Christopher Gregory Malkin (born 4 June 1967) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a centre-forward. Malkin began his professional career at

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

, whom he joined from

Stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibise ...

on a free transfer in 1987. He spent eight years at

Prenton Park Prenton Park is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Prenton, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers F.C., Tranmere Rovers Football Club since opening in 1912, and formerly the home ground ...

, forming a successful partnership with

John Aldridge John William Aldridge (born 18 September 1958) is a former footballer and manager. Nicknamed "Aldo", he was a prolific, record-breaking striker. His tally of 329 Football League goals is the sixth-highest in the history of English football. ...

upon his arrival from

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

in 1991, halfway through Malkin's stay on the Wirral. A couple of months earlier Malkin scored the winning goal at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

to win the

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the Third Division become the fourth tier of English football. In 2 ...

play-off final against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

. At Tranmere he was also part of the side that won the 1989-90

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

. After over 200 league appearances and 60 goals for Rovers, Malkin joined

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

in 1995 for a £400,000 price tag. In fifteen months at

the Den The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in Bermondsey, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter-of-a-mile from the Old Den, whic ...

, he scored thirteen goals in a half-century of league appearances for the Lions. In 1996, Malkin moved back north, joining

Gary Megson Gary John Megson (born 2 May 1959) is an English former football player and manager. He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers and ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

for £275,000, becoming the Seasiders' record signing (which he remained until 2008). An injury-prone period at

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a association football, football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two be ...

meant he made only 65 league appearances and scored six goals for the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

club in just under three years. Blackpool didn't receive any return on their record outlay when, in August 1999,

Nigel Worthington Nigel Worthington (born 4 November 1961) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who was most recently the manager of York City. He played a defender and a midfielder, playing his club football for Ballymena United, Notts County ...

let the forward join Telford United on a free transfer. Malkin joined Chester City as player-physio in 2001, and a year later moved to Oswestry Town, with whom he finished his career. Malkin now works as a physiotherapist at Spire Murrayfield Hospital in Wirral, helping patients back to fitness. He previously had spells as club physio for Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest. Aston Villa's match programme from the FA Youth Cup semi-final, first leg, on 19 March 2008
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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Malkin, Chris 1967 births Living people Footballers from Bebington English men's footballers Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Telford United F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Oswestry Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Men's association football forwards Chester City F.C. non-playing staff Association football physiotherapists British physiotherapists