Neil Martin
Encyclopedia
Neil Martin is a Scottish
former football player, who scored 100 league goals in both Scotland
and England
and won three full international caps for Scotland in the 1960s and 1970s. 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 & Hove Albion
and Crystal Palace
.
run (to the quarter finals). 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.
Martin's feats attracted suitors and at the end of the season he was on his way South.
by joining Dumfries
side Queen of the South after leaving Alloa. For Martin there was a £2,000 transfer fee. 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
). 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). 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").
Fast and tricky right winger Hannigan would form an outstanding partnership with Martin. 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 retained their top flight status.
Team mate Iain McChesney in an interview included, "A big gem" in his description of Neil Martin.
(curiously ahead of both halves of the Old Firm
) and knocked out Rangers
on the way to the Scottish Cup semi finals (again Dunfermline would prove Martin's nemesis in this competition). Hibs played Real Madrid
in a challenge match at Easter Road
and handed their guests a 2-0 defeat.
Mercilessly against ex club Alloa he scored 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
. Hibs won at home 2-0 but a defeat by the same margin in Spain
meant a play off. Hibs lost 3-0.
on the playing staff. 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
. Martin was never paired there with a nippy poacher able to feed off a brawny centre forward. So Martin remained primary goalscorer.
In 1967 Martin was involved in a game that now has some infamy as being a game with alleged referee bribing by Leeds manager Don Revie. After two draws (with Martin scoring in the first game) a second replay went ahead at Boothferry Park in Hull. With scores level yet again and the clocking ticking down the Leeds bench are alleged to have given orders for their next player near the Sunderland penalty area to take a dive. That man was Jimmy Greenhoff who elaborately went over hitting the deck close to the edge of the box. Whistle, penalty, goal - game over.
After three seasons in the top tier Martin moved again in 1968.
and by the season's end had equalled Gould as joint top goal getter for the season with eight. Coventry survived their first season of top flight football.
A couple of mobile, smaller strikers benefited from their partnership with Martin, namely Ernie Hunt
and John O'Rourke
. 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.
After scoring against Trakia Plovdiv before being knocked out of Europe by Bayern Munich, the 30 year old was on the move again.
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. Martin hit the net on his come back in a 2-1 victory at Sheffield Wednesday but the season was undistinguished.
Under fellow Scot Allan Brown 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.
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. After seeing off Portsmouth
, Forest were away to Newcastle United in the 6th round. 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
. After a no score draw Newcastle went through 1-0 when they replayed on Merseyside
again.
In 1974-75, in good form Martin scored twice winning in 3-2 at Sheffield Wednesday in late September, and so scored 100 league goals in each of Scotland and England. In scoring the 1-0 winner in the FA Cup 3rd round replay at Tottenham Hotspur in the first game at the club of manager Brian Clough
, so Neil Martin has the distinction of scoring the first goal of Clough's reign at Forest.
scoring a debut goal against Rotherham United
. 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.
but only scored once for the Eagles when drawing with Halifax Town
. The Palace promotion challenged petered out (Brighton also lost out).
signed Martin in 1976 and he stayed at Richmond Park
for 2 seasons.
alongside existing manager Alan Buckley
. Initially the duo were successful and had the team challenging for promotion to the Second Division by Christmas of 1981. At the turn of the year however, Buckley was removed from the coaching staff, with Martin given sole control over team selection. Walsall's form collapsed dramatically after this, and only a last-day draw with Doncaster Rovers
prevented relegation to the Fourth Division. After the season ended, Martin left the club, and Buckley was re-instated as manager.
Martin still takes an active interest in football; in March 2007, Martin attended a game involving two of his former clubs, Queen of the South
against Hibs
in a Scottish Cup
quarter final at Palmerston Park
.
(scoring at Roker Park
in the 2-2 draw against the English League). At the end of the 1964-65 season Scotland played two away World Cup
qualifiers. Martin made his debut partnering a scoring Denis Law
in a 1-1 draw in Poland
, and again paired with Law in a 2-1 victory in Finland
.
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
.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
former football player, who scored 100 league goals in both Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and won three full international caps for Scotland in the 1960s and 1970s. Known for his strength, power, bravery and commitment, Martin scored consistently in a journeyman career. He played for Alloa Athletic
Alloa Athletic F.C.
