Nick Colgan
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Nicholas Vincent Colgan (born 19 September 1973) is an Irish football coach and former 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 ...
who is goalkeeping coach at
EFL League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
side
Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
. As a player, he was a
goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
from 1991 to 2013 and first briefly played for his hometown club
Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...
between 1991 and 1992 before signing for
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
side
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
. Whilst at Stamford Bridge he often found himself as back-up to the likes of
Dmitri Kharine Dmitri Viktorovich Kharine (russian: Дмитрий Викторович Харин; born 16 August 1968) is a Russian football coach and former professional footballer, who is goalkeeping coach of National League South side Hemel Hempstead Town ...
and Frode Grodas and spent time on loan at
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
,
Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
,
Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...
,
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
and
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
. He joined
AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...
permanently in 1998 where he stayed for a year before a move to
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...
club Hibernian. Colgan made over 120 appearances in the league between 1999 and 2004 and went on to earn his first full international cap for the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
. In 2004 following a loan spell with
Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
he joined
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
where he played for four years and also helping the club to promotion to the
Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...
in 2006. In 2008, he joined
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
as an understudy to Stephen Bywater but left the club a few months later after failing to make an appearance, and with that returned to the Premier League when he joined
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
. A year later he returned to
Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
and was the first choice keeper when the club were to lose their
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
following relegation to the
Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...
. Colgan lost his place in the team the following year and was loaned out to
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
before later making the move permanent. During the 2011–12 season Colgan began coaching youngsters back at former club
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
as well as continuing to play with Huddersfield. In July 2012 he signed a new contract with Huddersfield to make him the club's academy goalkeeping coach as well as still making himself available as a player.


Club career


Drogheda United

Born in
Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
,
County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...
, Nick Colgan began his football career with his hometown club
Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...
in 1991. He remained at
United Park Head In The Game Park, also known as United Park, and formerly O2 Park and Hunky Dorys Park for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Drogheda, Ireland. The ground has been home to League of Ireland side Drogheda United since 1979. I ...
for one season as a professional while he was scouted by overseas clubs. This would eventually see Nick Colgan depart United and move to England.


