Jack Hobbs

On 2 December, Hobbs made his league debut against Bolton Wanderers, replacing Jamie Carragher in the 51st minute of a 4–0 home win.

Six days later, he made his first league start in a 3–1 defeat away to Reading.

Jack Hobbs (born 18 August 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

He has played in the English Football League and Premier League for Lincoln City, Liverpool, Scunthorpe United, Leicester City, Hull City, Nottingham Forest and Bolton Wanderers.

He made his debut on 9 August in a 2–0 victory over Milton Keynes Dons, when he came on as an 88th-minute substitute for Aleksandar Tunchev.

Hobbs progressed through the Lincoln City youth system 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.

He accepted a three-year scholarship with Lincoln in March 2004, commencing at the start of the 2004–05 season.

A graduate of Lincoln City academy, Hobbs made one appearance for the League Two club in 2005 before signing for Liverpool of the Premier League.

His playing time there was limited, so to gain first-team experience Liverpool loaned him out to Scunthorpe United and Leicester City.

He made his first-team debut on 15 January 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.

At the end of the season, Hobbs entered transfer negotiations with Premier League club Arsenal.

However, the deal fell through because Arsenal demanded the removal of a sell-on clause from the transfer deal.

Tottenham Hotspur and Bolton Wanderers also expressed their desire to sign the defender.

He eventually signed for Liverpool on his 17th birthday on 18 August 2005 on a three-year professional contract.

Commenting on the transfer, he said: "This is unbelievable. I'm still pinching myself and it is a real opportunity for me."

He made his debut for the reserve team in a 3–2 defeat to Everton.

Praising his performance, coach Hugh McAuley said that he played "very well".

He was also a part of the reserve squad which won the 2005–06 FA Youth Cup by beating Manchester City 3–2 in the final.

Hobbs made three appearances for the England national under-19 team in 2007.

Hobbs returned to Lincoln City in September 2021 in his first coaching role, to assist with the club's academy.

Hobbs was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and moved to the village of Moulton, Lincolnshire during his youth.

A student of Spalding Grammar School, he played youth football for Moulton Harrox at the age of 10.

Hobbs made his debut on 25 September 2007 as a substitute against Reading in the League Cup in a 4–3 win.

He made his first start for Liverpool against Cardiff City in the League Cup on 31 October, playing all 90 minutes, and gaining praise from pundits and teammates for his composed performance.

On 25 January 2008, he signed for Championship club Scunthorpe United on loan until the end of the 2007–08 season.

On 16 May 2008, BBC Sport wrote that Hobbs was indecisive about whether to fight for first-team opportunities at Liverpool or to join another club for more playing opportunities.

On 25 May, Hobbs signed for League One club Leicester City on loan for the 2008–09 season.

On joining the club, he said he wanted to help Leicester win promotion to the Championship.

He signed permanently with the latter in 2009 and went on to make more than 100 appearances in three seasons with the club.

Hobbs scored his first goal on 24 January 2009, with a header from Steve Howard's flick-on in a 4–2 victory over Huddersfield Town.

He was red carded on 21 February in a match against Bristol Rovers for fouling Darryl Duffy.

However, the resultant penalty by Rickie Lambert was saved by Mark Bunn.

Leicester manager Nigel Pearson commented that the red card was unfortunate, as he believed the foul was not intentional.

Hobbs joined Hull City two years later and was club captain for the 2011–12 season.

He joined Nottingham Forest in 2013, initially on loan, before signing permanently the following year.

He scored the first goal of his career on 15 February with a header from Ian Morris' cross in the 23rd minute of a 3–2 defeat away to Stoke City.

In his spell with Scunthorpe, Hobbs made nine appearances, scoring one goal.

He was released in 2018, with opportunities in the team limited by persistent injuries.

He then joined Bolton Wanderers before being released in 2020.