Joe Anyon

Joseph Anyon (born 29 December 1986) is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper.

A youth player at Port Vale, he turned professional at the club in 2004, and was loaned out to non-League sides Stafford Rangers and Harrogate Town to gain experience.

He joined Stafford Rangers on loan towards the end of the 2004–05 season, making five appearances.

He rejoined Stafford on loan in August 2005, again making five appearances.

At the end of the season he was voted Youth Player of the Year by the Port Vale management.

After winning a first-team contract with Vale, Anyon spent time on loan at Harrogate Town, making two appearances in November.

He was the Vale's first-choice goalkeeper from his debut in December 2006 up until a clash that saw him break his leg in March 2009 – later in the year he was voted Player of the Year.

He rejoined Harrogate in February 2006, making nine appearances before returning to Vale after breaking his jaw in April.

He made his first team debut for the Vale in December 2006, after first-choice goalkeeper Mark Goodlad ruptured his right achilles tendon against Bristol City in December 2006 and had to have reconstructive surgery.

He then went on to play the rest of the 2006–07 season, with only 25 goals scored against him.

Goodlad was forced to retire due to his injury and Anyon then established himself as the first-choice keeper, and was voted Young Player of the Year by the Port Vale management.

He was also rumoured to have had his progress tracked by both Liverpool and Birmingham City.

In August 2007 the Daily Mirror reported that his club had rejected a £250,000 bid from Fulham.

Following a 3–1 home defeat to Macclesfield Town in the FA Cup on 28 November 2008, Anyon blasted his teammates, labelling their performance as "a disgrace".

He fractured his tibia after clashing with Drew Talbot in a 2–1 defeat at Chesterfield on 28 March 2009, bringing a premature end to his season.

Despite this, his performances that season earned him the 2009 Player of the Year Award, as well as the award for the best player away from home.

The season began with a disagreement with then-manager Lee Sinnott, but Anyon was #1 under Glover and conceded sixty goals in his 39 appearances, giving Vale one of the better defensive records in the lower half of the League Two table.

In May 2009 he signed a new one-year contract with the Vale.

He returned to fitness to play a reserve team game on 23 September 2009.

His next challenge was to displace teenager Chris Martin.

He was transfer listed in late September, along with the entire Port Vale squad, after manager Micky Adams saw his team slip to a third consecutive defeat.

He said he did not intend to move out on loan to aid in his comeback, despite admitting he had "itchy feet" over a return to first team action.

He failed to regain his place following recovery from the injury and was released in the summer of 2010, whereupon he signed with Lincoln City.

Whilst at City he was loaned out to Morecambe.

In January 2010 he stated that he was willing to join another club on loan in order to get some games.

However, he returned to the starting line up at Vale Park the next month, after young rival Martin was rested.

He performed well over seven games, but made two costly errors that resulted in two goals and dropped points in the play-off hunt.

Thus he was consigned to the bench until the season's end, at which point he was told he would not be offered a new contract at the club.

However, he was told that if he failed to find a new club then he may be offered a new contract at Vale Park on reduced pay.

In May 2010 he signed a two-year deal with Chris Sutton's Lincoln City.

Goalkeeping coach Paul Musselwhite said of him "he's a very good keeper, he's still very young but with a lot of talent, a lot of potential and experience".

He had only came to the club's attention when Musselwhite spotted on television that he had been released by Port Vale.

Anyon replaced the popular Rob Burch, who had signed with Notts County.

He was voted as Lincoln's Player of the Season in 2011–12.

He joined Shrewsbury Town in July 2012.

He joined Macclesfield Town on an emergency loan in January 2013.

He left Shrewsbury in summer 2014, and returned to the game with Crewe Alexandra in January 2015 before he signed with Scunthorpe United later in the month.

He joined Chesterfield in May 2017 and spent two years as a back-up before joining Chorley in July 2019.

Born in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, Anyon grew up supporting Blackpool.

He played in the Blackburn Rovers youth system before joining Port Vale.