Chris Martin (footballer, born 1988)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher Hugh Martin[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Norwich City | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| ?–2006 | Norwich City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006– | Norwich City | 67 | (21) |
| 2008–2009 | → Luton Town (loan) | 40 | (11) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:00, 10 Aug 2010 (UTC) | |||
Christopher Hugh Martin (born 4 November 1988) is an English footballer who plays for Norwich City as a striker.
Career
Norwich City
Born in Beccles, Suffolk, Martin was rewarded with a place on the bench for the game against Plymouth Argyle on 13 January 2007 after impressing in Norwich's FA Youth Cup run. He made his first team debut in a 1–0 home defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on 30 January 2007.[2] He scored his first goal in an FA Cup fourth round replay against Blackpool on 13 February 2007 at Carrow Road,[3] and grabbed his first league goal in a 1–1 draw against Coventry City on 24 February.[4] Two more goals against Luton Town[5] and Barnsley[6] quickly followed, as he began to firmly establish himself as a fan favourite.[citation needed] His run of form continued against Derby County, scoring one and having another ruled offside.[7]
These performances saw Martin win a place in the England Under-19 squad, in which he scored a debut goal in a 1–0 victory over Turkey on 21 March 2007.
However he found a place in the starting line up hard to come by in the 2007–08 season under Peter Grant. Under new manager Glenn Roeder he was very much out of favour. He was also constantly criticized by Roeder with Roeder questioning his effort and being banned from a number of pubs in the Beccles area led to more criticism from Roeder.
Along with Michael Spillane he joined Luton Town at the start of the 2008–09 season with Roeder famously naming the pair as "tweedle dum and tweedle do". The decision to loan the pair out was met with criticism from many Norwich fans feeling that the pair should have been given a chance instead of relying on the high amount of loanees that Roeder had brought in.
Loan at Luton Town
Martin joined Luton Town on a season-long loan from Norwich City two days prior to the start of the 2008–09 season.[8] He was announced as one of a number of new signings made by manager Mick Harford following The Hatters' exit from administration, along with fellow Norwich player Michael Spillane, who also arrived on a season-long loan.
Martin helped Luton to win the Football League Trophy, scoring a goal in their 3–2 victory over Scunthorpe United at Wembley Stadium.[9] This goal earned Martin the Goal of the Season trophy at Luton's end of season awards.[10]
Martin finished the season as Luton's top goalscorer, with thirteen goals in fifty-one appearances, eleven goals of which came in the league.
Back at Norwich City
Martin and Michael Spillane rejoined Norwich after the relegation to League One following their League Two spell at Luton. After an impressive pre-season Martin was put in the starting line up against Colchester, however this game ended in a 7–1 defeat for Norwich and Martin was one of those who found himself out of the side for the next few games. However, newly installed manager Paul Lambert began to start with Martin again and he scored his first goal of the season away to MK dons after just 16 seconds. Martin has since gone on to bag 23 goals this season including a double against Bristol Rovers and also 4 against non league Paulton Rovers in the FA cup. His most memorable strike so far was the winning goal against Leeds United at Carrow Road which left the Canaries on the brink of an instant return to the Championship, with promotion later being confirmed with a 1-0 win away against Charlton. Martin finished the 2009-10 season with 23 goals in 48 apppearances (40 starts and 8 sub appearances).
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | FL Trophy | Play-Offs | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Norwich City | 2006–07 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | 5 |
| 2007–08 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 10 | 0 | |
| Luton Town (loan) | 2008–09 | 40 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | - | - | 51 | 13 |
| Norwich City | 2009–10 | 42 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | - | - | 48 | 23 |
| 2010–11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Total | - | 108 | 32 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 4 | - | - | 131 | 43 |
Honours
Club
Luton Town
- Football League Trophy Winners: 2008–09
Norwich City
- League One Champions: 2009–10
References
- ^ "Search 1984 to 2006 – Birth, Marriage and Death indexes". Findmypast.com. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
- ^ "Match report: Norwich 0–1 Wolves". Norwich City F.C. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
- ^ "Match report: Norwich 3–2 Blackpool". Norwich City F.C. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
- ^ "Match report: Norwich 1–1 Coventry". Norwich City F.C. Retrieved 02-05-2009.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Match report: Luton 2–3 Norwich". Norwich City F.C. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
- ^ "Match report: Barnsley 1–3 Norwich". Norwich City F.C. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
- ^ "Match report: Norwich 1–2 Derby". Norwich City F.C. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
- ^ "After the wait, here's the first eight!". Luton Town F.C. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
- ^ Fletcher, Paul (2009-04-05). "Luton 3–2 Scunthorpe (aet)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
- ^ "LTSC Awards Night Winners". Luton Town F.C. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
External links
- Chris Martin profile at the Norwich City website
- Chris Martin at Soccerbase