Jacob Christopher Lawlor (born 8 April 1991) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a defender for club

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is an area in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-west ...

. Lawlor played youth football for

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, but was released at the age of 14, and subsequently played non-league football for

Liversedge Liversedge is an industrial town in the Kirklees district, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Liversedge lies between Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike. The Kirklees ward is now called Liversedge and ...

Ossett Town Ossett Town Association Football Club was an English football club based in Ossett in West Yorkshire. History Ossett Town AFC were formed in 1936 when, during a public meeting, the Mayor of the Borough of Ossett charged John Carter, a former ...

and

Harrogate Railway Athletic Harrogate Railway Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Station View. History The club was established in 1935 by employees of the London and Nort ...

before joining

in 2013. He had a loan spell at

AFC Fylde AFC Fylde is a professional football club based in Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mill Farm. Originally known as Kirkham & Wesham following a merger of Kirkham Town and Wes ...

in 2018, before being released by Guiseley later that year and subsequently joining Salford City in July 2018. However, he joined

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

just two months later, having not made an appearance for Salford City. He was released by Wrexham in summer 2020 and joined newly promoted League Two side Harrogate Town. After only one season at Harrogate, Lawlor joined League Two club

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

, from where he had spells on loan at

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

and

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

before spending the next two and a half years with the latter club.

Career

Early career

Lawlor was born in Halifax and grew up in

Brighouse Brighouse (, locally also ) is a town within the metropolitan borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated on the River Calder, West Y ...

. He played youth football with

but was released at the age of 14. He played non-league football for

, joining the club at the age of 17, but left less than a year later to study at

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield station, Sheffield railway station, whil ...

. He joined

at the age of 18. After a few years at Ossett Town, he joined

in summer 2012.

Guiseley

In February 2013, Lawlor signed for

of the

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

. He made his debut for the club against

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club is known as 'the ...

on 9 February 2013. In summer 2013, he extended his contract with the club for the 2013–14 season. On 23 March 2018, he joined

on loan until the end of the season. He was released by Guiseley at the end of the season.

Salford City and Wrexham

He joined

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

club Salford City in July 2018, before moving to fellow National League side

on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee in September 2018. He was released by Wrexham at the beginning of July 2020.

Harrogate Town

Lawlor signed for

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

club Harrogate Town in August 2020. He made 17 league appearances across the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season, but was released at the end of the season.

Hartlepool United

Lawlor signed for

on 1 August 2021 following a successful trial period, with the length of his contract not disclosed by the club. Lawlor made his Hartlepool debut as a late substitute in a 3–2 defeat to Barrow. Lawlor joined National League club

on a month-long loan on 22 September 2021, but remained an unused substitute through his loan spell.

Darlington

On 12 November 2021, Lawlor joined National League North club

on loan for two months. He was a regular member of the starting eleven, and Darlington's manager,

Alun Armstrong Alan Armstrong (born 17 July 1946), known professionally as Alun Armstrong, is an English character actor. He grew up in County Durham in North East England, and first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar ...

, had expected the loan to be extended to the end of the season, but this did not happen. On 19 January 2022, a week after the loan expired, Lawlor's contract with Hartlepool was terminated by mutual consent. The following day, he signed for Darlington for the rest of the season, and remained with the club for the 2022–23 campaign. After the dismissal of manager

and assistant Darren Holloway on 6 September 2023, Lawlor was one of a group of three senior players tasked with covering managerial duties until an appointment was made. He was offered a new contract at the end of the season, but chose not to accept. Over nearly three years with the club, he scored six goals from 102 appearances in all competitions.

Return to Guiseley

On 1 July 2024, Lawlor returned to

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

Premier Division side

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawlor, Jake 1991 births Living people English men's footballers Footballers from Halifax, West Yorkshire Men's association football defenders Liversedge F.C. players Ossett Town A.F.C. players Harrogate Railway Athletic F.C. players Guiseley A.F.C. players AFC Fylde players Salford City F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Harrogate Town A.F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Bromley F.C. players Darlington F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players Alumni of Sheffield Hallam University 21st-century English sportsmen