Christopher John Porter (born 12 December 1983) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who most recently played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

Porter began his career at Third Division side Bury, where he scored 20 goals in 78 appearances between 2003 and 2005. This prompted a move to

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

club

. He moved to the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

with

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

in 2007, before returning to England with

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

. He dropped down a division in 2011, joining

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

. With the Blades, he made over 100 appearances in 3½ years, scoring 23 goals. He had two short loan spells away from the club, playing for

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

and Chesterfield. He then joined

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

in January 2015, where he scored 30 goals in 95 appearances over 2½ seasons. In May 2017, he signed for

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

, scoring 54 goals in 189 appearances over five seasons at the Cheshire club before returning to Oldham in the summer of 2022.

Career

Bury

Born in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

, Porter attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

, where he was a member of the school's

Independent Schools Football Association Independent Schools Football Association (ISFA) oversees football in independent schools in the United Kingdom. The ISFA is affiliated to the Football Association. The chairman is current Headmaster of Hampton School Kevin Knibbs. History Dick ...

Cup winning side in 2001. Having previously featured in the British Universities team, Porter had unsuccessful trials with

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

before joining Bury on trial. He featured for the reserve team during the 2002–03 season in a 3–2 defeat to their

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

counterparts. He scored Bury's two goals in the game, assisted on each occasion by Bury manager

Andy Preece Andrew Preece (born 27 March 1967) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is the manager of Chorley.

2002–03 season

Porter made the bench for Bury's Third Division 0–0 draw with

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

at Victoria Park on 7 March 2003, but was an unused substitute. He made his professional debut on 15 March when Bury travelled to

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an association football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 and from 1891 played home games at Moss Rose. It competed in the short ...

. He came on to replace

Terry Dunfield Terence Dunfield (born February 20, 1982) is a Canadian former soccer player, coach and pundit, as well as soccer analyst for TSN and colour commentator for OneSoccer. As a player he was a midfielder who played in the Premier League although ...

after 73 minutes of the 0–0 draw. He made his second and final appearance of the season on 3 May in Bury's 3–0 home defeat by

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

, when he replaced Paul O'Shaughnessy after 69 minutes.

2003–04 season

During Bury's 2003–04 pre-season campaign, Porter scored the third in their 3–0 win over

Leigh RMI Leigh Genesis Football Club, formerly known as Horwich RMI (Railway Mechanics Institute) and Leigh RMI, is an English amateur association football club that currently plays in the South Lancashire Counties Football League. The semi-professional ...

, before scoring a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

against a young

side to stake a claim for a starting position in Bury's opening game of the season. His pre-season form paid dividends, earning a starting berth alongside

David Nugent David James Nugent (born 2 May 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He started his career in 2002 when he signed his first professional contract with Bury. He left the club in 2005, when he joined Pres ...

in the season opening 4–2 defeat against

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

on 9 August 2003. One week later, he scored his first professional goal in the 3–2 home defeat to

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

. Porter, who said that "I didn't enjoy it is debut goalas much as I wanted because we lost", was withdrawn from the game after spraining his ankle. He made it two goals in two games on 23 August as his side saw off

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system. Formed in ...

2–0, but he again failed to complete the full 90 minutes with a recurrence of his ankle injury. Porter scored his tenth and final goal of the season on 8 May as Bury beat Macclesfield 2–0 at

Gigg Lane Gigg Lane is a football ground in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, built for Bury F.C. in 1885. The first match was played on 12 September 1885 between Bury and a team from Wigan. One of the world's oldest professional football stadiums, Gi ...

. He made 40 appearances in all competitions over the season.

2004–05 season

In the newly renamed League Two, Porter scored his first goal of the season for Bury on 21 August 2004 in a 1–1 draw with Chester City. He received the first

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...

of his career on 28 September during a

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

first round match with

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

. Already on a yellow card, Porter was sent off in the 90th minute of the encounter, with the scores tied at 1–1. He bundled the ball into the net using his hand, and referee Mark Cowburn showed him a straight red for the handball offence. Bury eventually lost the game 3–1

after extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a Tie (draw), tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is ...

