Jack Hobbs (footballer)

Hobbs progressed through the Lincoln City youth set-up and, at the age of 14, scored his first goal in his fourth appearance for the under-19 team in a 1–1 draw with Bradford City on 22 March 2003.[3] In March 2004 he accepted a three-year scholarship with the Imps, commencing at the start of the 2004–05 season.[4] He made his league debut on 15 August 2005 against Bristol Rovers, as a substitute for Matt Bloomer. At 16 years and 149 days, he became the club's youngest ever debutant, breaking a record that was previously held by Shane Nicholson.[5]

At the end of the season, Hobbs was linked with a move to the Premier League with Arsenal. However, the deal fell through because Arsenal demanded the removal of a sell-on clause from the transfer deal.[6] Tottenham Hotspur and Bolton Wanderers also expressed their desire to sign the defender.[7] He finally signed for Liverpool on his 17th birthday on 18 August 2005. Commenting on the transfer he said: "This is unbelievable. I'm still pinching myself and it is a real opportunity for me."[8] He made his debut for the reserves in a 3–2 defeat at the hands of Everton. Praising his performance, coach Hugh McAuley said that he played "very well".[9] He was also a part of the reserve squad which won the 2006 FA Youth Cup by defeating Manchester City 3–2 in the final.[10] In a friendly match against German club 1. FC Kaiserslautern in June 2006, Hobbs made an "error", which allowed Ricardo Villar to score against goalie Jerzy Dudek.[10] Hobbs was deployed in the back alongside Gabriel Paletta in the following friendly against Grasshopper Club Zürich. The Liverpool Echo wrote that he "made a spirited recovery" and was "blameless on this occasion".[11]

Hobbs made his debut as a substitute against Reading in the League Cup on 25 September 2007 in a 4–3 win.[12] Hobbs later made his first start for Liverpool against Cardiff City in the League Cup on 31 October 2007, playing all 90 minutes, and gaining praise from pundits and teammates for his composed performance.[13] On 2 December, Hobbs made his league debut against Bolton Wanderers, replacing Jamie Carragher in the home match. A week later, he made his first start for the team in a league match in an away match with Reading.[14] In January 2008, he signed for Championship club Scunthorpe United on a loan deal until the end of the season. Manager Nigel Adkins described Hobbs as a composed player, and they signed him to help the team retain their Championship status.[15] He scored his first senior goal on 15 February against Stoke City.[16] In his spell with Scunthorpe, Hobbs made nine appearances, scoring one goal.[14]

Hobbs playing for Leicester City in 2010

On 16 May 2008, BBC Sport wrote that Hobbs was indecisive about whether to fight for first-team opportunities in Liverpool or to join another club for more playing opportunities. Hobbs said wherever he went, he would look to play first-team football.[17] On 25 May, Hobbs signed for League One club Leicester City on a season-long loan deal. On joining the club, he said he wanted to help Leicester win promotion to the Championship.[18] He made his debut for the club in a pre-season match against Kettering Town, playing 80 minutes of a 4–1 victory.[19] His competitive debut came on 9 August in a 2–0 victory over Milton Keynes Dons, when he came on as an 88th-minute substitute for Aleksandar Tunchev.[20][21] Hobbs scored his first goal on 24 January 2009, scoring the last goal in a 4–2 victory over Huddersfield Town.[21][22] In February 2009, he was red carded in a match against Bristol Rovers for fouling Darryl Duffy. However, the resultant penalty by Rickie Lambert was saved by Mark Bunn.[23] Leicester manager Nigel Pearson commented that the red card was unfortunate, as he believed the foul was not intentional.[24] In his first season with the club, besides winning the League One title and achieving promotion to the Championship, Hobbs was also included in the PFA Team of the Year.[25] He was also voted as the club's Young Player of the Year, as he made 44 appearances, where his team conceded 37 goals.[26]

On 24 April 2009, Hobbs signed permanently with Leicester City, penning a four-year contract. After signing, he said that he believed that with Leicester he could win promotion to the Premier League.[27] He played his first league match against Swansea City in a 2–1 victory.[28] Playing alongside Wayne Brown in the centre back position, Hobbs missed two league games in the 2009–10 season,[29] and made a total of 49 appearances.[21] At the end of the season, he won the Player of the Year award, and shared the Players' Player award with Andy King.[29] On winning the Player of the Year award, Hobbs said that he was honoured to win award.[30]

