| Neil Martin | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 20 October 1940 | |
| Place of birth | Tranent, East Lothian, Scotland | |
| Playing position | Striker | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1959-1961 1961-1963 1964-1965 1965-1967 1967-1970 1970-1975 1975-1976 1975-1976 |
Alloa Athletic Queen of the South Hibernian Sunderland Coventry City Nottingham Forest Brighton and Hove Albion Crystal Palace St Patrick's Athletic |
48 (25) 61 (33) 65 (53) 86 (38) 106 (40) 119 (28) 17 (8) 9 (1) |
| National team | ||
| 1965 | Scotland | 3 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Neil Martin (born 20 October 1940) was a Scottish football player in the 1960s and 1970s. Events 1740 - Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered He was the first player to score 100 league goals in both Scotland and England and won three full international caps for Scotland. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland
Known for his strength, power, bravery and commitment, Martin scored consistently in a journeyman career. He played for Alloa Athletic, Queen of the South, Hibernian, Sunderland, Coventry City, Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Hove Albion and Crystal Palace. Alloa Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Alloa, Clackmannanshire. Queen of the South Football Club is a Scottish professional football club founded in 1919 and located in Dumfries in south-west Scotland Hibernian Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. Sunderland Association Football Club is a professional Association football team based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, which plays in Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip is an association football club based in Coventry, Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English professional football club based at the City Ground in West Bridgford, a suburb of Nottingham Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club are an English football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. Crystal Palace FC is an English football club based in South Norwood, London.
Contents |
Domestic career
Alloa Athletic
Neil Martin began his senior football at Alloa Athletic in Central Scotland. In 1960-61 Neil he scored 25 league and cup goals. This helped take Alloa as far as they have ever been on a Scottish Cup run (to the quarter finals). The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, usually known as the Scottish Cup, is the national football cup competition of Scotland [1] At that stage they were knocked out by a Dunfermline Athletic side at the beginning of their golden decade; Jock Stein would manage the Pars to victory in that season's Scottish Cup and to the next season's last eight of the European Cup Winners Cup. Dunfermline Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Dunfermline, Fife, commonly known as just Dunfermline John 'Jock' Stein CBE (5 October 1922 &ndash 10 September 1985 was one of the most notable managers in British football history
Martin's feats attracted suitors and at the end of the season he was on his way.
Queen of the South
In 1961 Neil Martin joined Dumfries side Queen of the South for a £2,000 transfer fee. Dumfries (dəmˈfriːs is a town and former Royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland and is situated close to the George Farm had been at Blackpool since 1948 and was goalkeeper through the tangerines' 1950s golden era (this included winning the 1953 'Matthews' FA Cup Final alongside Stanley Matthews and Stan Mortensen). George Neil Farm ( July 13 1924 — July 18 2004) was a Scottish professional football goalkeeper and manager Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 and located in the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. Match summary Matthews inspired his team to come from 3&ndash1 down against Bolton Wanderers to win 4&ndash3 and on a personal note he claimed the trophy that had eluded him Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE ( 1 February 1915 — February 23 2000) was an English football player Stanley Harding Mortensen ( 26 May 1921 — 22 May 1991) commonly referred to as Stan Mortensen, was an English professional In his second season at Queens he was now player manager (Farm went on to make over 100 league appearances for Queen of the South, as player-manager for three of his four years there). Also at the club was Jim Patterson (251 strikes for the club make Jim Patterson the all time goals king of Queens). James " Jim " Patterson is a former professional footballer and all-time record goalscorer for Scottish League club Queen of the And arriving shortly before Martin was Ernie Hannigan (with Martin as his chief accomplice Hannigan would later say, "Going to Queen of the South turned out to be a great move"). Ernie Hannigan (born 23 January 1943) is a former Scottish football player from the 1960s and 1970s [2]
Fast and tricky right winger Hannigan would form an outstanding partnership wih Martin. [3] In 1961/62 Queens were promoted back to the top division as division 2 runners up. Martin was on the score sheet 30 times in league and cup. In Martin's second season at Palmerston Park Queens condemned Celtic to a defeat at Celtic Park on their way to retaining their top flight status. Palmerston Park is a multi-use Stadium on Terregles Street in Dumfries, South West The Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the east end of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. Celtic Park is a football Stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow in Scotland.