, ending the game with nine men on the field. Following his suspension, he returned to score from the bench in the 1–1 draw at

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

on 9 October. Porter had been a transfer target for

ahead of their clash with

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

on 15 March, with Oldham boss

Ronnie Moore Ronald David Moore (born 29 January 1953) is an English football manager and former player. He has taken charge of several clubs, including Rotherham United, Tranmere Rovers and Hartlepool United. He is currently the chief scout at Hartlepool ...

saying that the club had made "a reasonable offer". Bury manager

Graham Barrow Graham Barrow (born 13 June 1954) is an English former footballer who has since become a professional manager in the English game. He is currently working for Wigan Athletic as an assistant manager to Shaun Maloney. Playing career Having previo ...

said there was "no chance of him leaving", with the club stating that Oldham wanted to take Porter on loan with a view to a permanent deal in the summer. The loan move never materialised, as Porter matched last seasons tally with his final goal of the season on 9 April when Bury drew 2–2 with Kidderminster. He scored ten goals in 36 appearances. With his contract expiring, Porter was offered a new contract to remain with Bury in the summer of 2005.

Oldham Athletic

After rejecting a new contract offer from Bury, Porter joined

side

on 22 June 2005, signing a two-year deal with the club. His aim was to "impress in pre-season, get a place in the starting line-up when the season starts and keep it". He also said he was "relishing the challenge" of playing at a higher level. Porter's transfer fee was subject to a tribunal, with Bury rejecting an initial £25,000 offer from Oldham. With Bury initially asking for £275,000, the tribunal set the transfer fee at £50,000 up front, with Bury receiving £25,000 after Porter had made 15 appearances for Oldham, and a further £25,000 after 30 games. The tribunal also added a 15% sell-on clause for any future transfer fee.

2005–06 season

Porter scored on his League One debut on 6 August, heading in a Rob Scott

throw-in A throw-in is a method of restarting play in a game of association football when the whole of ball passes over the touchline. It is governed by Law 15 of Laws of the Game (association football), the Laws of the Game. In Scotland it is known a ...

after 24 minutes to help his side to a 2–0 win over

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil, a town in Somerset, England, with a council named Yeovil Town * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town W.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil T ...

, despite carrying a knee injury. He scored the first hat-trick of his career when Oldham drew 3–3 with

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground was in a predominantly resi ...

on 19 November. His trio of goals, all headers, arrived within the first 23 minutes of the game, scoring all three in 12 minutes. An ankle injury left Porter battling for fitness in February, and a knee injury left him only able to make sporadic appearances until the end of the season, requiring specialist treatment in the close season. He ended the season having made 35 appearances in the league and cups, scoring nine goals.

2006–07 season

In the 2006–07 season, Porter opened his scoring account with a brace during a 2–0 win against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

on 12 September. In March 2007, it was reported that

side

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

were interested in signing Porter on loan with a view to a permanent £600,000 move in the summer. Oldham manager John Sheridan expressed his anger at "people unsettling our players when we're trying to push for promotion". He also added that Porter had recently "missed five or six chances he'd usually put away. So something's up." After missing five games with knee damage, Porter returned to action in a 1–0 win over promotion rivals Yeovil on 31 March. He then scored his 20th goal of the season on 7 April in a 1–1 home draw with Huddersfield. Having turned down a £650,000 bid from Championship side

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

for Porter during the January

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, Oldham managing director

Simon Corney Simon Corney is a businessman and the former chairman, director and former owner of English association football, football club Oldham Athletic A.F.C., Oldham Athletic. Working in the field of telecommunications in New York City, Corney bought Ol ...

believed that the club faced a battle to retain Porter's services in the summer, but said that "we don't want to stand in the way of players who can better themselves at bigger clubs", revealing that there was interest from a Premiership club. He scored his 22nd and final goal of the season with the only goal against Chesterfield on the final day of the season, securing a

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eith ...

place for his side. Porter described the goal as "the biggest goal of my career — maybe not the best but certainly the most important". He played in both the 2–1 play-off semi-final first leg defeat to Blackpool, and the 3–1 second leg defeat. After making 40 first-team appearances and scoring 22 goals for Oldham, Oldham offered Porter a new contract to remain with the club. The club offered Porter what Simon Corney described as "a good contract", and with no decision made by the player in June, the club's owners decided to put a block on all incoming transfers while they waited to see if they would receive a transfer fee for Porter if he were to leave. Porter was also offered a chance to join

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

by manager

Craig Levein Craig William Levein (born 22 October 1964) is a Scottish professional association football, football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone. During his playing c ...

