Drogheda United Born in
Drogheda,
County Louth, Nick Colgan began his football career with his hometown club
Drogheda United in 1991. He remained at
United Park 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, who at the time were a founding club of the newly designed
FA Premier League 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 and Colgan was designated as the third choice keeper at
Stamford Bridge behind
Dmitri Kharine and
Kevin Hitchcock. In February 1993, Porterfield was sacked and was replaced by player-manager
Glenn Hoddle, who in turn put Colgan up for loan. In September 1993, Colgan was signed by
Dario Gradi in a one-month loan spell with
Crewe Alexandra, 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 at
Grimsby Town who used him as a deputy keeper to
Paul Crichton, but also Colgan went unused at
Blundell Park during his spell in
Humberside. During the 1995–1996 campaign, Colgan joined London city rivals
Millwall 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 who handed Colgan his first team professional debut playing in a 3–2 away defeat at the hands of
West Ham United 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,
Gianluca Vialli,
Dan Petrescu,
Dennis Wise and
Mark Hughes. That season Chelsea won the
1996–97 FA Cup. Colgan was on the bench in the semi-final against
Wimbledon but for the match day squad of the
final Kevin Hitchcock was on the bench instead of Colgan.
Ipswich Town He signed for
Ipswich Town on 31 January 2008 as a free agent after settling his contract at
Barnsley 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 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 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 under the tenure of
Roy Keane. The idea of Colgan's move was to provide cover for first choice keeper
Craig Gordon, 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 along with six other first team players, notably
Dwight Yorke,
Rade Prica and
David Connolly.
Grimsby Town Colgan dropped three leagues down and re-signed for his former club
Grimsby Town 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, but Grimsby side had since dropped two divisions to
League Two. 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 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. 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 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 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 commented that it was up to Colgan if he wished to leave the club. It was also stated that the signing of
Rochdale'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 side
Huddersfield Town, as cover for the injured
Alex Smithies 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 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 on a contract running to the end of the season, mainly as back-up for
Ian Bennett, while
Alex Smithies 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. During the 2011–12 season, Colgan remained the club's third choice goalkeeper, making two appearances all season, one in the
FA Cup and another in the
Football League Trophy. Despite not featuring as a regular in the league he was named as a substitute in the
Football League One play-off final victory over
Sheffield United at
Wembley Stadium. 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==