Martin Blake George Garratt (22 February 1980 – 24 October 2014) was an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder in the Football League for York City, Mansfield Town and Lincoln City.

Career

Born in York, North Yorkshire, Garratt grew up in Middlesbrough and he joined the York City youth system in 1996, turning professional in 1998. He made his first-team debut in a 3–0 defeat to

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

on 8 August 1998. He finished the 1998–99 season with 44 appearances and one goal. He trained with Leeds United after the end of the season. He was sacked by York after experiencing personal problems and he was signed by Mansfield Town in 2000. He made his debut in a 1–0 defeat to

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

and he finished the 1999–2000 season with six appearances for Mansfield. He went on to play for Irish club

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...

, where he made three appearances, before returning to England with Lincoln City in December. He made his debut in a 3–1 victory over

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

in the Football League Trophy on 9 January 2001. After making two further appearances for Lincoln he joined Football Conference club Hednesford Town on loan in March. He made his debut in a 4–2 defeat to Doncaster Rovers and he finished the loan spell with two appearances. He joined North Ferriby United in August 2002.

Style of play

Described as a "skilful left sided player", he was able to play as a

left midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

and a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. York manager Alan Little said of him: "He's like a steam train. He just keeps going. His ability to get about the park has been amazing".

Personal life

As of April 2008, Garratt was under an anti-social behaviour order in Middlesbrough. Prior to his death, he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Death

Garratt died on 24 October 2014 in Middlesbrough. Police officers were called by ambulance service colleagues, to an address in Middlesbrough, on the evening of 24 October, to check on a man who had been taken seriously ill. The ambulance service subsequently reported that he had died. Following an investigation, officers deemed Garratt's death as not suspicious. Garratt's death was later determined as having been caused by effects of alcohol and prescribed drugs.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garratt, Martin 1980 births 2014 deaths Footballers from York Footballers from Middlesbrough English footballers Association football midfielders York City F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Hednesford Town F.C. players North Ferriby United A.F.C. players English Football League players League of Ireland players National League (English football) players English expatriate footballers Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland English expatriate sportspeople in Ireland People with schizophrenia Drug-related deaths in England Alcohol-related deaths in England