Alloa Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Alloa, Clackmannanshire. They are members of the Scottish Football League and currently play in the Third Division....
, Queen of the South
Queen of the South F.C.
Queen of the South Football Club is a Scottish professional football club founded in 1919 and located in Dumfries. The club currently plays in the Scottish First Division, the second tier of Scottish football. They are officially nicknamed The Doonhamers, but usually referred to as Queens or QoS...
, Hibernian
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
, Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
, Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
, Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
, Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
and Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
.
Alloa Athletic
Neil Martin began his senior football career at Alloa Athletic in Central Scotland. In 1960-61 Neil Martin scored 25 league and cup goals. This helped take Alloa as far as they have ever been on a Scottish CupScottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
run (to the quarter finals). At that stage they were knocked out by a Dunfermline Athletic side at the beginning of their golden decade; Jock Stein
Jock Stein
John 'Jock' Stein CBE was a Scottish association football player and manager. He became the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967...
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.
Martin's feats attracted suitors and at the end of the season he was on his way South.
Queen of the South
In 1961 Neil Martin followed in the footsteps of Irish international Laurie CummingLaurie Cumming
Laurence Stanley Slater "Laurie" Cumming was a former professional footballer and journalist, born in Derry, Ireland. Cumming played for Alloa Athletic, Huddersfield Town, Oldham Athletic, Southampton, Queen of the South and St Mirren...
by joining Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
side Queen of the South after leaving Alloa. For Martin there was a £2,000 transfer fee. George Farm
George Farm
George Neil Farm was a Scottish professional football goalkeeper and manager.Born in Slateford, a suburb of Edinburgh, Farm represented his country on ten occasions, the last three of which occurred after a gap of five years....
had been at Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
since 1948 and was goalkeeper through the tangerines' 1950s golden era (this included winning the 1953 'Matthews' FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final 1953
The 1953 FA Cup Final, also known as the Matthews Final, was the eighth to be held at Wembley Stadium after the Second World War. The football match was contested between Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers, with Blackpool winning 4-3. The match became famous for the performance of Blackpool winger...
alongside Stanley Matthews
Stanley Matthews
Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...
and Stan Mortensen
Stan Mortensen
Stanley Harding "Stan" Mortensen was an English professional footballer, most famous for his part in the 1953 FA Cup Final , in which he became the only player ever to score a hat-trick in a Wembley FA Cup Final...
). 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
Jim Patterson (footballer)
James "Jim" Patterson is a former professional footballer and all-time record goalscorer for Scottish League club Queen of the South.-Early years:...
(251 strikes for the club make Jim Patterson the all time goals king of Queens). And arriving shortly before Martin was Ernie Hannigan
Ernie Hannigan
Ernest 'Ernie' Hannigan is a Scottish former footballer. Hannigan was a fast, tricky, right winger. He is perhaps best known for his games at 3 clubs and the partnership he forged with Scotland international centre forward Neil Martin at 2 of them; 147 games at Queen of the South and 47 at...
(with Martin as his chief accomplice Hannigan would later say, "Going to Queen of the South turned out to be a great move").
Fast and tricky right winger Hannigan would form an outstanding partnership with Martin. 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
Palmerston Park
Palmerston Park is a multi-purpose stadium on Terregles Street in Dumfries, south west Scotland. The site of the ground was formerly a farm called Palmers Toun. This is on the Maxwelltown side of the River Nith in Dumfries. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of...
Queens retained their top flight status.
Team mate Iain McChesney in an interview included, "A big gem" in his description of Neil Martin.
Hibernian
In 1963 Hibs battling to come out of a slump paid £7,500 for Neil Martin to play for the team he supported as a boy. 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 season1964-65 in Scottish football
The 1964–65 season was the 68th season of Scottish league football.-Scottish League Division One:In one of the closest finishes ever seen in a league competition in Britain, Hearts faced Kilmarnock on the last day of the season with...
(curiously ahead of both halves of the Old Firm
Old Firm
The Old Firm is a common collective name for the association football clubs Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow, Scotland.The origin of the term is unclear. One theory has it that the expression derives from Celtic's first game in 1888, which was played against Rangers. However, author,...
