Lee Andrew Martin (born 5 February 1968) is an English former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. He played with

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

and

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

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

Playing career

Martin started his career in the

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 Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

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 buildin ...

. 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 Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

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 footballer. 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 and was ...

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

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

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 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. Irwin is the joint most successful Irish footballer in history, a record he shares with Ronnie Whelan and fellow Manchester U ...

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 competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...

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 The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

winning team. However, he did collect a

European 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 ...

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 referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

, though he was substituted in the 71st minute in favour of

Ryan Giggs Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; born 29 November 1973) is a Welsh football coach, former player and co-owner of Salford City. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, and one of the best wingers in the history of footba ...

. He failed to make a single league appearance in 1992–93 season, when they won the first

FA Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football ...

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 Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...

, 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 status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

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

in January 1994 to join

, 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 A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

, 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 association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

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

League of Wales League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

team

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club () was a Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. Founded in 1876, Bangor City have been founder members of the North Wales Coast League, the Welsh National League, the North Wales Combination, the W ...

, 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 association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

: 1990–91 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, 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 offic ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

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 Footballers from Hyde, Greater Manchester English men's footballers England men's under-21 international footballers Men's 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