Chris Porter

Christopher John Porter (born 12 December 1983) is an English professional footballer who most recently played as a forward for Oldham Athletic

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, 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 on 9 October.

Porter had been a transfer target for Oldham Athletic ahead of their clash with Brentford on 15 March, with Oldham boss Ronnie Moore saying that the club had made "a reasonable offer".

Bury manager Graham Barrow 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.

Born in Wigan, Porter attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Blackburn, where he was a member of the school's Independent Schools Football Association Cup winning side in 2001.

Having previously featured in the British Universities team, Porter had unsuccessful trials with Wigan Athletic and 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 counterparts.

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

Following the game, Preece said that "Chris still needs to get some more aggression into his game" and that he "looks a really good prospect".

He then signed a short-term contract with the club.

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 club Oldham Athletic.

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

He came on to replace Terry Dunfield 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, when he replaced Paul O'Shaughnessy after 69 minutes.

During Bury's 2003–04 pre-season campaign, Porter scored the third in their 3–0 win over Leigh RMI, before scoring a hat-trick against a young Oldham Athletic 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 in the season opening 4–2 defeat against Swansea City on 9 August 2003.

One week later, he scored his first professional goal in the 3–2 home defeat to Scunthorpe United.

Porter, who said that "I didn't enjoy it [his debut goal] as 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 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.

He made 40 appearances in all competitions over the 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 of his career on 28 September during a Football League Trophy first round match with Stockport County.

With his contract expiring, Porter was offered a new contract to remain with Bury in the summer of 2005.

After rejecting a new contract offer from Bury, Porter joined League One side Oldham Athletic 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.

He moved to the Scottish Premier League with Motherwell in 2007, before returning to England with Championship club Derby County.

He dropped down a division in 2011, joining Sheffield United.

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 and Chesterfield.

He then joined Colchester United in January 2015, where he scored 30 goals in 95 appearances over 2½ seasons.

In May 2017, he signed for Crewe Alexandra, scoring 54 goals in 189 appearances over five seasons at the Cheshire club before returning to Oldham in the summer of 2022.