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 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 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. On 25 January 2008, he signed for Championship club Scunthorpe United on loan until the end of the 2007–08 season. 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. Leicester City 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 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 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. In his first season with the club, besides winning the League One title and achieving