Famous Players – The 2000’s

Michael Walsh

Central defender Michael played over 100 games for Scunthorpe Utd before John Rudge signed him for the Vale in June 1998 when he was not quite 21 year’s old.  A tribunal set the transfer fee at £100,000 plus add-ons for appearances.

Michael provided an interesting combination of positional sense, pace and ball control skills and was welcomed by the supporters as a classy addition to the team’s defensive set up.

Unfortunately, Michael was extremely injury prone and due to a series of different injuries including issues with cruciate ligament, cartilage, back, neck and shoulder, he only managed to be a regular starter in the Vale line up for just 1 of the 9 seasons he spent at the club. That was season 2000-01 when Michael played 48 times including the Valiant’s victory in the League Trophy Final at the Millennium Stadium in April 2001.

Michael eventually retired from the professional game at the age of 28 in 2007. Since the club had denied him a new contract just short of 10 years service with the Valiants, he was not granted a testimonial match.

He later played for a short spell at non-League Alsager Town before retiring as a player. He currently runs his own gas fitting business.