He turned down a new deal a year later and joined Oldham Athletic on transfer deadline day in September 2009 to rejoin manager Dave Penney, for whom he played at Darlington.
[7] Colbeck broke into the team on a more regular basis and made 11 appearances, including five starts, during the latter half of the 2005–06 season,[8] and was one of six junior players to earn a one-year contract at the League One club.
After eight straight games as substitute, Colbeck made his first start of the season in a West Yorkshire derby against Huddersfield Town on 7 October 2006.
[13] He was suspended following the red card but returned to the side after his suspension, and was involved in the 3–0 defeat to Chesterfield which confirmed Bradford's relegation from League One.
[14] Colbeck started the new season in League Two as a substitute,[15] but won a place in the side, and scored his first senior goal against Lincoln City more than three years after his debut.
"[24] He immediately went back into the Bradford side,[25] and added his second goal for the club in a 2–0 win over Accrington Stanley on New Year's Day.
[46] He was watched in a pre-season friendly playing for City against Bradford Park Avenue by his former Darlington boss Dave Penney, who had since been appointed Oldham Athletic manager.
[48] Colbeck left Bradford in September 2009, on the final day of the summer transfer window to join Penney at League One side Oldham Athletic.
[53] Although described as a "tireless worker",[54] some of his performances angered Oldham's fans, with Colbeck unable to "stamp his authority on games" and his "lack of quality" to deliver a final cross.
[59] When Penney was sacked at the end of the campaign and replaced by Paul Dickov, Colbeck was almost immediately made available for transfer ahead of the 2010–11 season.
[60] Colbeck almost immediately left Oldham and dropped back into League Two to sign for Hereford United on a two-year contract.
[61] His new manager Simon Davey described Colbeck as "just the ideal attacking winger we've been looking for throughout pre-season and I think he is the final piece in the jigsaw".
Colbeck received the first red card of his Hereford career for a professional foul during a 4–0 defeat to Southend United on 18 March 2011.
[72] Colbeck scored his first goal for Grimsby on 27 August 2012 against Mansfield Town, scoring the third goal of the game on 61 minutes, after good link up play between Greg Pearson who crossed into the box, the ball bouncing off strike partner Andy Cook for Colbeck to side-foot it into the top corner, the game finishing a 4–1 to the Grimsby.
[73] On Boxing Day 2012, Colbeck provided 3 assists and scored directly from a corner in the 4–1 Lincolnshire derby win over Lincoln City at Sincil Bank.
[51] However, Colbeck's performances at Oldham also earned mixed reviews akin to McCall's comments, with fans and journalists describing him as a "tireless worker" but his crossing had a "lack of quality".