| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wayne Graham Jacobs[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1969-02-03)3 February 1969 (age 56)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Sheffield, England[2] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Left back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1983–1987 | Sheffield Wednesday | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1988 | Sheffield Wednesday | 6 | (0) |
| 1988–1992 | Hull City | 129 | (4) |
| 1993–1994 | Rotherham United | 42 | (2) |
| 1994–2005 | Bradford City | 318 | (12) |
| 2005–2006 | Halifax Town | 11 | (0) |
| Total | 505 | (18) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2003 | Bradford City (joint-caretaker) | ||
| 2010 | Bradford City (caretaker) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Wayne Graham Jacobs (born 3 February 1969) is an Englishfootball coach and former professional player who is the assistant manager toDarren Moore atEFL League Two clubPort Vale. He also operates a charity called One In A Million, which he set up after turning to Christianity.
Jacobs was a tenaciousleft back who began his playing career withSheffield Wednesday, where he would play sixFirst Division games in the 1987–88 season. He was sold toHull City for a £30,000 fee in March 1988 and would go on to win the club's Player of the Year award. He suffered serious injuries, however, and was released in December 1992. He returned to fitness and spent the 1993–94 season withRotherham United before he joinedBradford City in August 1994. He spent the next 11 years with Bradford, helping the club to win promotion out of theSecond Division via the play-offs in1996 and then to win promotion into thePremier League at the end of the 1998–99 season. He was twice named the club's Player of the Year and made 357 appearances, including 45 in the Premier League, before he departed intonon-League football in May 2005.
He spent two years as the assistant manager atHalifax Town. He returned to Bradford City, serving as caretaker manager in February 2010, adding to his first spell as caretaker manager in November 2003. He later worked as an assistant toDarren Moore atWest Bromwich Albion, Sheffield Wednesday, and Port Vale.
Jacobs joinedSheffield Wednesday on schoolboy terms upon turning 14.[4] He made his debut in theFootball League forSheffield Wednesday on 18 August 1987, when he came on as asubstitute in a 1–1 draw withOxford United atHillsborough.[1] He was given his first start in theFirst Division on 19 September in a 2–2 draw atDerby County.[1] He played ten games in the1987–88 season, featuring in a variety of positions from left-back and right-back to left-midfield and left-wing.[5] He later credited "very strong and sergeant majori-sh" managerHoward Wilkinson for instilling him with the discipline needed for a good career in the game.[4]
Jacobs signed a two-year contract withHull City after being bought for a £30,000 fee on 25 March 1988.[5] He saw the step down to theSecond Division as a chance to establish himself in thefirst XI at a club.[5] He was credited with being "one ofBrian Horton's many bargain buys".[6] He competed withRay Daniel for the left-back berth in the1988–89 campaign.[7] After initially rotating the pair, managerEddie Gray settled on Jacobs as his first-choice left-back from January.[8] Jacobs finished as runner-up toKeith Edwards in the fans' Player of the Year vote and was named as the Away Match Player of the Year.[9][10] He scored his first goal in senior football on 2 December 1989 in a 2–1 defeat atLeicester City.[11] He was voted as club's Player of the Year after being an ever-present throughout the1989–90 campaign.[12] The club was in a state of flux asColin Appleton was sacked three months into the season, to be replaced byStan Ternent. However, Jacobs retained his first-team place throughout.[8] He signed a new three-year contract.[13]
A persistent ankle ligament injury limited him to 19 league appearances in the1990–91 campaign as Hull were relegated into theThird Division.[14][15] He was deputised byLes Thompson during his absences from the team.[8] He featured 34 times under the stewardship ofTerry Dolan in the1991–92 campaign before he snapped acruciate ligament in a game againstStoke City in January.[1][16] He returned to fitness towards the end of the1992–93 season, having missed 14 months with a cruciate knee ligament. However, he was released by chairman Martin Fish on Christmas Eve after Fish claimed the club could not pay his wages.[17] Shareholders criticised Fish for what they perceived to be his short-sighted decision at the club'sAGM.[18] Fish said Jacobs was a potential "financial liability" and that he expected "to take some stick" for his decision.[19]
Jacobs signed with Second Division clubRotherham United on 2 July 1993.[20] He wassent off for the first time in his career during a 1–0 defeat atCardiff City on 29 March 1994, having received a second yellow card for tuggingTony Bird's shirt.[21] He proved his fitness to managerPhil Henson by missing just four league games of the1993–94 season.[8] Despite this, he was still allowed to leaveMillmoor.[22]
Jacobs remained in the Second Division as he signed withBradford City on 5 August 1994.[1] He played 44 games in the1994–95 season and was named as the club's Player of the Year.[1][23] In December 1995, Jacobs scored two goals, including one from abicycle kick, in anFA Cup win overPreston North End in a match shown live on television amidst a thick fog.[24]Chris Kamara succeededLennie Lawrence as manager midway through the1995–96 campaign and led Bradford into the play-offs with victory over Jacobs' former club Hull atBoothferry Park on the final day.[25] City then came back from a 2–0 home defeat byBlackpool in the first leg of the play-off semi-finals to win 3–0 and secure a place in theplay-off final, with Jacobs recalling an arrogant boast from a Blackpool player after the first leg being his motivation for the second leg.[25] Jacobs then played in the play-off final victory overNotts County after having prayed on the pitch atWembley Stadium alongside teammatesRichard Huxford andAndy Kiwomya before the game.[26]
He was sidelined for six weeks with a fractured cheekbone in November 1996.[27] He recovered and was again named as the club's Player of the Year at the end of the1996–97 season.[1][28] He made 39 appearances in the1997–98 campaign.[1] He was linked with a move toStockport County in September 1998 withGary Megson needing a replacement forDamon Searle; Bradford valued Jacobs at £150,000.[29] He remained with Bradford, however, and was a key member ofPaul Jewell's squad as Bradford secured promotion into thePremier League at the end of the1998–99 season.[4]
