Martin Brittain (born 29 December 1984) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a winger. A boyhood

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

supporter, Brittain progressed through the club's academy to make his senior debut for

under Sir

Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...

on 3 March 2004 as a 76th-minute substitute for

Michael Bridges Michael Bridges (born 5 August 1978) is an English professional football manager and retired former player. As a player, he was a striker who notably played in the Premier League for Sunderland, Leeds United and Newcastle United, as well as ...

in a 3–1 win over

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...

in the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

third round. Brittain was also awarded the prestigious

Jackie Milburn John Edward Thompson "Jackie" Milburn (11 May 1924 – 9 October 1988) was a football player principally associated with Newcastle United and England, though he also spent four seasons at Linfield. He was also known as Wor Jackie (particularly ...

trophy in 2004 as

young player of the year.

Career

Newcastle United

Born in

Cramlington Cramlington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, 6 miles (9 kilometres) north of Newcastle upon Tyne, and 10 miles (16 kilometres) north of its city centre. The name suggests a probable founding by the Danes or Anglo-Saxons. T ...

, Northumberland, Brittain started his career at

. Brittain made his debut for Newcastle under Sir

on 3 March 2004 as a 76th-minute substitute for

in a 3–1 win over

in the

third round. Having been an unused substitute six days earlier in a 2–1 home win over

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, he made his only

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

appearance on 1 May in a 1–0 defeat at

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, replacing

Laurent Robert Pierre Laurent Robert (born 21 May 1975) is a French former professional footballer. He played as a left winger, and represented the France national team. Robert began his professional career in his native France before making a move to English ...

for the last 15 minutes. His first start came on 7 January 2006 against

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

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 ...

third round, starting on the wide right of midfield in the game that Newcastle won 1–0. That game saw club striker

Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premie ...

equal

's goal scoring record, with Shearer grabbing his 200th goal for Newcastle. Brittain was not offered a new contract at Newcastle at the end of the 2005–06 season.

Ipswich Town

Following his release from Newcastle he subsequently trialed with

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

and

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

until having a successful trial with

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

. On 21 August 2006, he signed a one-year deal with

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

. Brittain made his debut for Ipswich in a League Cup game against Peterborough United with Ipswich going on to lose the game 4–2 on penalties. This proved to be his only game for the club as he was then loaned to Yeovil Town. After spending his only season with the club out on loan at Yeovil he was deemed surplus to requirements upon returning and was released in May 2007. Yeovil Town (Loan) After signing with Ipswich he then joined Yeovil on loan in league 1 for the 2006/2007 season. Britain made 16 appearances in total with 15 of those in the league but ultimately failed to score before returning to Ipswich at the end of the season.

Later career

Carlisle United After being released by Ipswich Brittain joined

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

on a week-long trial in July 2007 and after this trial period, Brittain joined the

Brunton Park Brunton Park is a football stadium and the home of Carlisle United. It is situated in the city of Carlisle and has a certified capacity of 17,949. The ground opened in 1909. Brunton Park's grandstand burned down in 1953 and the stadium floode ...

club on a monthly contract. After just one month at Carlisle Brittain was released from his contract having played just twice and only once in the league. Walsall After leaving Carlisle Brittain trailed for

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

before joining

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

. Brittain played once in the league and twice in the FA cup throughout the 2007–2008 season but had left by the start of the following season. Kidderminster Harriers In March 2008, Brittain joined

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

on a trial, scoring a penalty in a 4–3 friendly loss to

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

. However, he failed to earn himself a contract with the club. On 5 August 2008, he signed a one-year contract with

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

side

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it had ...

. In his first season at the club he became a regular first team player and impressed, scoring 8 goals in 51 games in all competitions. Gateshead On 26 June 2009, Brittain joined

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

, making his debut against

Histon Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road (England), A14 road which r ...

on 8 August. Brittain scored his first goals for the club against

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team co ...

on 22 August. Brittain was seriously injured playing for Gateshead against Hayes & Yeading United on 5 September 2009. Brittain broke both his

tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...

and

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity is ...

. The game was abandoned after a 40-minute delay to treat the injury as Brittain's teammates refused to restart the game due to the shock of seeing the severity of the injury. At the time of the injury, the score was 0–0 with 14 minutes left to play. The

Football Conference The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...

awarded one point to each team with Gateshead's point deducted for "failing to fulfil an engagement". Brittain returned to action on 8 July 2010, scoring the opening goal in a 3–2 defeat against a Middlesbrough XI in a behind closed doors friendly. Brittain was released by Gateshead on 30 April 2012. Celtic Nation In July 2012, Brittain joined Northern League Division One side

Celtic Nation The Celtic nations are a cultural area and collection of geographical regions in Northwestern Europe where the Celtic languages and cultural traits have survived. The term ''nation'' is used in its original sense to mean a people who shar ...

, but left before making a competitive appearance. Blyth Spartans On 20 September 2012, Brittain signed for

Blyth Spartans Blyth Spartans Association Football Club is a football club based in Blyth, Northumberland. They are currently members of and play at Croft Park. They were founded in September 1899 by Fred Stoker, who was the club's first secretary before fo ...

. He made three appearances before being released on 11 October. Bedlington Terriers In November 2012, Brittain joined Bedlington Terriers on a free transfer. Ashington A.F.C In December 2013, Brittain joined Northern League Division One club

Ashington Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the ...

. Brittain retired from football retired at the age of 31.

Career statistics

:A. The "League" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

and

. :B. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the

Conference League Cup The Conference League Cup (formerly known as the Setanta Shield for sponsorship reasons, and before that the Bob Lord Trophy) was a football competition open to clubs playing in the Football Conference. History The competition was formed for ...

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

, and

Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brittain, Martin 1984 births People from Cramlington Footballers from Northumberland Living people Men's association football midfielders English men's footballers Newcastle United F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Blyth Spartans A.F.C. players Celtic Nation F.C. players Bedlington Terriers F.C. players Ashington A.F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players National League (English football) players Northern Football League players