Port Vale will always thank Nottingham Forest for shot-stopping hero - He became a Valiants great despite cruel injury luck | OneFootball

One goalkeeper in particular stands out for Port Vale when looking through the history books, even if injuries dealt him a cruel deck of cards.

One goalkeeper in particular stands out for Port Vale when looking through the history books, even if injuries dealt him a cruel deck of cards.

Mark Goodlad signed for the then-Second Division side when he was just 20 years old, joining from Nottingham Forest and going on to become a club legend in short order.

However, eight years later he was forced into early retirement as injury troubles emerged and wrecked what was a storied spell for the Valiants.

Matt Goodlad joining from Nottingham Forest

In 2000, a young shot-stopper was thrust into first-team action at Vale Park due to an accumulation of injuries.

No one would have expected what was to come from Goodlad, as he became a verified club legend. However, injuries were the plague that stopped him reaching his full potential.

He missed the entirety of the 2003/04 season with a finger injury, but his biggest problem came in 2006 when he ruptured his achilles tendon.

That injury came in a game against Bristol City, and saw Goodlad requiring surgery. The ‘keeper spent a year recovering, but never played again.

The Vale man used a wheelchair before rebuilding his fitness, though the threat of permanently needing the use of a wheelchair if further surgery did not go to plan meant he hung up his boots prematurely in January 2008. He was aged just 28.

A Port Vale legend between the sticks

Despite his rotten luck with injuries, Vale’s legendary shot-stopper has become an icon at the club.

He played close to 250 games for the Valiants even with the time he spent on the treatment table. Though he never returned to the first team after his crushing injury suffered against the Robins, Goodlad did manage to play a smattering of reserve games in an attempt to regain fitness.

Speaking to the Vale website when he was forced into retirement, he uncovered the issues he had in never getting his “spring” back. It was his achilles that proved to be the source of his troubles, and that was something that was never resolved.

In 2019, he was marked as the goalkeeper in an Ultimate XI voted by supporters of the club. It added to his on-field accolades, both as a winner of the 2000/2001 EFL Trophy and as Vale’s 2002 Player of the Year.

Despite everything, Goodlad has not left football.

Now 45, the Barnsley-born footballer has spent time as Hartlepool United’s assistant manager, as well as in goalkeeping coach roles at clubs including York City and his hometown Reds.

It may have ended in a sour way due to injury troubles, but Port Vale will also be thankful for their goalkeeping hero from Nottingham Forest.