, but withdrew the offer after Porter stalled in his decision. Levein added that he would only "want people who are desperate to come to this club. He just did not give that impression, so I wished him all the best and told him we are no longer interested".

Motherwell

Porter signed for

Mark McGhee Mark Edward McGhee (born 25 May 1957) is a Scottish former professional football player and coach. A former forward, McGhee started his career at Greenock Morton in 1975 and had spells at clubs including Newcastle United, Aberdeen, Hamburg, ...

side

on a free transfer on 3 July 2007.

2007–08 season

Porter made his Motherwell debut on 4 August 2007 when his side earned a 1–0 away win at St Mirren. His first goal for the club arrived on 25 August with the winning goal in a 2–1 win against Gretna, a match which was designated an 'away' game while Gretna were ground sharing

Fir Park Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and was the temporary home of Gretna for the 2007–2008 SPL season. ...

with Motherwell. He scored 18 goals in 42 appearances.

2008–09 season

Porter made his European debut in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

during the 2008–09 season, replacing John Sutton after 67 minutes of the 1–0 defeat to

AS Nancy Association Sportive Nancy Lorraine (), known as AS Nancy Lorraine, and more commonly as Nancy, is a French football club founded in 1967 and based in Nancy, Grand Est. The club plays its home matches at the Stade Marcel Picot located in Tomb ...

at the

Stade Marcel-Picot The Stade Marcel Picot is a stadium located in Tomblaine, France, near the city of Nancy, France, Nancy. Built in 1926, it is used by Ligue 2 association football, football team AS Nancy Lorraine, Nancy. The stadium was completely rebuilt and i ...

on 18 September 2008. He started in the 2–0 home defeat by the French side in the return leg on 2 October. Between these games, Porter received his first red card since 2004 in a 2–1 extra time defeat at home to

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...

on 24 September in the League Cup. He scored his first goal of the season in Motherwell's 3–2 win over

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

on 5 October. Porter scored his second career hat-trick for Motherwell on 27 December to help them to a 3–2 win over Inverness. Porter scored his eighth goal of the season with the only goal of the game as Motherwell beat Hearts at Fir Park on 7 January 2009. He scored his final Motherwell goal on 18 January with the final goal in a 4–0 away win over Dundee United. During January, Porter was subject to a number of bids from both Scottish and English clubs. With his contract expiring in the summer, and having already rejected speculation of a move to Hearts, Porter again rejected another move, this time back to England with

club

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

after a £200,000 bid. Later in January, Porter was again linked with a move away, on this occasion to

side

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

, with Motherwell accepting a £400,000 offer for the player.

Derby County

After being linked with a move away from Motherwell to clubs including Heart of Midlothian,

and

, Porter finally made a move away from the Scottish club and back to England in the

with

on 3 February 2009 for a fee in the region of £400,000. He became Derby manager

Nigel Clough Nigel Howard Clough (born 19 March 1966) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Mansfield Town. Playing predominantly as a forward, but later in his career used as a midfielder, Clough was capped by ...

's first signing. He signed a 2½-year deal with County, saying that "I really enjoyed my time in Scotland and it was a difficult decision to leave Motherwell".

2008–09 season

Porter made his debut for the club as a replacement for

Rob Hulse Robert William Hulse (born 25 October 1979) is an English former footballer who played as a striker. He had primarily spent his career at second tier level, playing there with Crewe Alexandra, West Bromwich Albion, Leeds United, Sheffield Un ...

in Derby's 3–0 win at

on 7 February 2009. He hoped to have a part to play when Derby faced

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in the fourth round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

on 15 February. Porter said: "I'm from

and I support Manchester United, so it would be even more special to play against them". Porter came on for his home debut in the game, once again replacing Hulse, while the Rams were 3–1 down to United. Manchester United eventually won the match 4–1. After making his first start for the club in their 2–1 defeat to

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

, Porter continued in the starting eleven on 3 March in a game against

, and his selection paid off by scoring his first two goals for Derby in the 2–2 draw. He scored his third goal for Derby on 7 March, giving his side the lead by scoring from eight yards after just one minute of a 2–1 win against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

. In the match, Porter was withdrawn at half-time, and was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the season with a hip injury.

