Nearly men 17 to 24: the fate of seven recent Port Vale trialists
In recent years, Vale have tried out numerous trialists – here is a selection who were not taken on by the club…
Over the years we’ve captured some of those trialists on camera and here is an update on their careers.
About Nearly Men
This is an occasional OVF series about transfer moves that failed to materialise. In other words, players who perhaps in a parallel universe would have been playing for the Valiants…
It covers failed Vale bids for the likes of Steve Bull, Keith Gillespie and Tom Finney
Sylvestre Guyonnet – 2014
The French midfielder featured in matches against Newcastle Town and Norton United but wasn’t handed a contract. At time of writing the now 30 year-old midfielder is at Avranches, a club he has been at since 2010.
Danny Green – 2017
An experienced winger brought in on trial by Michael Brown, he wasn’t taken on due to Vale’s concerns about his injury record. He has now drifted into non-league with spells at Chelmsford City and Concord Rangers.
Billy Whitehouse
The young winger joined the club on trial in 2017 but was unsuccessful. He has now moved into non-league circles with spells at Alfreton Town and the New Saints among others.
Tom Walker – 2017
Another Michael Brown trialist, Walker was a regular in the 2017 pre-seasons but failed to earn a contract. He subsequently moved on to Salford City, helping them to promotion to the Football League. He can now be found at AFC Fylde.
Neal Eardley – 2017
Probably one of the biggest blunders of Michael Brown’s reign was opting for Lawrie Wilson over trialist Neal Eardley. Eardley has gone to be a consistent performer for Lincoln City earning a promotion and Football League Trophy final win in the process.
Shaun Cummings – 2019
The experienced right-back joined in the summer of 2019 but after a number of friendly appearances he failed to earn a contracts. Since leaving the Valiants he has failed to appear in first-team football anywhere.
Rory McKeown – 2018
A decision that manager Neil Aspin could have c0me to regret. Despite impressive performances, McKeown was rejected as he was a “classic full-back” and Aspin wanted to experiment with three at the back. Ironically, Vale then struggled with full-backs during Aspin’s spell. McKeown later played for Morton in Scotland before moving to New Zealand.