Jack Colback

Jack Raymond Colback (born 24

October 1989) is an English professional Jack Colback
footballer who most recently played as a
central midfielder.

Colback began his career at Sunderland in

2008, having graduated from their
academy, and broke into the team
following loans at Ipswich Town of the
Championship. After 115 Premier League
appearances with Sunderland, his contract
expired and he controversially moved to
their local rivals, Newcastle United. After
he was dropped from the 25-strong
Premiership squad for the 2017–2018
season,[3] he went on loan to Nottingham
Forest for one and a half seasons.

He played once for England at Under-20

level in 2009, and was called up for the
senior squad for the first time in August
2014.
Colback playing for Sunderland in 2012
Personal information

Contents Full name Jack Raymond Colback[1]

Date of birth 24 October 1989[1]
Club career Place of birth Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Sunderland Height 5 ft 10 in (1.77 m)[2]
Early career and loans Playing position(s) Midfielder
Breakthrough
Youth career
Newcastle United 1999–2008 Sunderland
Nottingham Forest (loan)
Senior career*
International career Years Team Apps (Gls)
Style of play 2008–2014 Sunderland 115 (4)
Career statistics 2009–2010 → Ipswich Town (loan) 37 (4)
2010–2011 → Ipswich Town (loan) 13 (0)
Honours
2014–2020 Newcastle United 93 (5)
References 2018 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 16 (1)
External links 2018–2019 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 38 (3)
National team
2009 England U20 1 (0)
Club career * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic
league only and correct as of 5 May 2019
Sunderland

Early career and loans

Colback was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear[1] and joined
the Sunderland academy at the age of 10.[4] On 30 May 2008, Colback
signed his first professional contract with the club.[5]

After manager Steve Bruce announced his intention to loan out Colback,[6]
he signed for Ipswich Town on loan on 6 August 2009 on a deal that would
expire in January 2010.[7] He made his debut for Ipswich in a 3–3 draw
with Shrewsbury Town after extra time in the League Cup, which was won
4–2 in a penalty shootout.[8] His Football League debut came in a 2–0
defeat to West Bromwich Albion after being introduced as a 46th minute
substitute.[9] He scored his first goal for Ipswich against Blackpool and
scored against them again later on in the season in the FA Cup. His form
meant the loan was extended until the end of the 2009–10 season in January
2010.[10] He was voted Ipswich's Players' Player of the Season 2009–10.[11]

He returned to Sunderland from a loan spell at Ipswich Town at the end of

Colback in the match against
Manchester United on the
final day of the 2011–12
Premier League season.
the 2009–10 Championship season and made his Premier League debut as a
76th-minute substitute against Wolverhampton Wanderers. He was later
sent off for two bookable offences,[12] his debut lasting just nine minutes.
He made his home debut against Colchester United in the League Cup on
24 August 2010 as a substitute. Colback went out on loan for a second spell
at Ipswich, confirmed on 15 October and which lasted until 6 January when
he returned to Sunderland.[13][14]
Breakthrough

Following his second loan spell at Ipswich, Colback returned to Sunderland in January 2011, and his
appearances became more frequent. Colback started for Sunderland in their FA Cup 3rd Round defeat to
Notts County on 8 January. He then came off the bench as Sunderland drew 1–1 against local rivals and the
team Colback supported as a child, Newcastle United, on 16 January. He also appeared as a second-half
substitute as Sunderland drew 0–0 with Arsenal on 5 March. Colback made his first Premier League start for
Sunderland in their 2–0 defeat at Birmingham City on 16 April.[15] Colback also started the following week
as Sunderland beat Wigan Athletic 4–1. Colback had arguably his best performance in a Sunderland shirt in
their 2–1 win at Bolton on 7 May 2011.[16] Colback demonstrated his versatility by being deployed at left
back in the final game of the season at West Ham.[17]

Colback started the first game of the 2011–12 season, as Sunderland drew with Liverpool at Anfield.
Sunderland drew 1–1 with Colback playing alongside Lee Cattermole in central midfield.[18] On 26
December 2011, Colback scored his first goal for the club, a deflected effort, in 1–1 draw with Everton in
the Premier League.[19] Colback was deployed at left back on New Year's Day 2012 against Manchester
City, and helped Sunderland to a surprise victory against the Premier League leaders. He again played at left
back in Sunderland's 4–2 win at Wigan two days later, where he sustained a knee injury which ruled him out
for a few weeks. On 5 January 2012, he signed a 2-year contract extension which expired in June 2014.[20]
Colback returned from injury as a substitute in Sunderland's 1–1 FA Cup draw with Middlesbrough, and
returned to the starting line up in central midfield as the Black Cats beat Norwich 3–0 on 1 February. He
scored his second goal for Sunderland with a left footed strike in the replay against Middlesbrough at the
Riverside Stadium, as Sunderland won 2–1 after extra time to reach the fifth round.