2009–10 season

Porter's hip injury left him out of action for four months. He returned for pre-season duty on 11 July 2009, scoring the only goal of the game in a friendly win against

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...

at the

Pirelli Stadium Pirelli Stadium is an association football stadium on Princess Way in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. It was built in 2005 and is the current home of Burton Albion FC, replacing the club's old Eton Park home, also on Princess Way, ...

. However, Porter's hip problem that ruled him out of the final stages of the 2008–09 season struck once again, with the player requiring an operation that would again rule him out for a number of months. He finally made his return to first-team action for the first time since March on 8 December, making a substitute appearance in Derby's 0–0 stalemate with

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England that is the home ground of Preston North End. Built in 1875 and in use since 1878, Deepdale is recognised as being one of the oldest continuously used football stadium ...

. He then scored his first goal of the season four days later on his 26th birthday, coming off the bench to give his side a 1–0 win at

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. Having featured mostly as a substitute for Derby, Porter began his most consistent run in the team during March, making five consecutive starts, but promised the club's staff and fans that after "a good pre-season and an injury-free season everybody will see the best of me and what I can do". He ended his season with 24 games played and four goals scored.

2010–11 season

Ahead of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season, Porter was confident that he and his fellow strikers at Derby made up "one of the best strike forces in the Championship", and that "injuries hindered the team's progress last season". He missed a portion of pre-season after requiring an injection for his troublesome hip, but returned for a 3–3 friendly draw with

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

on 22 July. In his second appearance of the season, a 1–0 League Cup defeat to

on 10 August, Porter broke down with another hip injury, having to be replaced at half-time. He required further scans and specialist treatment to overcome the injury. Porter returned to action for the first time in three months as a substitute in Derby's 2–1 defeat to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

on 27 November. He described his time out of action as "his worst time in football", not knowing the cause of the injury. He was selected to start for the New Year's Day trip to Preston, where he scored two goals to help his side to a 2–1 victory. With his contract expiring at the end of the season, Nigel Clough challenged Porter to "earn himself another contract". Over the next month, Porter was a regular feature in Clough's starting line-up, but the manager believed that Porter was "working hard without reward". Despite helping the Derby County reserve team to a league title, Porter continued to find himself in and out of the first-team in the latter stages of the season. On 12 May, it was revealed that Porter was to be released by the club and not offered a new contract after his deal expired. Injury restricted him to only 50 appearances with 25 starts, scoring nine goals.

Sheffield United

Porter signed for

on 15 July 2011, signing a two-year contract.

2011–12 season

Porter began the 2011–12 pre-season with a goal in a 1–1 friendly draw with

on 31 July. He made his full debut for the Blades, starting against his former club

, in a 2–0 away win on the opening day of the season. He was replaced by

Daniel Bogdanović Daniel Bogdanović (born 26 March 1980) is a retired footballer who played as a striker. Born in Libya, he represented the Malta national team. Club career Bogdanović spent six months with Cherno More during the second half of the 2002–0 ...

after 78 minutes of play. Porter scored his first goal for the club against

on 27 August at

Huish Park Huish Park is a Association football, football stadium located in Yeovil, Somerset, England. The stadium has been home to Yeovil Town F.C. since its completion in 1990, following their relocation from Huish Athletic Ground, Huish. Huish Park has ...

with the only goal of the game. After helping his side to the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, Porter scored the decisive goal to send the Blades through to the

2012 Football League One play-off final The 2012 Football League One play-off final was an association football match which was played on 26 May 2012 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Huddersfield Town A.F.C., Huddersfield Town and Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United to determin ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

as his side beat

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

1–0 in the semi-final second leg on 14 May, following a 0–0 draw in the first leg. Sheffield United went on to lose the final to

on penalties, with Porter replacing

Richard Cresswell Richard Paul Wesley Cresswell (born 20 September 1977) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played in the Premier League and Football League for York City, Mansfield Town, Sheffield Wedn ...

in the 85th minute of normal time. Porter concluded the season having made 44 appearances, scoring eight goals.