Chelsea

Colgan signed professional terms with
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, who at the time were a founding club of the newly designed
FA Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
in the summer of 1992, although he had appeared in their youth team 6 times in 1990/91, becoming their regular goalkeeper for the following season. The Blues were managed at the time by
Ian Porterfield John Ian Porterfield (11 February 1946 – 11 September 2007) was a Scottish professional footballer, and an experienced football coach who worked at both club and international level for almost 30 years. At the time of his death, he was the coa ...
and Colgan was designated as the third choice keeper at Stamford Bridge behind
Dmitri Kharine Dmitri Viktorovich Kharine (russian: Дмитрий Викторович Харин; born 16 August 1968) is a Russian football coach and former professional footballer, who is goalkeeping coach of National League South side Hemel Hempstead Town ...
and Kevin Hitchcock. In February 1993, Porterfield was sacked and was replaced by player-manager
Glenn Hoddle Glenn Hoddle (born 27 October 1957) is an English former football player and manager. He currently works as a television pundit and commentator for ITV Sport and BT Sport. He played as a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco, Chelsea and ...
, who in turn put Colgan up for loan. In September 1993, Colgan was signed by
Dario Gradi Dario Gradi, MBE (born 8 July 1941) is an Italian-English former amateur football player, coach and manager. He was associated for more than 36 years with Crewe Alexandra, where he was variously manager, director of football and director of t ...
in a one-month loan spell with
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
, however he failed to make an appearance for the club and soon returned to Stamford Bridge. During the 1994–1995 season joined up with
Alan Buckley Alan Peter Buckley (born 20 April 1951) is an English former professional footballer and football manager who now works as a sports co-commentator for BBC Humberside. As a player, he was a forward from 1967 to 1987 for Nottingham Forest, ...
at
Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
who used him as a deputy keeper to
Paul Crichton Paul Andrew Crichton (born 3 October 1968) is an English football coach and former footballer. He is he goalkeeper coach of National Women's Soccer League club Orlando Pride. Aa a player he was a goalkeeper from 1986 to 2011. During his playi ...
, but also Colgan went unused at
Blundell Park Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1899, but only one of the original stands remains. The current capacity of the ground is 9, ...
during his spell in
Humberside Humberside () was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East Riding of Yorkshire, West ...
. During the 1995–1996 campaign, Colgan joined London city rivals
Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...
on a further loan deal but he again failed to make a first team appearance. For the 1996–1997 season, Hoddle was replaced by
Ruud Gullit Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a Dutch footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s as a defender, midfielder or forward. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all t ...
who handed Colgan his first team professional debut playing in a 3–2 away defeat at the hands of
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
on 12 March 1997. Colgan had filled in for the then current first choice Frode Grodas who sat the game out on the bench. The Chelsea team that day featured the likes of
Gianfranco Zola Gianfranco Zola (; born 5 July 1966) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played predominantly as a forward. He was most recently the assistant manager of Chelsea. He spent the first decade of his playing career playing i ...
, Gianluca Vialli,
Dan Petrescu Daniel Vasile Petrescu (; born 22 December 1967) is a Romanian football manager and former player, who is currently in charge of Liga I club CFR Cluj. As a player, Petrescu was deployed as a full-back or a winger and represented Premier Leag ...
,
Dennis Wise Dennis Frank Wise (born 16 December 1966) is an English former professional football player and manager who played as a central midfielder. He is the president of Serie B side Como 1907. He is best known for having spent the majority of his ca ...
and
Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...
. That season Chelsea won the 1996–97 FA Cup. Colgan was on the bench in the semi final against
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...
but for the match day squad of the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
Kevin Hitchcock was on the bench instead of Colgan. The West Hame game would be his only taste of first team football for Chelsea, however he would go on to make 5 loan appearances each for both
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
and
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
during the 1997–1998 season. In the summer of 1998, Chelsea now managed by Gianluca Vialli released Colgan from the club.


AFC Bournemouth

In July 1998, fresh from his release from Chelsea, Colgan signed on a free transfer for
AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...
. Colgan would make not one single appearance for the club during his only season at
Dean Court Dean Court, currently known as the Vitality Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England and the home ground of AFC Bournemouth. History In 1910, Boscombe F.C. was g ...
, with him playing second fiddle to Mark Ovendale for the entire season.


Hibernian

During the summer of 1999, Colgan signed with
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...
club Hibernian. His first season at
Easter Road Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of , which makes it the fifth-larges ...
he made 31 appearances for the club, and was looked upon as the first choice keeper in a side that boasted Olafur Gottskalksson and John Campbell. He went on to make a total of 147 appearances in all competitions between joining in 1999 and his departure in the summer of 2004. During the 2003–2004 season, Colgan was loaned out, where he spent most of the season with
Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
. County were under a squad re-shuffle that had seen them use Lee Jones, James Spencer,
Boaz Myhill Glyn Oliver "Boaz" Myhill (born 9 November 1982; ) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He represented the Wales national team from 2008 to 2013. Born in the United States to an American father and Welsh mother, Myh ...
, Anthony Williams and Colgan in the net that season. At the end of the season, Colgan was linked with a permanent move to Stockport but the transfer never materialised.


Barnsley

In the summer of 2004, Colgan signed for Barnsley, where he endured a tough first season only playing in 15 games and ending up on loan to
Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...
for 3 months. The 2005–2006 Barnsley campaign showed a turn of fortune for Colgan as he became the team's first choice keeper. His outstanding displays during the season earned him 20 clean sheets in total as well as the title of Barnsley's Player of the Year and helped the team reach the League One Play-off final at the
Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...
in
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
on 27 May 2006 where despite a mistake letting Swansea City take the lead, he recovered to make a historic save from
Alan Tate Alan Tate (born 2 September 1982) is an English professional football coach and retired footballer who is an assistant head coach at Nottingham Forest. A former defender, Tate spent the majority of his playing career at Swansea City. After ...
in the penalty shoot out which ensured Barnsley won their place back in the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
. On 4 October 2007 he handed in a transfer request at
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
after losing his place to summer arrival Heinz Müller. Manager Simon Davey accepted the request.


