Max Porter (footballer)

Max Porter (born 29 June 1987) is an English former professional footballer who is currently the U21 Head Coach at Arsenal.

Max Porter

Porter playing for Newport County in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Max Porter
Date of birth	(1987-06-29) 29 June 1987 (age 38)
Place of birth	England[1]
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Arsenal (youth coach)
Youth career
	Tottenham Hotspur
	Southend United
	Gillingham
	Brighton & Hove Albion
0000–2005	Southend United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2006	Cambridge United	8	(0)
2006–2007	Bishop's Stortford	42	(8)
2007–2009	Barnet	56	(1)
2009–2011	Rushden & Diamonds	87	(7)
2011–2012	AFC Wimbledon	15	(1)
2012	→ Newport County (loan)	13	(0)
2012–2015	Newport County	75	(4)
2015–2016	Bromley	22	(1)
2016–2019	Chelmsford City	55	(1)
2018	→ Maldon & Tiptree (loan)	5	(0)
Total		378	(23)
International career
2009–2010	England C	3	(2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

A midfielder, Porter represented nine clubs in the English football pyramid, notably being part of the Newport County side which won promotion from the Football Conference to the Football League in 2013.

Career

Porter was part of the Tottenham Hotspur and Southend United set-ups in his youth before signing a professional contract with Cambridge United in 2005. however, he stayed for only eight games before moving to Bishop's Stortford, where he saw more game time. His good form for the Blues attracted the attention of Barnet boss Paul Fairclough, who signed Porter in May 2007.^[2] He spent two seasons with Barnet. Still, in April 2009 he was told he would be released at the end of the season.^[3][4] In May 2009, Porter signed a one-year contract with Conference National side Rushden & Diamonds,^[5] and played in almost every league game as the Diamonds reached the play-offs. Porter's good club form also earned him a call up to the England C team, for whom he played three games, scoring twice.^[6] Porter agreed to a one-year extension to his Rushden contract at the beginning of June 2010.^[7]

In June 2011, following Rushden's dissolution, Porter signed for League Two club AFC Wimbledon.^[8] On 10 September, he scored his first goal for the club in an away game against Aldershot Town.

In February 2012 Porter signed for Newport County on loan. On 12 May 2012 he played for Newport in the FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium which Newport lost 2–0 to York City.^[9] In May 2012, Porter was released from AFC Wimbledon at the end of his contract.^[10] In June 2012 Porter signed a permanent contract with Newport County.

In the 2012–13 season he was part of the Newport team that finished third in the league, reaching the Conference National play-offs. Newport County won the play-off final 2–0 versus Wrexham at Wembley to return to the Football League after a 25-year absence with promotion to League Two.^[11]

He was released by Newport in May 2015 at the end of his contract,^[12] and on 27 May 2015 he joined Conference Premier club Bromley.^[13]

On 3 October 2016, it was announced that Porter's contract with Bromley had been terminated by mutual consent.^[14]

The day after he left Bromley, Porter joined National League South side Chelmsford City.^[15] On 16 May 2018, following a short loan move to Maldon & Tiptree, Porter extended his stay at Chelmsford, taking up a player-coach role in the process.^[16]

Retirement and coaching career

On 17 August 2019, Chelmsford announced the retirement of Porter, who took up a full time coaching role at Arsenal's under-13 team. Since then Porter has been U14 Head Coach and Lead Phase before being promoted to Professional Development Phase U18 assistant coach & U17 Head Coach.In July 2022 Porter was promoted to U21 Assistant Coach.^[17] In the 2024-25 season, Porter was appointed as head coach of the Arsenal under-19 team playing in the UEFA Youth League alongside his role of U21 assistant coach. Porter is an UEFA PRO Licence candidate with the FAW.^[18]. In August 2025 Porter was promoted to U21 Head Coach at Arsenal FC.

Career statistics

As of match played 9 December 2017

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cambridge United	2005–06[19]	Conference National	8	0	0	0	—		1[a]	0	9	0
Bishops Stortford	2006–07[20]	Conference South	42	8			—				42	8
Barnet	2007–08[21]	League Two	30	1	4	0	1	0	1[a]	0	36	1
	2008–09[22]	League Two	26	0	2	0	1	0	1[a]	0	30	0
	Total		56	1	6	0	2	0	2	0	66	1
Rushden & Diamonds	2009–10[20]	Conference Premier	43	3	3	0	—		4[b]	0	50	3
	2010–11[23]	Conference Premier	43	4	2	0	—		1[c]	0	46	4
	Total		86	7	5	0	0	0	5	0	96	7
AFC Wimbledon	2011–12[24]	League Two	15	1	2	0	1	0	2[a]	0	20	1
Newport County (loan)	2011–12[23]	Conference Premier	13	0	—		—		3[c]	0	16	0
Newport County	2012–13[23]	Conference Premier	26	2	2	0	—		1[c]	0	29	2
	2013–14[25]	League Two	22	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	22	1
	2014–15[26]	League Two	27	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	27	1
	Total		75	4	2	0	0	0	1	0	78	4
Bromley	2015–16[27]	National League	10	0	0	0	—		0	0	10	0
	2016–17[28]	National League	12	1	0	0	—		0	0	12	1
	Total		22	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	22	1
Chelmsford City	2016–17[20]	National League South	20	0	0	0	—		11[d]	2	31	2
	2017–18[23]	National League South	4	1	1	0	—		0	0	5	1
	Total		24	1	1	0	0	0	11	2	36	3
Career total			341	23	16	0	3	0	25	2	385	25

1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
2. Two appearances in FA Trophy and two in Conference Premier play-offs
3. Appearances in FA Trophy
4. Four appearances and two goals in Essex Senior Cup, four appearances in FA Trophy and three in National League South play-offs