Lee Andrew Martin (born 5 February 1968) is an English former football left back. He played with Manchester United, Celtic and

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

, among others. He represented his country at under 21 level.

Playing career

Martin started his career in the Manchester United youth system. In 1990, he scored the only goal in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

final replay against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

. This was one of just two goals Martin scored in his entire United career. The other goal, his first, came 16 months earlier in the 3–1 defeat of West Ham at Upton Park. His debut came on 9 May 1988 as a substitute in a 2–1 home league win over Wimbledon and he made his breakthrough at left back the following season following the departure of

Arthur Albiston Arthur Richard Albiston (born 14 July 1957) is a Scottish former football player. Albiston played for Manchester United for most of his career, making almost 500 appearances for the club. He also made 14 international appearances for Scotland an ...

. By the time of his first United goal, in a 3–1 win at

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

in the league of 21 January 1989, he was a regular feature in the United squad. He played in 32 out of 38 league games in the cup winning 1989–90 campaign, but managed just 14 league games the following season as

Clayton Blackmore Clayton Graham Blackmore (born 23 September 1964) is a Welsh former international footballer. He was a combative player known for his attacking free kicks and a utility player who excelled in defence, but could play equally well in midfield. Bl ...

established himself as United's regular left-back, with

Denis Irwin Joseph Denis Irwin (born 31 October 1965) is an Irish former professional footballer and sports television presenter. As a player, he played as a full-back from 1983 to 2004. Irwin is best known for his long and successful stint at Manchester ...

joining as a right-back, and Martin struggled against a back injury. He did not make the squad for the side that won the

European Cup Winners Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourna ...

a year later, although he did play in multiple games en route to the final. The arrival of Paul Parker that summer increased the competition for full-back places. He managed just one league appearance in 1991–92 and did not make the squad for the Football League Cup winning team. However, he did collect a European Super Cup winner's medal on 19 November 1991 when he featured in their 1–0 triumph over

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

at Old Trafford, though he was substituted in the 71st minute in favour of Ryan Giggs. He failed to make a single league appearance in 1992–93 season, when they won the first FA Premier League title. His final league appearance came on 23 October 1993 in a 1–0 Premier League win over Everton at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area ...

, as United were on course for retaining the league title. They also went on to win the

that season. 1993–94 saw the introduction of squad numbers in the Premier League, and Martin made one appearance in the number 21 shirt. His final competitive appearance for the club was on 27 October 1993 in a 5–1 home win over

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

in the third round of the League Cup. Towards the end of his time at Manchester United, Martin regularly captained the reserve side. Martin played a total of 108 games and scored two goals for United before he left Old Trafford in January 1994 to join Celtic, where he suffered a broken leg within months of his arrival. He played just 19 times in the league in more than two years as Celtic failed to overhaul Rangers, who were league champions of Scotland in each of three seasons that Martin spent north of the border. Celtic's only major honour during Martin's time there was the Scottish FA Cup in 1995, but he didn't make the squad for that game. He finally left Celtic in 1996 and signed for

, from where he later had a loan spell with

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

. He retired from professional football in 1998. He then moved to the semi-professional

League of Wales The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 2 ...

team Bangor City, Glossop North End and then to NEWI Cefn Druids in 2006. Martin retired from football in 2008, and currently works with young people helping them to gain qualifications, access college and get apprenticeships or employment in the West Cheshire area. He also helps with the coaching of the Chester FC under 16's youth team. He also works for Manchester United Television at Old Trafford.

Honours

Manchester United *

: 1989–90 *

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

: 1990-91 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

Individual * Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year: 1989–90

References

External links

*
Lee Martin
at ManUtd.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Lee 1968 births Living people People from Hyde, Greater Manchester English footballers England under-21 international footballers Association football defenders Manchester United F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Glossop North End A.F.C. players Bangor City F.C. players Cefn Druids A.F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Scottish Football League players