Ipswich Town

He signed for
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
on 31 January 2008 as a free agent after settling his contract at
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
until the end of the season. He failed to make an appearance for Town, after fellow keeper Stephen Bywater was loaned in from
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...
who kept the goalkeeping shirt for the remainder of the season. Colgan was not offered a new contract at the end of the season and instead started the 2008–09 pre-season by training with
Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...
in the hope of earning a contract with the League Two club. He played his first game in more than 8 months on 16 July 2008 when Bradford City played Farsley Celtic in a pre-season friendly.


Sunderland

On 24 July 2008, Colgan returned to the Premier League and signed with
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
under the tenure of Roy Keane. The idea of Colgan's move was to provide cover for first choice keeper
Craig Gordon Craig Sinclair Gordon (born 31 December 1982) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian, where he is club captain, and the Scottish national team. Gordon started his c ...
, as well as competing for a place on the bench with fellow back-up keepers Darren Ward and Marton Fulop. Colgan was named as a substitute on several occasions, but failed to make an appearance for The Black Cats. He was eventually released on 28 May 2009 by Keane's replacement
Ricky Sbragia Richard Sbragia (born 26 May 1956) is a Scottish football coach and former player. His playing career, mainly in the English lower leagues began at Birmingham City, Walsall, Blackpool, York City and a loan spell at Darlington. Sbragia had a b ...
along with six other first team players, notably
Dwight Yorke Dwight Eversley Yorke CM (born 3 November 1971) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian former professional footballer and current manager of Australian A-League club Macarthur FC. Throughout his club career, he played for Aston Villa, Manchester Uni ...
,
Rade Prica Rade Stanislav Prica (born 30 June 1980) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the only player who has won league championships in the three Scandinavian countries – Sweden, Denmark and Norway. He also play ...
and
David Connolly David James Connolly (born 6 June 1977) is a retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He played for various clubs including Feyenoord and Excelsior in the Netherlands as well as Wigan Athletic and Sunderland in the Premier Le ...
.


Grimsby Town

Colgan dropped three leagues down and re-signed for his former club
Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
on 13 July 2009. He had previously spent a month on loan with Grimsby 15 years earlier whilst the club were a mid-table team in what is now the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
, but Grimsby side had since dropped two divisions to
League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
. Colgan signed for The Mariners after being recommended to manager Mike Newell by his former boss at Sunderland, Roy Keane. Colgan stepped into a squad with only teenagers as his cover, Leigh Overton and Ed Eley, neither of whom had any competitive outings in the first team. Colgan's second stint at
Blundell Park Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1899, but only one of the original stands remains. The current capacity of the ground is 9, ...
got off to a slow start as an early season injury put him out of action for 6 weeks. Mike Newell replaced Colgan with loan signings Tommy Forecast and Josh Lillis. Colgan made his return from injury on 30 September in a 3–2 defeat against
Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
. Over the Easter weekend period, injuries to both Colgan and his young understudy Overton meant that Mark Oxley was signed on an emergency loan to deputise. Colgan returned to the side for the away victory against
Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...
on 10 April. In what was his final game for the club he was assaulted by one of his own fans when a fan ran onto the pitch to confront him moments after he had conceded the first goal in a 3–0 defeat at
Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home groun ...
that condemned Grimsby to relegation. Colgan activated a clause in his contract which meant he was able to leave the club in the event of relegation. Manager
Neil Woods Neil Stephen Woods (born 30 July 1966) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is academy manager at Grimsby Town. As a player, he was a striker from 1983 to 2000 for Doncaster Rovers, Rangers, Ipswich Town, Bra ...
commented that it was up to Colgan if he wished to leave the club. It was also stated that the signing of
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
's Kenny Arthur as Grimsby's new first choice keeper could sway Colgan's decision into leaving the club in favour of remaining as Town's back up goalkeeper for the upcoming season. After failing to agree terms with another club during pre-season, Colgan returned to Grimsby for pre-season training. On 15 October 2010, Colgan moved on a month's loan to
Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
side
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
, as cover for the injured
Alex Smithies Alexander Smithies (born 5 March 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Leicester City. Smithies is a product of the Huddersfield Town academy who first came into prominence during the 200 ...
and the experienced Ian Bennett. He made no appearances and returned after one month. It was reported on 17 November 2010 it was stated by Grimsby chairman
John Fenty John Shelton Fenty (born 10 December 1961) is an English politician, businessman and former football chairman. He was the Conservative councillor for the Humberston and New Waltham ward of North East Lincolnshire Council until 2021. He is the fo ...
that Colgan had no future at the club and on 7 January 2011 Colgan was released from his contract by mutual consent.


