Anthony Malbon

Early career

Malbon joined Port Vale as a youngster from Derby County in February 2008.^[3] He made his Football League debut as a substitute in a 2–1 win over Barnet on 2 May 2009.^[4] This came after picking up the club's Youth Player of the Year award the previous week.^[5] During the 2008–09 season, he scored 23 goals in the Youth league,^[6] and he was voted Youth Player of the Year by the Port Vale management.^[7] In February 2010 Malbon Joined Leek Town of the Northern Premier League Division One South for three games on a work experience deal.^[8] He scored a brace on his debut.^[9] He was offered his first (one year) professional contract at Vale Park at the end of the season.^[10]

In the 2010–11 pre-season, manager Micky Adams was pleased with Malbon's development, having witnessed the youngster score in two successive friendlies.^[11] However, Malbon purposefully avoided a pre-season trip to Ireland by failing to produce a passport as he did not want to take part in the intense running sessions Adams had planned for the squad; this led to him being dropped form the squad by Adams.^[12] The "Valiants" denied Leek the opportunity to sign the youngster permanently.^[13] In October 2010, Malbon went on loan to Newcastle Town,^[14] and impressed enough to earn an extension to the loan.^[15] In November 2010, Malbon left Port Vale by mutual consent.^[16] He immediately signed with Leek Town, rather than Newcastle Town.^[17] His scoring record at Leek attracted attention from Conference clubs.^[18] However, a trial at Stockport County was ended after manager Ray Mathias was replaced by Dietmar Hamann.^[19] Malbon subsequently signed a one-year deal with Newcastle Town.^[19][20]

Kidderminster Harriers

Boasting a prolific scoring record with Newcastle in 2011–12, Malbon was signed by Conference National side Kidderminster Harriers on an 18-month contract in January 2012; Kidderminster paid Newcastle Town an initial £7,000 for his services.^[21] Manager Steve Burr thanked the "Castle" for allowing the deal, and stated that "he comes across as a lad who really wants the opportunity to come and succeed here, and who is hungry to do that."^[22] He made his debut from the bench on 21 January, netting the first goal of a 2–0 win at Alfreton Town.^[23] On 28 April, he had to be airlifted from the pitch at Aggborough after he "suffered a significant blow to his head and neck and was unconscious for a couple of minutes."^[24]

He signed a new two-year contract in March 2013, having hit a streak of 11 goals in 12 games to send Harriers to the top of the table.^[25] Malbon and strike partner Michael Gash finished the 2012–13 season as the division's joint-third highest scorers with 19 goals, helping Kidderminster to secure a play-off place with a second-place finish.^[26] At the end of the season he was voted onto the Conference Team of the Year, alongside teammates Lee Vaughan and Josh Gowling.^[27] He found goals more difficult to come by in the 2013–14 season as new manager Andy Thorn switched to a one striker system, leaving Malbon to sometimes feature from the bench or in midfield.^[28]

Stalybridge Celtic

Malbon signed with Conference North club Stalybridge Celtic after having his contract with Kidderminster Harriers mutually terminated in June 2014.^[29] He struggled with depression and only made five appearances, scoring once, before he was released and joined Kidsgrove Athletic in December 2014.^[30]

Kidsgrove Athletic

Kidsgrove Athletic finished 20th in the Northern Premier League Division One South in 2014–15, 15th in 2015–16, and 12th in 2016–17. He rejected a move up a division to join Nantwich Town in February 2016.^[31] He scored 25 goals for the "Grove" in the 2016–17 season.^[32] However, he missed large parts of the 2017–18 season due to injury, whilst also began to adapt his game to become more of a target-man forward.^[33] Kidsgrove finished tenth in the 2018–19 season, with Malbon scoring 32 goals.^[34] He agreed a new two-year deal with the club in March 2020, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in England.^[34] At that stage he was on 147 goals for Kidsgrove, making him the highest goalscorer in the club's history.^[35] He scored a hat-trick against Chasetown on 6 October 2020 to reach 150 club goals.^[36] However, both the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons were abandoned due to the pandemic.^[37][38] Malbon agreed a new contract with Kidsgrove in May 2021.^[39] He scored a club record total of 159 goals during his eight-year stay.^[40]

Later career

Malbon joined Hanley Town of the Midland League Premier Division in March 2022.^[40] The club won the league title at the end of the 2021–22 season, though Malbon started just one match.^[41][42] Malbon very briefly reunited with Leek Town once again,^[43] making just one substitute appearance during a 4–1 loss to Runcorn Linnets in the Northern Premier League Division One West play-off semi-final.^[44] In July 2022, he joined North West Counties League Division One South club Eccleshall.^[45] He scored nine goals in 14 games in the first half of the 2022–23 season.^[46] He went on to register with Wolstanton United of the Staffordshire County Senior League Premier Division.^[47]

Malbon's re-signing for Kidsgrove Athletic was confirmed during a post-match interview, whereby Kidsgrove Athletic Reserves ran out 6–1 winners over Milton United.^[48] He played several games for the reserves in the Staffordshire County Senior League. After regaining fitness, Malbon returned to the first team as a 69th-minute substitute in a 2–1 defeat to Prescot Cables on 18 October 2023.^[49] He scored his 160th goal for the club against Trafford on 25 November.^[50] The club's record scorer was amongst the goals again in December, opening the scoring against Mossley.^[51] However, he collapsed after suffering a seizure during a match against Avro in February.^[52] He rejoined Eccleshall in July 2025.^[53]