| Lee Martin | ||
 |
||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lee Robert Martin | |
| Date of birth | February 9 1987 | |
| Place of birth | Taunton, England | |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | |
| Playing position | Winger | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Plymouth Argyle (on loan from Manchester United) |
|
| Number | 29 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| ?-2003 2003- |
Wimbledon Manchester United |
|
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2005- 2006 2006 2007 2007- |
Manchester United → Royal Antwerp (loan) → Rangers (loan) → Stoke City (loan) → Plymouth Argyle (loan) |
0 (0) 17 (1) 7 (0) 13 (1) 10 (2) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Lee Robert Martin (born 9 February 1987 in Taunton, England) is an English footballer who currently plays as a winger for Plymouth Argyle, on loan from Manchester United. He should not be confused with another Lee Martin who also played for Manchester United, as well as Celtic.
Biography
Martin began his career as a trainee with Wimbledon, where he caught the eye of many Premier League teams. Although pursued by a number of other top clubs, including Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, he signed for Manchester United on 17 December 2003, following a week-long trial in October 2003, during which time he made one appearance for the Manchester United Under-19s team. The compensation package United paid Wimbledon is estimated to be approximately £1 million, with £200k being paid up front, and the rest in instalments based on both his and Manchester United's performance.[1] Over the remainder of the 2003–04 season, Martin made seven more appearances for United's various youth teams, and was even named as an unused substitute for the Reserves in January 2004. The following season, Martin began as a regular in the Under-18s, but he was soon promoted to the Reserve team, where he began to flourish, scoring goals as well as setting them up, including a hat-trick in one game against Bolton Wanderers Reserves. The 2005–06 season was even more auspicious for Martin; after being named on the bench for two UEFA Champions League group games, he finally made his first team debut in the League Cup against Barnet on 26 October 2005. He was substituted after 75 minutes, allowing Darron Gibson to make his own first team debut, but he was a constant threat to the Barnet goal. In January 2006, Martin joined United's feeder club, Belgian Second Division side Royal Antwerp in a loan deal until May 2006, to gain regular first team experience. During that short spell, he earned the Royal Antwerp Fans' Player of the Year award, and earned the fan-chosen Man of the Match award in five consecutive games. In the run-up to the 2006–07 season, Martin played in six of United's seven friendlies following their summer tour of South Africa, particularly impressing in the match against Celtic. This attracted the attention of Celtic's Glasgow rivals, Rangers, who sought to take him on loan for the first half of the season. Seen as not quite ready for the Premier League, Martin joined the Scottish giants with a view to an extension of the loan to the end of the season.[2] His skills instantly impressed the Rangers support, but after a succession of injuries he failed to establish himself and returned to Manchester United in December 2006, having made just 10 appearances.[3] On 25 January 2007, he was farmed out on loan again, this time to Stoke City.[4] He scored his first senior goal in Stoke's 2–1 win against Southampton on 10 March 2007;[5] it was his only goal in his 14 appearances for the club. Martin returned to United for the 2007–08 season, and toured the Far East with the club in July 2007. He played in two of the four matches, and scored against Chinese side Guangzhou Pharmaceutical on 27 July 2007, before being replaced by Patrice Evra. He was again named as an unused substitute for the Community Shield against Chelsea on 5 August 2008. Had he played in the game, it would have been his third game in as many days, having played a total of 149 minutes over the previous two games. On 26 September 2007, Martin started the League Cup Third Round match against Coventry City, but, with United 1–0 down at half-time, he was substituted, Fraizer Campbell his replacement. However, United conceded again and were knocked out of the cup. On 5 October 2007, he joined Championship side Plymouth Argyle on a three-month loan deal, with Plymouth beating three other Championship clubs to his signature.[6] He scored his first Argyle goal in the 1–0 victory over Coventry City on 20 October 2007, something Sir Alex Ferguson would have wished he'd done in the League Cup the previous month. On 28 December 2007, it was announced that Martin's loan had been extended until the end of the season.[7]
References
- ^ Lee Martin. 4thegame.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
- ^ "Man Utd's Martin moves to Rangers", BBC Sport, 2006-08-11. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
- ^ "Old Trafford duo make Ibrox exit", BBC Sport, 2006-12-29. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
- ^ "Stoke sign Man Utd winger on loan", BBC Sport, 2007-01-25. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
- ^ "Stoke 2-1 Southampton", BBC Sport, 2007-03-10. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
- ^ "Plymouth wrap up Martin loan deal", BBC Sport, 2007-10-05. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
- ^ Rutledge, Lewis. "United trio extend loans", Sky Sports, 2007-12-28. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
External links
- Lee Martin career stats at Soccerbase
- Profile at ManUtd.com
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