The 2012–13 season saw Colback play regularly at left back due to injuries to Danny Rose, and right back in
the Tyne-Wear derby as Sunderland defeated Newcastle 3–0.[21] Following this, Colback is willing to play
out in position, so it will help the club's solve their issue.[22]

Following Rose's return to Tottenham, Colback began the 2013–14

season as Sunderland's first choice at left back, before being moved
back into central midfield by Gus Poyet.[23] On 28 December
Colback scored a last minute goal in the fifth minute of injury time
to salvage a 2–2 draw at Cardiff City.[24] Colback made his 100th
Premier League appearance on 1 January 2014 in a 1–0 home defeat
to Aston Villa. He scored his second goal of the season on 1
February 2014, scoring the third goal in a 3–0 away win against
Newcastle United.[25] He scored his third goal of the season on 7
Sunderland players celebrate May 2014, scoring the first goal in a 2–0 home win to West Brom, to
Colback's last-minute equaliser retain Sunderland's top division safety and relegating Norwich City
against Cardiff on 28 December to the Football League Championship.[26]
2013.
With his contract about to expire at the end of the 2013–14 season,
then-manager Paolo Di Canio urged to Colback to make a decision
on his future at Sunderland. [27] In November, Colback confirmed that talks of a new deal had started after
initially rejecting a new contract in the summer under the management of Di Canio.[28] Further talks over a
new contract continued in February.[29] In April, it was reported that Colback had turned down a new
contract with the club and was set to depart upon the expiry of the contract.[30] Several Premier League
clubs made contract offers to sign Colback, but Sunderland refused to give up on Colback and hoped he
would stay at the club.[31][32]

Newcastle United

On 9 June 2014, Colback signed for Newcastle United on a free

transfer. He is the first player since Lionel Pérez in 1998 to transfer
directly from Sunderland to Newcastle.[33] As a supporter of
Newcastle he admitted that due to the rivalry between the two clubs,
Sunderland fans would "hate [him] for the rest of [his] life".[34]
Sunderland criticised Colback's move to Newcastle United, and
described the transfer as leaving a "bitter taste".[35]

Colback made his competitive debut on 17 August as Newcastle

began the season with a 2–0 defeat at home to Manchester City,
playing the full 90 minutes.[36] Colback scored his first goal for the
club on 28 December in a 3–2 win over Everton, intercepting a Ross Colback marking Willian in a 2–0 loss
Barkley clearance to score Newcastle's third of the match.[37] Four against Chelsea on 10 January 2015.
days later he scored in the second consecutive game, a 25-yard strike
in a 3–3 draw against Burnley.[38]

Colback was targeted by Hull City for a loan deal in August 2017. Wolverhampton Wanderers as well as his
former club Sunderland also expressed their desire to sign him on a loan deal.[39][40] He turned down the
offers due to geographical reasons and instead started training with the junior team. He was excluded from
the club's official team photo for the 2017–18 season.[41] Benítez justified his exclusion by saying that the
club "had decided the squad before".[42]

Nottingham Forest (loan)

In January 2018, Colback joined Nottingham Forest on loan for the rest of the season.[43] After having
joined Forest, he accused Benítez of disrespecting him during his stint at the club and said that he was
"treated more like a number than a human being".[44]

On 20 July 2018, Colback returned to Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan with the option to make it
permanent at the end of the season.[45]

On 23 June 2020, Colback was released by Newcastle United. [46]

International career
Colback has received one cap for the England under-20 team, he played in a 2–0 friendly win against Italy at
Loftus Road in March 2009. He replaced Marc Albrighton in the 79th minute as a substitute.[47]

On 28 August 2014, Colback received his first call-up to the senior team for the matches against Norway
and Switzerland,[48] but had to withdraw from the squad with a calf injury.[49][50]

Style of play
A former left-back, Colback is a left-footed central midfielder known for his versatility and efficient playing
style; due to his technical skills, passing range and physique, he is neat in possession and rarely gives the
ball away, which along with his athletic ability and defensive work-rate, allows him to link-up the defence
and the attack effectively. Former England manager Roy Hodgson has likened his abilities to those of
Andrea Pirlo.[51][52]

Career statistics
As of 17 March 2018[53]
Colback playing for Ipswich Town
in 2010.
 League FA Cup League Cup Total
Club Season
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2008– Premier
Sunderland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
09 League
Ipswich Town 2009–
Championship 37 4 2 1 2 0 41 5
(loan) 10
2009– Premier
Sunderland 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
10 League
2010–
Ipswich Town Championship 13 0 0 0 1 0 14 0
11
(loan)
Ipswich Town total 50 4 2 1 3 0 55 5
2010–
11 0 1 0 1 0 13 0
11
2011–
35 1 4 1 1 0 40 2
12 Premier
Sunderland 2012– League
35 0 2 0 3 0 40 0
13
2013–
32 3 4 0 5 0 41 3
14
Sunderland Total 114 4 11 1 10 0 135 5
2014–
35 4 0 0 3 0 38 4
15 Premier
2015– League
29 1 0 0 1 0 30 1
16
2016–
Championship 29 0 2 0 3 0 34 0
Newcastle 17
United 2017–
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
18
2018– Premier
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
19 League
2019–
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20
Newcastle United Total 93 5 2 0 7 0 102 5
Nottingham 2017–
16 1 0 0 0 0 16 1
Forest (loan) 18
Championship
Nottingham 2018–
38 3 1 0 0 0 39 3
Forest (loan) 19
Nottingham Forest Total 54 4 1 0 0 0 55 4
Career total 311 17 15 2 20 0 347 19

Honours
Sunderland

Football League Cup runner-up: 2013–14[54]

Individual
 Ipswich Town Players' Player of the Year: 2009–10[55]
Ipswich Town Goal of the Season: 2009–10[55]

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53. Jack Colback (https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=50624) at
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External links
Jack Colback (https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=50624) at
Soccerbase
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jack_Colback&oldid=965608271"

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