2012–13 season

After a lengthy period of negotiation, Porter agreed a new two-year deal with Sheffield United in July 2012. He described his first season with the club as "slightly frustrating but I'm hoping to kick on this year". However, his first goal of the new season didn't arrive until 3 November, where he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 FA Cup win against

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

. Porter suffered an injury lay-off through much of December 2012 and January 2013. Meanwhile, Sheffield United manager Danny Wilson declared that there had been interest from other clubs in Porter.

Shrewsbury Town loan

After sitting in the stands watching Sheffield United defeat

2–1 at the

New Meadow New Meadow, also known as The Croud Meadow for sponsorship purposes, is a stadium situated on the southern outskirts of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, between the districts of Meole Brace and Sutton Farm, and close to the A5. It serves the home grou ...

on 9 February 2013, Porter was sent out on loan to Shrewsbury in an initial one-month loan deal on 13 February. Porter hoped to get "a run of games together" and he added "hopefully I'll get some goals". He did just that by scoring ten minutes into his debut during a 2–0 win over

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

Prenton Park Prenton Park is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Prenton, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers F.C., Tranmere Rovers Football Club since opening in 1912, and formerly the home ground ...

on 15 February, playing the full 90 minutes. After one month with Shrewsbury and having made five appearances, Porter returned to Sheffield.

Return to Sheffield United

Having been told by Blades manager Danny Wilson to seize his opportunity when selected in the first-team, Porter made an immediate impact after being introduced as a half-time substitute for

Dave Kitson David Barry Kitson (born 21 January 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He made 420 appearances in the Premier League and Football League, including 145 for Reading. Kitson began his career with non-le ...

in his first match for the club since his return from his Shrewsbury loan. He scored the equalising goal 20 minutes after arriving on the pitch to earn a 1–1 draw with

on 6 April 2013. Following Wilson's dismissal as manager, caretaker manager Chris Morgan selected Porter to start for his first game in charge on 13 April. Porter scored the opening goal of the game in a 2–0 win over

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

. This goal represented a personal milestone for Porter, being his 100th career goal. He ended the season with four goals for United in 28 appearances.

2013–14 season and Chesterfield loan

Again out of favour at Sheffield United, Porter signed on loan for League Two Chesterfield on 4 October 2013 for one month. He made his debut on 5 October as an 81st-minute substitute, replacing

Gary McSheffrey Gary McSheffrey (born 13 August 1982) is an English football manager and former player who is U-21 head coach at Sheffield United. As a player he was a striker and left winger who made more than 450 appearances in the Football League and Pr ...

in a 4–3 away defeat to

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

. He made three league appearances and one Football League Trophy appearances before returning to Sheffield United. On his return to Sheffield, Porter's former manager David Weir had been replaced with

, who he had previously played under at

. Clough was willing to allow Porter a chance to fight for his place in the first-team. He made his first start since his Chesterfield loan on 9 November 2013 in an FA Cup first round tie with

. He scored a late

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

to hand the Blades a 3–2 win. He finished the season with 41 appearances for Sheffield United with eleven goals scored.

2014–15 season

Sheffield United had the option to automatically extend Porter's contract by a further 12-months following the expiry of his original two-year deal. The option was not exercised after the club decided to offer Porter an alternate deal, while still keeping the player on the 'retained list'. After delaying signing a reduced-terms offer, Porter eventually signed a new one-year deal on 10 June 2014. The club planned to let Porter leave the club on loan during the January transfer window. It was then revealed in January 2015 that two potential buyers had spoken to Porter about his availability on a permanent transfer after being told he was surplus to requirements at Bramall Lane. After making just five appearances in the 2014–15 season, Clough announced that Porter was able to leave the club on a free transfer.

Colchester United

After having his Sheffield United contract terminated, on 22 January 2015, Porter signed an 18-month deal with

2014–15 season

Porter made his debut for the U's on 24 January, starting in the 2–0 relegation battle victory over

, before being substituted for

Macauley Bonne Macauley Miles Bonne (born 26 October 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for National League side Southend United and the Zimbabwe national team. Bonne progressed through the Colchester United Academy, having previously ...

in injury time. He scored his first goal for the club in his second game, opening the scoring against

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

Valley Parade Valley Parade, currently known as University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater association football, football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium was built in 1886 as the home of Manningham F.C. ...

on 31 January in a 1–1 draw. He ended the season with seven league goals in 21 appearances for Colchester.