Huddersfield Town

On 21 January 2011, Colgan re-signed for
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
on a contract running to the end of the season, mainly as back-up for Ian Bennett, while
Alex Smithies Alexander Smithies (born 5 March 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Leicester City. Smithies is a product of the Huddersfield Town academy who first came into prominence during the 200 ...
is recovering from injury. He finished the 2010–11 season without playing a single league game for The Terriers, but made his debut in a 3–0 victory over Carlisle United in the
Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...
. During the 2011–12 season, Colgan remained the club's third choice goalkeeper, making two appearances all season, one in the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
and another in the
Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...
. Despite not featuring as a regular in the league he was named as a substitute in the
Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
play-off final victory over
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
. On 29 May 2012 it was announced that Colgan would be appointed as full-time academy goalkeeping coach at Huddersfield for the 2012–13 campaign, but the club would retain his playing registration.


International career

Colgan made his Ireland début in March 2002, against
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
. He went on to make a total of ten appearances for his country, but was selected many more times for the national squad as a backup to the likes of
Shay Given Séamus John James Given (born 20 April 1976) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. With 134 caps, he is the second-highest capped Republic of Ireland player. Given started his career at Celtic, however he neve ...
and Paddy Kenny.


Coaching career

Colgan worked part-time as a goalkeeping coach with
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
's academy while playing for
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Colgan was appointed to a similar full-time role at Huddersfield Town. In July 2014 Colgan made the step up to the club's first team goalkeeping coach, with Ian Bennett replacing him in his previous role with the academy. In June 2017, following Huddersfield's promotion to the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
, Colgan was sacked as the club's goalkeeping coach. He was reported to have consulted the Professional Football Coaches Association about possible legal action for
wrongful dismissal In law, wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination or wrongful discharge, is a situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been terminated by the employer, where the termination breaches one or more terms of the contra ...
. In July 2017 he was appointed to the coaching staff at
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...
. On 16 October 2020, Colgan joined
Chris Hughton Christopher William Gerard Hughton (born 11 December 1958) is a professional football manager and former player. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team. After making his professional debut aged 20, Hughton spen ...
's backroom team at
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
as their goalkeeping coach. In October 2022, Colgan returned to
Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
as goalkeeping coach.


Career statistics


Club

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International

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Honours

;Hibernian *
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2000–01 ;Barnsley *
Football League One play-offs The EFL League One play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL League One table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , the play-offs comprise ...
:
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
;Dundee United *Scottish Cup runner-up: 2004–05 ;Individual *
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
Player of the Year: 2005–06


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Colgan, Nick 1973 births Living people People from Drogheda Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Association football goalkeepers Chelsea F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Reading F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Hibernian F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Dundee United F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Scottish Premier League players National League (English football) players Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Scotland Association football goalkeeping coaches Barnsley F.C. non-playing staff Wigan Athletic F.C. non-playing staff Nottingham Forest F.C. non-playing staff Stockport County F.C. non-playing staff