Hibernian
In 1963 Hibs battling to come out of a slump paid £7,500 for Neil Martin. Martin's goals helped add impetus to the club. Jock Stein became manager in 1964 and the up turn was instantaneous. Martin scored 29 league and cup goals. Hibs finished 4th in the 1964-65 league season (curiously ahead of both halves of the Old Firm) and knocked out Rangers on the way to Scottish Cup semi finals (again Dunfermline would prove Martin's nemesis in this competition). The term Old Firm refers to the rivalry between the Scottish football teams Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow Rangers Football Club are an Association football team based in Glasgow Scotland, who currently play in the Scottish Premier League. Hibs played Real Madrid in a challenge match at Easter Road and handed their guests a 2-0 defeat. Easter Road is the home ground of Scottish Premier League football club Hibernian.
Mercilessly against ex club Alloa he acored 4 in an 11-2 League Cup thrashing. He also hit 4 in a first division game against his other ex side Queen of the South. Martin was at Hibs in their Fairs Cup 1st round exit to Valencia. Valencia Club de Fútbol (also known as Valencia or Los Che) is a Spanish professional football club based in Valencia Hibs won at home 2-0 but a defeat by the same margin in Spain meant a play off. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Hibs lost 3-0.
Sunderland
£45,000 was the latest transfer fee for the seemingly fearless forward to a club with Jim Baxter on the playing staff. James Curran Baxter, ( September 29 1939 &ndash April 14 2001, born in Hill of Beath, Fife) was a Scottish Sunderland kept away from relegation during Neil Martin's time at the club. His effectiveness was reduced by the club being unable to pair him with the right kind of strike partner. Nick Sharkey was maybe his best at Roker Park but departed early in season 1966-67. Sharkey was replaced was by the willing but unprolific John O'Hare. John O'Hare (born 24 September 1946 in Dumbarton is a former Scottish footballer who played for Sunderland and Derby County Martin was never paired there with a nippy poacher able to feed off a brawny centre forward. So Martin remained primary goalscorer. After three seasons in the top tier Martin moved again in 1968.
Coventry City
Coventry (where he would be re-united with Ernie Hannigan from their successful partnership at Queen of the South) splashed £90,000 for the battling Scot during a relegation battle. Neil Martin replaced Bobby Gould and by the season's end had equalled Gould as joint top goal getter for the season with eight. Robert Anthony "Bobby" Gould (born 12 June, 1946 in Coventry) is an English football manager and former player Coventry survived their first season of top flight football.
A couple of mobile, smaller stirkers benefited from their partnership with Martin, namely Ernie Hunt and John O'Rourke. Roger Patrick "Ernie" Hunt (born March 17 1943 in Swindon) is an English former football player John W O'Rourke ( August 23, 1849 - June 23, 1911) was a 19th century Baseball player. After another relegation battle in 1968-69 things improved significantly. With Martin and O'Rourke up front and youngsters Willie Carr and Dennis Mortimer in midfield Coventry achieved a European spot by finishing sixth. William McInanny Carr (born 6 January 1950 in Glasgow) is a former Scottish international footballer. Dennis Mortimer (born 5 April 1952 in Liverpool, England) was an English footballer and distinguished captain of Aston Villa.
After scoring against Trakia Plovdiv before being knocked out of Europe by Bayern Munich, the 30 year old was on the move again. Botev Plovdiv (Ботев Пловдив also known as the Canaries, founded on March 12, 1912 is a Bulgarian football club from the city of FC Bayern München is a German Sports club based in Munich, Bavaria (München Bayern
Nottingham Forest
Although Neil Martin only contributed one goal in what was left of that season the club stayed up benefiting from the Scot's experienced presence. With injuries starting to niggle Martin, Forest were relegated at the of season 1971-72. Martin's days of top flight football were over.
1972-73 season was a disappointment with Forest never threatening a promotion challenge and Martin picking up an injury pre-season against Kaiserslautern - he would miss three months. (kaɪzɐsˈlaʊtɐn is a City in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland State of Rhineland-Palatinate ( Rheinland-Pfalz) at Martin hit the net on his come back in a 2-1 victory at Sheffield Wednesday but the season was undistinguished.
The next season seem some improvement. Martin kept away from injury and acted as foil to Duncan McKenzie who hit 26 goals as the divisions top scorer that season. For other people of the same name see also Duncan McKenzie (writer and Duncan McKenzie (murderer.
