Chris Porter (footballer, born 1983)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher John Porter | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Derby County | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2005 | Bury | 71 | (18) |
| 2005–2007 | Oldham Athletic | 66 | (28) |
| 2007–2009 | Motherwell | 59 | (23) |
| 2009– | Derby County | 26 | (7) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 09:43, 25 April 2010 (UTC) | |||
Christopher John "Chris" Porter (born 12 December 1983 in Wigan, England) is an English footballer, playing for Derby County.
Career
Early career
Porter attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Blackburn, where he was a member of the school's ISFA winning side in 2001.[1]. It is here where he became an avid supporter of his beloved Blackburn Rovers.
Porter started his career at Bury, where his form alerted Oldham Athletic who signed him for a fee of £150,000 after going to a tribunal in 2005. The move proved a successful one and he finished the 2006-07 season with 22 League One goals, taking Oldham into the playoffs. However, with Porter's contract was expiring his exploits earned attention from Scotland and there was controversy surrounding Porter when, in June 2007, Dundee United offered Porter a contract. This angered Oldham, who argued that, as under FIFA directives, they would be entitled to a transfer fee as the player was not moving abroad, as the player is under 24 years old. However, a transfer to Scotland was regarded as a "cross-border transfer" by FIFA and they decreed that no fee would be payable, with Dundee United chairman Eddie Thompson pointing out that his club has breached no rules in doing this, and were acting in a proper manner. Despite all this, on 27 June 2007, Dundee United announced they would not be signing Porter as he had turned down the move.
Motherwell
Porter instead opted to join Motherwell on 3 July 2007[2] and his debut season with them proved to be a huge success. Porter scored 15 league goals, finishing as the club's top goalscorer and joint third highest in the league, helping Motherwell finish third, seven points clear of fourth placed Aberdeen and qualify for the 2008/09 Uefa Cup. Porter had a successful start to the 2008/09 season, hitting 9 goals in the first half of the season, but Motherwell's disappointing league form saw him linked with a move back to England in the 2009 January transfer window, including to clubs such as Sheffield United, Nottingham Forest and Cardiff City. Motherwell manager Mark McGhee then went on to claim that he would not keep Porter at the club if he wished to continue his career elsewhere. On 29 January it was revealed that Porter was on the verge of a £425,000 move to Football League Championship side Cardiff City,[3] but the move was hijacked by Derby County, who signed the player for an undisclosed fee (believed to be around £400,000) on January 31, 2009.[4] During his time at Motherwell, Porter scored 27 goals in 65 games in all competitions.
Derby County
Porter was new Derby manager Nigel Clough's first signing and joined on a 2 1/2 year deal which took him through until the end of the 2010/11 season. His debut came as a 69th minute substitute in a 3-0 win at Plymouth Argyle on February 7th, 2009.[5] His first goals for the club came on his 200th career league appearance, as he grabbed a brace on his full home debut in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City on March 3rd, 2009.[6] He grabbed his third four days later, scoring after just 52 seconds against Bristol City in a 2-1 win,[7] but it proved to be his last meaningful contribution of the 2008-09 campaign as a hip injury ruled him out for the remainder of the season.[8] Porter returned to take part in the 2009-10 pre-season, including scoring the winner in a 1-0 win at Burton Albion[9] but aggravated the injury in training in the summer and was ruled out for 9 months after undergoing hip impingement surgery.[8] He returned to the side in a 0-0 draw away to Preston North End on 8th December 2009[10]and scored his first of the season four days later with the header in a 1-0 win away to Watford, the club's first League away win for 9 months.[11] Porter appeared regularly for Derby through the rest of the campaign as Derby battled relegation, making 10 starts and 12 substitute appearances, scoring three times.[8]
Notes
- ^ http://www.qegs.blackburn.sch.uk/former-pupils/news-of-former-pupils_item.php?id=333
- ^ "Striker Porter signs for Steelmen". BBC Sport. 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
- ^ "Exclusive: Cardiff City set to sign Motherwell striker" Walesonline.co.uk Retrieved on 29 January, 2009
- ^ Porter Agrees Rams Switch therams.co.uk Retrieved on 31 January, 2009
- ^ "Plymouth vs Derby County". dcfc.co.uk. 7 February 2009.
- ^ "Derby County vs Swansea City". dcfc.co.uk. 3 March 2009.
- ^ "Derby County vs Bristol City". dcfc.co.uk. 7 March 2009.
- ^ a b c "Porter hoping Rams fans will see best of him next season". ThisIsDerbyshire.co.uk. 10 April 2010.
- ^ "Rams Kick Off With Win". dcfc.co.uk. 13 August 2009.
- ^ "Preston vs Derby County". dcfc.co.uk. 8 December 2009.
- ^ "Watford vs Derby County". dcfc.co.uk. 12 December 2009.
External links
- Chris Porter at Soccerbase