) and knocked out Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
on the way to the Scottish Cup semi finals (again Dunfermline would prove Martin's nemesis in this competition). Hibs played Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
in a challenge match at Easter Road
Easter Road
Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premier League club Hibernian . The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of 20,421, which makes it the fifth-largest football stadium in Scotland. Easter Road is also...
and handed their guests a 2-0 defeat.
Mercilessly against ex club Alloa he scored 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 CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
. Hibs won at home 2-0 but a defeat by the same margin in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
meant a play off. Hibs lost 3-0.
Sunderland
£45,000 was the latest transfer fee for the seemingly fearless forward to a club with Jim BaxterJim Baxter
James Curran Baxter was a left-footed Scottish footballer who played as a midfielder. He is regarded by some as the country's greatest ever footballer...
on the playing staff. 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
John O'Hare is a Scottish former footballer. His clubs included Sunderland, Derby County and also Nottingham Forest and was part of their European Cup victory in 1980, coming on as a substitute in the final. He also won thirteen caps for the Scotland national team, scoring five goals.- Career...
. Martin was never paired there with a nippy poacher able to feed off a brawny centre forward. So Martin remained primary goalscorer.
In 1967 Martin was involved in a game that now has some infamy as being a game with alleged referee bribing by Leeds manager Don Revie. After two draws (with Martin scoring in the first game) a second replay went ahead at Boothferry Park in Hull. With scores level yet again and the clocking ticking down the Leeds bench are alleged to have given orders for their next player near the Sunderland penalty area to take a dive. That man was Jimmy Greenhoff who elaborately went over hitting the deck close to the edge of the box. Whistle, penalty, goal - game over.
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 GouldBobby Gould
Robert Anthony "Bobby" Gould is an English former footballer and manager.-Playing career:Born in Coventry, Gould started his career at Coventry City, making his debut for the club whilst still an apprentice at the age of 16. He did not sign professional until June 1964...
and by the season's end had equalled Gould as joint top goal getter for the season with eight. Coventry survived their first season of top flight football.
A couple of mobile, smaller strikers benefited from their partnership with Martin, namely Ernie Hunt
Ernie Hunt
Roger Patrick "Ernie" Hunt is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Swindon Town, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Everton, Coventry City, Doncaster Rovers and Bristol City, and for the Los Angeles Wolves in the United Soccer Association. At international level, he was capped...
and John O'Rourke
John O'Rourke (footballer)
John O'Rourke is a former professional footballer. His position was Centre Forward.During his career he played for Ipswich Town F.C., Middlesbrough F.C., Coventry City F.C., Luton Town F.C., Queens Park Rangers and A.F.C...
. After another relegation battle in 1968-69 things improved significantly. With Martin and O'Rourke up front and youngsters Willie Carr
Willie Carr
William McInanny Carr is a former Scottish international footballer.-Career:Carr was born in Glasgow but spent part of his formative teenage years in Cambridge, where his family relocated in 1963...
and Dennis Mortimer
Dennis Mortimer
Dennis Mortimer is an English former footballer and distinguished captain of Aston Villa.Mortimer began his career with Coventry City, where he came through the ranks and made over 200 appearances as a promising midfielder...
in midfield Coventry achieved a European spot by finishing sixth.
After scoring against Trakia Plovdiv before being knocked out of Europe by Bayern Munich, the 30 year old was on the move again.
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
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
- he would miss three months. Martin hit the net on his come back in a 2-1 victory at Sheffield Wednesday but the season was undistinguished.
Under fellow Scot Allan Brown the next season seem some improvement. Martin kept away from injury and acted as foil to Duncan McKenzie
Duncan McKenzie
Duncan McKenzie is an English former footballer who played as a striker in the Football League for Nottingham Forest, Mansfield Town, Leeds United, Everton, Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers in the 1970s, in Belgium for Anderlecht, in the North American Soccer League for the Tulsa Roughnecks and the...
who hit 26 goals as the divisions top scorer that season.
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. After seeing off Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
, Forest were away to Newcastle United in the 6th round. 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
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
. After a no score draw Newcastle went through 1-0 when they replayed on Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
again.
In 1974-75, in good form Martin scored twice winning in 3-2 at Sheffield Wednesday in late September, and so scored 100 league goals in each of Scotland and England. In scoring the 1-0 winner in the FA Cup 3rd round replay at Tottenham Hotspur in the first game at the club of manager Brian Clough
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be...