Hobbs playing for Hull City in 2012

In the 2010–11 season, Hobbs started 23 times for Leicester City. However, with the arrival of Sol Bamba, he found his playing time increasingly limited. With the speculation that Leicester would sign Chelsea defender Jeffrey Bruma on loan, new manager Sven-Göran Eriksson said that he could join another club.[31] After playing 30 times for the club, Hobbs joined Hull City in a season-long loan deal.[32] He made his club debut in a 1–0 away win against Derby County. Failing to break into the first team due to competition from James Chester and Anthony Gerrard, he expressed his desire to return to Leicester once the loan spell ended.[33] Nevertheless, he made 13 appearances for the club during his loan spell.[21]

On 23 July 2011, Hobbs signed permanently with the club, penning a contract keeping him there until 2014. On joining the club, he said that he was delighted to be a Hull City player.[34] He was also appointed as the club captain for the 2011–12 season.[35] Hobbs made his debut for the club in a 1–0 defeat against Blackpool coming as an 87th-minute substitute for Matty Fryatt.[21][36] On 11 February, he scored his first league goal in three years in a 3–0 victory over Bristol City, heading in a Robert Koren cross from the penalty box.[37] In the following month, in a match against Coventry City, he injured himself while tackling Alex Nimely during the first half's stoppage time, and was taken out of the match.[38] He was substituted by debutant Sonny Bradley. However, two days later, it was announced that he was ruled out of the rest of the season owing to the knee injury sustained during the match.[39]

Recovering from injury, Hobbs played his first match in November 2012, in a reserve team match against Peterborough United.[40] On 9 December, his first league match came in a 2–1 defeat against Watford, pairing with Alex Bruce at the centre back position.[41] He played 22 times for the club in the season, which saw Hull City being promoted to the Premier League.[42]

After Hull City were promoted to the Premier League, the club informed Hobbs that he was no longer required.[42] In July 2013, Sky Sports reported that Nottingham Forest were interested in signing him.[43] He ultimately signed a loan deal with Nottingham Forest, with a condition that it would become permanent with Hobbs signing a two-year contract at the end of the 2013–14 season. Manager Billy Davies said that he was pleased to bring Hobbs to the club.[44] Hobbs said that it would be an honour for him "to play for a club the size of Nottingham Forest".[45] He made his club debut in a 1–0 victory over Huddersfield Town, where he blocked a strike of opposition striker James Vaughan.[46] He scored his first goal on 28 September in a 1–0 victory over Derby County, heading in an Andy Reid corner before half time.[47] This goal was voted September's Bed Chambers Dream Moment of the Month.[48] On 24 January 2014, Hull recalled him because of an injury to defender James Chester.[49] However, on the deadline day of the transfer window, (31 January), Hobbs signed permanently with Nottingham Forest on a four-and-a-half-year contract, in a deal reported by Sky Sports to be worth "close to £1million".[50] He said that he was thrilled and had always wanted to play for the club.[51] After signing, he played twice before being ruled out of the rest of the season due to an ankle fracture in March.[52]

In August 2014, Hobbs played his first match after his injury in the reserve team 0–0 draw against Burton Albion.[53] However, he injured himself during the East Midlands derby in September. In the following month he underwent surgery which ruled him out of action for three months.[54] On 14 February 2015, during a 4–4 draw against Blackpool, he suffered a hamstring injury and was ruled out of play for a month. The club's manager Dougie Freedman blamed the condition of the Bloomfield Road pitch for the injury.[55] After recovering from his injury, he played the whole ninety minutes of a match against Brentford in April.[56]

Hobbs played his first match of 2015–16 season in a match against Brighton & Hove Albion. Though the match ended in a 1–0 defeat for Forest, he formed a strong defensive partnership along with Matt Mills.[57] On 28 November, he received a red card in the 66th minute of a 3–1 win against Reading for a challenge on Matěj Vydra.[58] He made a total of twenty three appearances during the season.[21]

Hobbs was dropped from the first team in the first half of 2016–17 by manager Philippe Montanier, but was reinstated after Montanier was replaced by caretaker manager Gary Brazil.[59] On 26 December, he played his first match of the season, starting in a 2–1 defeat against Huddersfield Town.[60] He played this match after recovering from "several niggling injuries".[61] Hobbs played a total of 10 matches in the season.[21]

He was released by Forest at the end of the 2017–18 season.[62]

On 30 July 2018, he signed a one-year contract with Bolton Wanderers following a successful trial with The Trotters.[63] He scored his first goal for Bolton in a 1–1 draw with Reading on 29 January 2019.[64] He left Bolton at the end of the 2018–19 season, but re-signed for the club on 30 August 2019.[65] He had agreed a contract months before, but had to wait for Bolton to come out of administration to re-sign.[66]