2015–16 season

Ahead of the 2015–16 season, Porter was named as

club captain The captain of a football/soccer team, sometimes known as the skipper, is a team member chosen to be the on-pitch leader of the team; they are often one of the older or more experienced members of the squad, or a player that can heavily influ ...

on 21 July 2015. After an injury blighted the start to his season, Porter scored his first goal of the campaign on 21 November in a 4–1 defeat by

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

after coming on as a half-time substitute for

Marvin Sordell Marvin Anthony Sordell (born 17 February 1991) is an English footballer who plays as a forward for club Rayners Lane. Sordell started his career with Fulham prior to joining Watford for a two-year scholarship in 2007. He made his professiona ...

. With the club struggling in League One, on 19 February U's manager

Kevin Keen Kevin Ian Keen (born 25 February 1967) is an English football coach and former player. Keen is currently the coach of West Ham United under-18 team. Keen began his career with Wycombe Wanderers before joining West Ham United in 1983. He spent ...

decided to hand the club captaincy to

Owen Garvan Owen William Garvan (born 29 January 1988) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Garvan began his career in his native Ireland where he played for Home Farm as a schoolboy. He earned a move to England with Ipsw ...

"for the foreseeable future" and to "take a little of the responsibility off him orter. The following day, Porter scored his first goal in over a month with the opener against Bury as the U's fell to a 5–2 defeat. He made 35 appearances during the season and scored seven goals.

2016–17 season

Porter scored his first goal of the season and assisted both Colchester's goals in their 2–0 away victory at

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

on 27 August 2016. He scored a brace in Colchester's 3–2 win over Blackpool on 10 September, with his performance against earning him a place in the EFL 'Team of the Week'. He was again named in the EFL Team of the Week after scoring a brace in Colchester's 2–1 win against

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

on 25 March 2017. He finished the season having scored 16 goals in 39 appearances.

Crewe Alexandra

On 31 May 2017, Porter signed a two-year contract with League Two side

on a free transfer after turning down a new contract offer from Colchester. He scored twice for Crewe on his debut in a 2–2 draw with

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

on 5 August 2017. After scoring 27 goals in his first two seasons at Crewe, an extra 12 months was added to Porter's initial contract, and after scoring his 10th goal of the (

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

-shortened) 2019-2020 season on his 100th appearance, he was reported to have asked manager

David Artell David John Artell (born 22 November 1980) is a association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former professional Football player, player who is head coach of club Grimsby Town F.C., Grimsby Town. He began his caree ...

about a contract for the 2020–2021 season. Porter was offered a new contract in June 2020, but after rejecting the initial 12-month offer signed a new one-year deal in July 2020. However, his return to the first team was delayed due to a thigh injury. He scored seven goals in 37 appearances, and on 13 May 2021, Crewe announced that it had offered Porter a new contract. On 24 May 2021, Porter signed a new one-year deal, and in his fifth season took his Crewe goal tally to 50 goals with the opening goal in a 1–1 draw against

at Gresty Road on 2 November 2021. He scored six goals in 41 appearances during the season, many of which came as "an impact substitute". On 29 April 2022, it was confirmed Porter would leave Crewe at the end of the season.

Oldham Athletic

On 6 June 2022, Porter rejoined Oldham Athletic, recently relegated to the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

, on a one-year contract having spent two seasons with the club 15 years earlier. He scored the first goal of his new spell at Boundary Park on 13 August 2022 in a 3–2 win over

Dorking Wanderers Dorking Wanderers Football Club is a professional football club based in Dorking, Surrey, England. Affiliated to the Surrey County Football Association, they are currently members of and play at Meadowbank. Formed in 1999 by a group of friends ...

, but suffered a hamstring injury which restricted him to one appearance, in a FA Cup fourth qualifying round win over

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, after which he was diagnosed with

deep vein thrombosis Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a type of venous thrombosis involving the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein, most commonly in the legs or pelvis. A minority of DVTs occur in the arms. Symptoms can include pain, swelling, redness, and enl ...

(DVT) above his knee. In February 2023, he was reported to be unlikely to play again for Oldham for the remainder of the season. He was released by Oldham at the end of the season.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Chris 1983 births Living people Footballers from Wigan English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Bury F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Premier League players 21st-century English sportsmen