In the FA Cup Martin scored twice in sweeping aside Bristol Rovers in he third round. Martin then played his part as Manchester City were on the end of a tremendous 4-1 thumping. TalkManchester City FC before changing verbs to singular --> Manchester City Football Club is an English professional football club After seeing off Portsmouth, Forest were away to Newcastle United in the 6th round. Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the south coast city of Portsmouth. Newcastle United Football Club (also known as The Magpies or The Toon) is an English football club based in Newcastle upon Forest were looking good as they went 3-1 up against a 10 men Newcastle. Newcastle fans invaded the pitch. After the restart the roof fell in on Forest - they lost 4-3. The FA declared a replay at neutral Goodison Park. Goodison Park is the home ground of Everton FC in Liverpool. It was built in 1892 and now has a total capacity of 40157 all-seated After a no score draw Newcastle went through 1-0 when they replayed on Merseyside again. Merseyside is a Metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1365900
In 1974-75, in good form Martin scored twice winning in 3-2 at Sheffield Wednesday in late September. And so he became the 1st player to score 100 league goals in each of Scotland and England. When he scored the 1-0 winner in the FA Cup 3rd round replay at Tottenham Hotspur this was the first game at the club of manager Brian Clough. Tottenham Hotspur, ˈtɒʔnəm is an English professional football club which currently plays in the Premier League. Brian Howard Clough, OBE ( 21 March, 1935 – 20 September, 2004) was a successful footballer and subsequently football
Brighton & Hove Albion
Neil Martin in his mid 30s joined third division Brighton scoring a debut goal against Rotherham United. Brighton ( is a town on the south coast of England and with its neighbour Hove, forms the city of Brighton and Hove. Rotherham United Football Club (also known as 'The Millers' are an English professional football club temporarily based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, He scored two more at Sheffield Wednesday (yet again) this time in a draw. Despite things seeming to go well at the Seagulls, Brighton signed Sammy Morgan and Martin was reduced to a peripheral figure.
Crystal Palace
In March Neil Martin left one promotion chase for another signing for Crystal Palace but only scored once for the Eagles when drawing with Halifax Town. Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National. The Palace promotion challenged petered out (Brighton also lost out). Martin then moved on to St Patrick's Athletic in the Republic of Ireland
After playing
After hanging up is boots Neil Martin stayed in the game as a coach and in the early 80s was joint manager at Walsall with Alan Buckley. St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( Irish: Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is an Irish football club playing in the Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. Walsall Football Club are an English football club based in Walsall, West Midlands, currently playing in League One. Alan Peter Buckley (born 20 April 1951 in Mansfield, England) is an English football Manager.
International career
Neil Martin played for Scotland at U-23 level and 2 games for the Scottish League (scoring at Roker Park in the 2-2 draw against the English League). Founding members The Scottish League's first season of competition was in 1890-91. Roker Park was an English football stadium situated in Roker, Sunderland. At the end of the 1964-65 season Scotland played two away World Cup qualifiers. The FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international Association football Martin made his debut partnering a scoring Denis Law in a 1-1 draw in Poland, and again in a 2-1 victory in Finland. Denis Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe.
Neil Martin won his third and yet again unbeaten final cap after his move to Sunderland (all three caps were awarded in 1965). Martin partnered Alan Gilzean in the 1-0 victory over Italy at Hampden Park with a late winner from John Greig. Alan John Gilzean (born 23 October 1938 in Coupar Angus, Perth and Kinross, Scotland) is a professional footballer from the 1960s Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Hampden Park in Glasgow is Scotland 's National stadium. Its primary use is as the home to Queen's Park F John Greig MBE (born September 11, 1942 in Edinburgh) is a former Scottish professional football player who despite his
| # | Date | Opponent | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 23, 1965 |  Poland |
Poland 1-1 Scotland | FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 2 | May 27, 1965 |  Finland |
Finland 1-2 Scotland | FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 3 | Nov 09, 1965 |  Italy |
Scotland 1-0 Italy | FIFA World Cup qualifier |
References
- ^ Neil Martin Football England
- ^ Big Interview: Ernie Hannigan Lancashire Evening Post, 13 July 2007
- ^ Footballers who have played league football for both PNE and Coventry Preston North End Mad, 7 February 2008
External links
- Neil Martin profile at scottishfa.co.uk
- Neil Martin Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database