, so Neil Martin has the distinction of scoring the first goal of Clough's reign at Forest.
Brighton & Hove Albion
Neil Martin in his mid 30s joined third division BrightonBrighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
scoring a debut goal against Rotherham United
Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
. 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 PalaceCrystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
but only scored once for the Eagles when drawing with Halifax Town
Halifax Town A.F.C.
Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...
. The Palace promotion challenged petered out (Brighton also lost out).
St Patrick's Athletic
Barry BridgesBarry Bridges
Barry John Bridges is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Chelsea, Birmingham City, Queens Park Rangers, Millwall and Brighton & Hove Albion and was capped four times for England....
signed Martin in 1976 and he stayed at Richmond Park
Richmond Park
Richmond Park is a 2,360 acre park within London. It is the largest of the Royal Parks in London and Britain's second largest urban walled park after Sutton Park, Birmingham. It is close to Richmond, Ham, Kingston upon Thames, Wimbledon, Roehampton and East Sheen...
for 2 seasons.
After playing
After hanging up is boots Neil Martin stayed in the game as a coach and in the early 80s was installed as joint manager at WalsallWalsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
alongside existing manager Alan Buckley
Alan Buckley
Alan Peter Buckley is an English football manager. He was manager of League Two side Grimsby Town until his dismissal in September 2008...
. Initially the duo were successful and had the team challenging for promotion to the Second Division by Christmas of 1981. At the turn of the year however, Buckley was removed from the coaching staff, with Martin given sole control over team selection. Walsall's form collapsed dramatically after this, and only a last-day draw with Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers F.C.
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is an English football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The team currently competes in the Football League Championship, after being promoted via the League One play-offs in 2008, and have remained there since.The club was founded in...
prevented relegation to the Fourth Division. After the season ended, Martin left the club, and Buckley was re-instated as manager.
Martin still takes an active interest in football; in March 2007, Martin attended a game involving two of his former clubs, Queen of the South
Queen of the South F.C.
Queen of the South Football Club is a Scottish professional football club founded in 1919 and located in Dumfries. The club currently plays in the Scottish First Division, the second tier of Scottish football. They are officially nicknamed The Doonhamers, but usually referred to as Queens or QoS...
against Hibs
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
in a Scottish Cup
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
quarter final at Palmerston Park
Palmerston Park
Palmerston Park is a multi-purpose stadium on Terregles Street in Dumfries, south west Scotland. The site of the ground was formerly a farm called Palmers Toun. This is on the Maxwelltown side of the River Nith in Dumfries. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of...
.
International career
Neil Martin played for Scotland at U-23 level and 2 games for the Scottish LeagueScottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
(scoring at Roker Park
Roker Park
Roker Park was an English football stadium situated in Roker, Sunderland. The stadium was the home of the English football club Sunderland A.F.C. from 1897 to 1997 before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Near the end of the stadium's history, its capacity was around 22,500 with only a small...
in the 2-2 draw against the English League). At the end of the 1964-65 season Scotland played two away World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
qualifiers. Martin made his debut partnering a scoring Denis Law
Denis Law
Denis Law is a retired Scottish football player, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a striker from the 1950s to the 1970s....
in a 1-1 draw in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and again paired with Law in a 2-1 victory in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
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
Alan Gilzean
Alan John Gilzean is a former professional footballer from the 1960s and 1970s and played for Dundee in his native country and English club Tottenham Hotspur.-Dundee:...
in the 1-0 victory over Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
at Hampden Park
Hampden Park
Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
with a late winner from John Greig
John Greig
John Greig MBE is a Scottish former professional football player who, despite his boyhood allegiance to hometown team Heart of Midlothian, spent his entire career in Glasgow with Rangers as a player, manager and director.Greig was voted "The Greatest Ever Ranger" in 1999 by the Rangers supporters...
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| # | Date | Opponent | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 23, 1965 | Poland 1-1 Scotland | FIFA World Cup qualifier | |
| 2 | May 27, 1965 | Finland 1-2 Scotland | FIFA World Cup qualifier | |
| 3 | November 9, 1965 | Scotland 1-0 Italy | FIFA World Cup qualifier |
External links
- Neil Martin Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database