– in a move classed as "work experience"– to non-League team Nuneaton Town to gain regular first team experience.[4] During this spell he made four appearances.
Having signed a professional contract with the club, Jacobs appeared as a substitute in Northampton's opening game of the 2010–11 season; a 3–0 loss at Torquay.[5] Three days later he scored his first senior goal as he netted in a 2–0 League Cup win against League One side Brighton & Hove Albion.[6] He became a regular for Northampton and scored his second goal on 22 September in a 2–2 draw against Premier League side Liverpool at Anfield in the next round of the League Cup. After the game went to a penalty shoot-out, Jacobs scored his as Northampton won the shoot-out 4–2.[7] He ended the season with eight goals and was named the club's Player of the Year.[8] He remained a regular in Northampton's team during the 2011–12 season, in which he scored seven goals.
Derby County
After making 100 appearances in total, Jacobs' contract with Northampton expired at the end of the 2011–12 season leading to lengthy speculation that he would move to Championship side Derby County.[9] On 26 June, he signed a three-year contract with Derby. As he was under 24, Northampton were entitled to compensation, either agreed by the two clubs or set by a tribunal. Derby and Northampton agreed an undisclosed fee for him, believed to be around £400,000[10] and the deal officially went through on 1 July 2012.[11]
Jacobs made his Derby debut in a first round League Cup tie against Scunthorpe on 14 August 2012. The match finished 5–5 after extra time, with Jacobs assisting all five of Derby's goals but conceding the penalty that led to Scunthorpe's fifth goal.[12] He also scored a penalty in the shoot-out but Derby lost 7–6 and were eliminated.[13] After eight consecutive substitute appearances, Jacobs started his first Championship game on 23 October, in a 2–1 win at Ipswich Town.[14] He also started the following match, a 3–0 defeat at Peterborough United on 27 October. His next three appearances were all as a late substitute and he didn't become a regular starter until the end of November, when he started eight matches in a row. A performance in a 3–2 win against Birmingham City on 24 November, where he created two goals, earned praise from his manager Nigel Clough, however he was also reminded not to neglect his defensive duties.[15] He scored his first Derby goal in a 2–1 home loss to Hull City on 21 December.[16]
On New Year's Day 2013 Jacobs was deployed in an unfamiliar role as a forward, in which he scored during a 3–1 win over Middlesbrough as well as setting up a further goal and being named man-of-the-match.[17] His performance was praised by Nigel Clough, who noted how well he adapted to the role.[18] However, he would start only one further match during the season and began all other fixtures from the substitutes bench.
Jacobs also started the first game of the 2013–14 season on the bench, but was selected to start the second, a 1–0 League Cup win over Oldham, in which he scored the only goal.[19] His only playing time continued to come as a substitute, despite a change of manager at Derby as Steve McClaren replaced Nigel Clough in October 2013.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Jacobs playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2014
On 11 November 2013, Jacobs was loaned to League One side Wolverhampton Wanderers in a deal to run until 4 January 2014.[20] An unused substitute for Wolves' first game after his arrival, he made his club debut in November 2013 in a goalless draw with Brentford[21] and scored his first Wolves goal on 26 December in a 2–0 win against Crewe Alexandra on Boxing Day 2013.[22]
Following this loan spell, a permanent deal was agreed on 8 January 2014 for Jacobs to sign for Wolverhampton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee, on a 2+1⁄2-year contract (with the option of an additional year).[23] By the end of the season the team had won promotion as League One champions with a record points total for the division (103), with Jacobs contributing eight goals from midfield.
At Championship level, Jacobs was regularly involved in Wolves' first team but fell out of contention as the season progressed. In March 2015 he was sent on loan to fellow Championship club Blackpool in a deal due to last until end of the 2014–15 season.[24] He made five appearances (scoring once) as the club unsuccessfully battled relegation before being recalled by Wolves for the run-in.[25]
Wigan Athletic
On 27 July 2015, Jacobs moved to newly relegated League One side Wigan Athletic, signing a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[26]
On 16 October 2017, Jacobs signed a two-year contract extension with Wigan which would keep him at the club until the summer of 2020. Upon putting pen-to-paper on the new deal, Jacobs stated: "I have played some of my best football here and I am excited for the future."[27]
After spending five years with Wigan, Jacobs left the club upon the expiration of his contract at the end of the 2019–20 season.[28]
Portsmouth
On 14 September 2020, Jacobs was signed by EFL League One team Portsmouth, on a two-year deal.[29] For the 2020–21 season, Jacobs was assigned the squad number 24 shirt.[30]
Jacobs left Portsmouth at the end of the 2022–23 season, following the expiration of his contract.[31]
A. ^ Soccerbase's stats for the match between Bolton Wanderers and Derby County on 21 August 2012 fail to include the substitute appearance made by Jacobs.[48][49] Therefore, until and unless they correct it, he should have one more appearance for Derby than given on his Soccerbase page.
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References
↑ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p.216. ISBN9781845966010.
↑ Watson, Stuart (5 August 2020). "League One transfer guide – The lowdown on every summer signing of 2020". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich: Archant. Retrieved 5 September 2020. Wigan Athletic * Paul Cook quit as manager. IN: OUT: Kieffer Moore (Cardiff, £2m), Antonee Robinson (Fulham, £2m), Joe Williams (Bristol City, undisc), David Marshall (Derby, undisc), Jamal Lowe (Swansea, £800k), Joe Gelhardt (Leeds, £1m), Chey Dunkley (Sheff Weds, undisc), Jensen Weir (Brighton, £500k), Alfie Devine (Tottenham, undisc), Lewis Macleod (Plymouth, free), Danny Fox, Anthony Pilkington, Gary Roberts and Michael Jacobs (contracts expired)
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