Connections: Port Vale and Oldham Athletic
It’s fair to say there are a number of connections between Port Vale and Oldham Athletic as they prepare to meet on Saturday afternoon.
On the Port Vale side…
There are a number of players in the current Port Vale squad who have previously been at Oldham Athletic. Striker Richie Bennett began his career in the Oldham youth team before leaving to play in the Manchester leagues. Winger/left-back Cristian Montano (pictured right) spent two years at Boundary Park making 48 appearances and scoring four goals. He left in controversial circumstances. Suspected of spot fixing by the police, he was in a meeting with manager Lee Johnston when he was phoned by a club director who asked his location. The information was passed onto the police who arrested the winger. Montano was dismissed by Oldham but all charges were dropped. Announcing his intention to sue the club for wrongful dismissal and loss of earnings, Montano told the media “no-one from Oldham spoke to me about it… they were turning against me, I was left on my own.”
Finally, winger David Worrall had a loan spell with Oldham Athletic back in 2014. The winger made eighteen appearances and scored a solitary goal.
On the Oldham side…
The Valiants will come up against winger Chris Eagles who spent a brief spell in Burslem under manager Michael Brown. Eagles scored four goals in Vale’s ultimately unsuccessful fight against relegation and impressed enough that the club sought to sign him over the summer. However, he instead opted for a move to Ross County.
Previously…
Recent players to appear for both sides include central defender Gareth Owen, (pictured right) who made over a hundred appearances for the Valiants. Former Vale defender Theo Vassell had a spell at Oldham without making a senior appearance. Controversial defender Dan Jones, who left Vale under a cloud, spent two loan spells with Oldham previously.