Jack Collison

Jack David Collison (born 2 October 1988) is a Welsh football manager and former player. He is the head coach for Huntsville City in MLS Next Pro.

Collison began his career with Peterborough United's youth system in 1998, before moving to Cambridge United in 2000, where he stayed for five years. He then moved to West Ham United in 2005 and signed his first professional contract in 2007. Collison played 121 matches and scored 14 goals in seven seasons with the club. After missing a whole year through injury, he spent time on loan at AFC Bournemouth and Wigan Athletic in his final season. He then joined Ipswich Town in 2014, but did not play a single match due to injury, before returning to Peterborough United in 2015 and played in 12 matches. Collison's career was ended through injury in 2016 after 147 career matches. He was capped 15 times for Wales.

Club career

Early career

Born in Watford, Hertfordshire and raised in Shefford, Bedfordshire, Collison started out at the local club Shefford Saints as a schoolboy. He moved to Peterborough United, and later Cambridge United, but was forced to find another club when Cambridge announced their disbanding of the youth set-up after being relegated from the Football League, due to financial problems.

West Ham United

Early career

After leaving Cambridge United, the 17-year-old was offered a trial with West Ham and impressed Academy director Tony Carr enough to be offered a first year scholarship.

Collison continued his development under Carr and his staff at Little Heath before being made reserve team captain at the start of the 2007–08 season. That summer, the teenager also featured in pre-season friendlies against Hornchurch and Milton Keynes Dons. He made his first-team debut on 1 January 2008, when he came on as a substitute for the injured Freddie Ljungberg in their 2–0 Premier League defeat away to Arsenal. Collison was handed his first league start in place of the injured Mark Noble in a 1–0 defeat away to Bolton Wanderers on 11 April 2008.

Rise to first-team

Collison joined the first-team squad on the pre-season tour of North America where he appeared as a 71st-minute substitute for Scott Parker in the 3–1 win over Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew, followed by a 3–2 defeat to the MLS All-Stars. The 2008–09 season began with Collison in Alex Dyer's reserve team, and a loan move to League One promotion-chasers Peterborough had been lined up. However, an impressive substitute appearance in the 2–0 Premier League loss at Manchester United on 29 October coupled by injury problems in the midfield convinced manager Gianfranco Zola that Collison would be better served by remaining at Chadwell Heath and training with the first-team squad.

Collison repaid Zola's faith with more solid performances. He scored his first goal for West Ham, an 18-yard strike, on 8 November in a 3–1 defeat at home to Everton, after coming on as a substitute for the injured Matthew Upson to make his home debut. Collison's good form earned him praise from Zola, who rewarded the 20-year-old with a new five-year contract extension in December, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2013. On Boxing Day, he scored the equaliser at Portsmouth and had a hand in the next two goals in a 4–1 rout. Collison scored his third goal of the season, the only goal of the match in a 1–0 win at home to Manchester City on 1 March 2009. Although he mostly played in centre midfield during his days in the reserves, he eventually established himself as first-choice on the left side of Zola's midfield diamond.

In a 1–0 win away at Wigan Athletic three days later, Collison dislocated his kneecap while attempting to chest down a long ball and was ruled out for six weeks. He returned to the first-team two months later, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute in a 1–0 win away at Stoke City. On 24 May, he finished the season on a high, by assisting Junior Stanislas to score the winner, in a 2–1 win at home to Middlesbrough. Collison ended the season having made 24 appearances in all competitions, before being named Young Hammer of the Year by Tony Carr.

On 23 August 2009, Collison played 89 minutes of a 2–1 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur, before learning that