Matt Jansen
Matt Jansen was tipped to become one of English footballs brightest stars – yet his career was snatched away from him in the cruellest of manners.
The former Blackburn Rovers goalscorer was primed to join the England squad for the World Cup in Korea and Japan in 2002 when his career was effectively ended by a cruel twist of fate.
Jansen had been measured up for his World Cup suit and his bags were packed for the Far East.
But England manager Sven Goran Eriksson decided to take an extra defender instead of a forward and axed Matt in favour of Martin Keown.
The talented striker decided to go to Italy for a holiday instead – and was involved in a collision with a taxi that left him in a coma – and fighting for his life.
Fortunately, he did make a full recovery yet mentally the crash had left Matt struggling to cope with the adulation of thousands of fans.
Jansen and his beautiful wife Lucy spent many months deliberating their future and attempting a comeback but the striker struggled with the pressures of professional football.
He teamed up with Onside founder James Fletcher, a friend of a number of years, and the pair began working together in 2006 in a bid to rescue his career – and provide him with other opportunities after his playing days.
Onside PR have worked with Matt Jansen for a number of years.
We helped to negotiate his release from Blackburn Rovers and help him start afresh.
Onside PR founder James Fletcher led negotiations with several high profile clubs with two leading Premier League managers keen to give Jansen the platform to rebuild his career.
Utilising our media contacts we were able to place several interviews with national newspapers in a bid to rebuild his profile and relaunch his career.
Matt signed on a free for Bolton Wanders, but, despite some incredible performances in training with Bolton, Matt struggled with the pressures of playing in front of huge crowds.
Matt decided to retire his playing career from the professional game and turn his hand to management.
Onside PR managing the process for him, raising his profile through media interviews with major national newspapers.
Matt dropped down the divisions to help former teammate Dean Saunders, manager at Wrexham.
The move provided Matt to examine his coaching options and in 2009 he teamed up with ex-Rovers teammate Gary Flitcroft as his assistant at Leigh Genesis.
Matt enjoyed his time as player/assistant manager and the duo moved to Chorley in May 2010 leading them to promotion from the Northern Premier League Premier Division.
Matt continued to playing and scoring goals for Chorley before taking over as full-time manager, taking Chorley to the playoff finals in 2017.
Since then, Matt has explored numerous media opportunities, recorded his story in the autobiography of his life; ‘What Was, What Is and What Might Have Been.’
