side after his suspension, and was involved in the 3–0 defeat to Chesterfield which confirmed Bradford's relegation from League One. Colbeck started the new season in League Two as a substitute, but won a place in the side, and scored his first senior goal against Lincoln City more than three years after his debut. However, after a mistake cost defeat to Milton Keynes Dons, he was told he could join another club on loan. On 24 October 2007, Colbeck went on a month-long loan to Darlington to take the place of injured Julian Joachim. Colbeck scored in both his second and third games before the loan was extended for a second month. The loan deal was cut short when he returned to Bradford City in December 2007 after he had made six appearances for Darlington, but Darlington manager Dave Penney was disappointed to see Colbeck leave saying, "Joe was fantastic for us. He scored a couple of goals and had a real effect on us so we're sorry to see him go." He immediately went back into the Bradford side, and added his second goal for the club in a 2–0 win over Accrington Stanley on New Year's Day. Darlington made a bid to sign Colbeck on a permanent basis during January 2008, but City chairman Julian Rhodes turned down the bid, and Colbeck was a regular player for the rest of the 2007–08 season. The run of games included the third goal in a 3–1 win against former side Darlington at the Darlington Arena. On 19 April 2008, he scored his sixth goal for the club, but first in a home game, when his last minute goal gave Bradford a 2–1 win over Grimsby Town. Three days later, Colbeck was announced as the club's player of the season, even though he had started just 26 league games, 23 of which came in City's 26 games since Colbeck returned on loan from Darlington. Colbeck was surprised to win the award, saying: "If you'd said at the beginning of the season that I would win this award, I'd have thought you were mad. I wasn't even a regular in the team." However, in the following league game, Colbeck was sent off for the second time in his career, for a foul on Dean Lewington, as City lost 2–1 to Milton Keynes Dons, which meant he missed the final game of the