With the club now in the top-flight,Andy Myers was signed fromChelsea to play at left-back.[22] Jacobs was transfer-listed in August 1999, alongsideRobbie Blake andDarren Moore.[30] He entered talks withBirmingham City the following month.[31] He was frozen out of the team by December following a contract dispute.[32] However, he featured in 24 of the club's 38 league games and was a late substitute on the final day of the1999–2000 season as Bradford escaped relegation by beatingLiverpool 1–0 atValley Parade.[33] He played in European competition for the first time in the2000 UEFA Intertoto Cup, featuring in both legs of the second round victory over Lithuanian clubFK Atlantas.[1] He admitted that many of the players were "scratching their heads a bit" as they faced the new challenge of playing European football.[34] He competed withIan Nolan and played 20 Premier League games underChris Hutchings andJim Jefferies as Bradford were relegated in last place at the end of the2000–01 season.[1][22]
He played 40 games in the2001–02 season, scoring his final career goal in a 1–1 draw at former club Rotherham United.[1] He received the secondred card of his career during a 1–0 defeat atMillwall on 30 November 2002.[1] ManagerNicky Law blamed the match officials for not spotting the ball crossing the touchline before Jacobs made the challenge that earned him the second yellow card.[35] Jacobs played 24 times in the2002–03 season.[1] Following Law's sacking, Moore served as joint-caretaker manager for a 1–0 defeat at Stoke City on 22 November 2003.[36][37] WhenBryan Robson was appointed as manager two days later, Jacobs said that his mere presence at the club "has already given everyone a boost".[38] However, results did not improve and Bradford were relegated at the end of the2003–04 season. He featured in 14League One games underColin Todd in the2004–05 campaign, taking his final tally to the club to 357 league and cup appearances.[1]
Jacobs signed withConference National clubHalifax Town on 31 May 2005.[39] His main function atThe Shay, however, was to assist managerChris Wilder.[4]
Jacobs was aleft back with speed, skill and tenacity.[40]
In June 2007, Jacobs returned to Bradford City as assistant manager underStuart McCall.[41][42] On 8 February 2010, he took over as manager in a temporary capacity when McCall departed.[43] He again was an assistant to new managerPeter Taylor, but was put on gardening leave in February 2011,[44] following Taylor's departure. Following the appointment ofDarren Moore as caretaker head coach atWest Bromwich Albion, Jacobs was given a temporary position on the club's coaching staff in April 2018.[45] After Moore was given the job full-time, Jacobs was appointed second assistant head coach in September 2018, serving alongside first assistant head coachGraeme Jones.[46] On 9 March 2019, Moore was sacked as manager and Jacobs left together with him.[47]
In March 2022, Jacobs joined Sheffield Wednesday to work alongsideJamie Smith as an assistant to manager Darren Moore.[48] He stepped back from the role on a full-time basis early in the2022–23 season to concentrate on his charity work.[49] He left the club completely on 19 June 2023, with Moore and the rest of his backroom staff.[50] Jacobs joined Moore as his assistant atPort Vale in February 2024.[51] He was reported to be off work in February 2025 due to health-related reasons as Moore stated that he was on a "slow but sure road getting back to full fitness".[52]
In November 1988, Jacobs and an accomplice pleaded guilty to a charge ofassault following an altercation with a 60-year-old man at a hotel inAttercliffe; he was fined £500 and ordered to pay £650 in compensation.[53] He became a committed Christian during his time spent struggling with injury at Hull City.[54][8] He later said that his personal life was a mess before he found religion and that he would have been "dead by 30, or in prison" without football.[55] His wife gave birth to a baby in October 1998.[56]
Jacobs founded the charity One In A Million, which helps disadvantaged children inBradford. The One in a Million charity also opened a free school in the city in September 2013.[57] He worked his coaching career around his charity work.[58] He has worked as a co-commentator forBBC Radio Leeds.[25]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sheffield Wednesday | 1987–88[1] | First Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Hull City | 1987–88[1] | Second Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 1988–89[1] | Second Division | 33 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| 1989–90[1] | Second Division | 46 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 50 | 3 | |
| 1990–91[1] | Second Division | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 1 | |
| 1991–92[1] | Third Division | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |
| 1992–93[1] | Third Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 129 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 150 | 4 | ||
| Rotherham United | 1993–94[1] | Second Division | 42 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 49 | 2 |
| Bradford City | 1994–95[1] | Second Division | 38 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 44 | 1 |
| 1995–96[1] | Second Division | 28 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 39 | 2 | |
| 1996–97[1] | First Division | 39 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 3 | |
| 1997–98[1] | First Division | 36 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 2 | |
| 1998–99[1] | First Division | 44 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 49 | 3 | |
| 1999–2000[1] | Premier League | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 0 | |
| 2000–01[1] | Premier League | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 26 | 2 | |
| 2001–02[1] | First Division | 38 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 1 | |
| 2002–03[1] | First Division | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |
| 2003–04[1] | First Division | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2004–05[1] | League One | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| Total | 318 | 12 | 13 | 2 | 26 | 0 | 357 | 14 | ||
| Halifax Town | 2005–06[59] | Conference National | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Career total | 506 | 18 | 22 | 2 | 50 | 0 | 578 | 20 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Bradford City (joint-caretaker) | 9 November 2003 | 24 November 2003 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 000.00 | [1] |
| Bradford City (caretaker) | 8 February 2010 | 17 February 2010 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 000.00 | [1] |
| Total | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 000.00 | |||
Individual
Bradford City
