Nigel Martyn
FullnameAntony Nigel Martyn
Birth date11 August 1966 (age 60)[1]
Birth placeSt Austell, Cornwall, England
Height6.2 ft (1.88 metres)[1]
PositionGoalkeeper
Years 11986–1987
Clubs 1St Blazey
Years 21987–1989
Clubs 2Bristol Rovers
Caps 2101
Goals 20
Years 31989–1996
Clubs 3Crystal Palace
Caps 3272
Goals 30
Years 41996–2003
Clubs 4Leeds United
Caps 4207
Goals 40
Years 52003–2006
Clubs 5Everton
Caps 586
Goals 50
Totalcaps666
Totalgoals0
Nationalyears 11988–1989
Nationalteam 1England U21
Nationalcaps 111
Nationalgoals 10
Nationalyears 21989–1994
Nationalteam 2England B
Nationalcaps 26
Nationalgoals 20
Nationalyears 31992–2002
Nationalteam 3England
Nationalcaps 323
Nationalgoals 30

Antony Nigel Martyn (born 11 August 1966) is an English football coach and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper.

He notably played in the Premier League for Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Everton, having initially played in the Football League with Bristol Rovers. His move to Palace saw him become the first £1 million goalkeeper in British football and was a member of the Palace side that lost the 1990 Cup Final and won the Full Members Cup in 1991. An ankle injury forced him to retire in 2006. He won 23 England caps between 1992 and 2002 and was a member of the national squad at four major tournaments.

Following retirement, Martyn briefly held a role as goalkeeping coach for Bradford City but has not returned to the sport since 2009.

Club career

Early career

Martyn started his career as a midfielder until invited to play as a goalkeeper for his brother's works team when he was 17. He started by playing amateur football for Cornish sides Heavy Transport FC, Bugle and St Blazey while working in a plastics factory and for a coal merchant,[2] before beginning his professional career with Bristol Rovers in 1987 after apparently having been "spotted" by Rovers' tea lady Vi Harris,[3] whilst she was on holiday.[4][5]

Crystal Palace

Martyn was transferred to Crystal Palace for a fee of £1 million in 1989, becoming the first goalkeeper to attract a million-pound transfer fee in English football.[6] He remained at Palace for seven seasons, appearing 349 times for his club,[citation needed] including the 1990 FA Cup Final, where Palace were beaten by Manchester United in a replay,[7] and the 1991 Full Members' Cup final, where Palace beat Everton.[8] In 1996, he signed with Leeds United, setting another record fee for a goalkeeper of £2.25 million.[citation needed]

In 2005, Palace supporters voted Martyn into their Centenary XI.[9]

Leeds United

Martyn was signed by boss Howard Wilkinson in the summer of 1996–97, along with another high-profile capture in the form of Lee Bowyer.[10] Martyn's form for United, both at home and on the continent in European competition was skillful – most notably in a man-of-the-match display at the Stadio Olimpico against Roma in the 1999-2000 UEFA Cup campaign, when Leeds reached the semi-finals. Martyn was also a large part of the squad that eliminated illustrious clubs such as Barcelona, Lazio and Deportivo La Coruna in the following season's UEFA Champions League campaign, leading them to the last four.

In total, Martyn played as Leeds' first-choice goalkeeper for six seasons and his consistency was such that years later at a supporters' dinner, the Cornishman was named officially as United's greatest ever goalkeeper, beating off competition from the likes of Gary Sprake, David Harvey, and John Lukic – all three being men who won championship medals at Elland Road.

However, it was a disagreement with new Leeds manager Terry Venables,[11] combined with the increasingly good form of youngster Paul Robinson, that kept him from playing any games in Leeds' 2002–03 season and after a string of unused substitute appearances, Martyn was told he could find new employers.[12]

On 10 April 2006, he was voted as part of Leeds United's greatest team; he was the only player from after the Revie era to be selected.[13] He is still well regarded by the Leeds United fans and was involved in the "Back the Bid Leeds" campaign for Leeds to be one of the host cities in England's 2018 FIFA World Cup bid.

Everton

In the middle of 2003, Leeds were approached by Chelsea and Everton with offers to sign Martyn. Both clubs were offering the out-of-favour goalkeeper a backup post: at Chelsea, he would understudy Carlo Cudicini; at Everton, the first-choice was Richard Wright. Martyn chose to move to Everton, and six games into the season, an injury to Wright gave him his Everton debut. His performances for the first team during Wright's recovery were such that Martyn remained Everton's first-choice goalkeeper even after Wright returned from injury.

Martyn was one of Everton's best performers in the 2004–05 season when they achieved their best Premier League finish of fourth. Many fans believed that Martyn almost single-handedly stopped them from slipping down the table after Thomas Gravesen's departure.[14] He produced some of the best form of his career, despite being 38 years of age, to the delight of the Everton fans, with whom he remains a favourite. In his final season at Everton he was picking up many injuries and missed the remainder of the season. His final appearance for Everton was his 100th game for the club against Chelsea in an FA Cup tie at Goodison Park which ended 1–1, making numerous excellent saves. He was nicknamed "Big Nige" by Everton fans, a play on Neville Southall's "Big Nev" nickname.[15]

On 8 June 2006, Martyn announced his retirement from football due to a stress fracture in his ankle that had sidelined him since January and failed to heal properly.[16] David Moyes said that he would miss Martyn and described him as his "greatest ever signing".[17]

International career

Martyn made his debut for the England national side against the Commonwealth of Independent States in Moscow in 1992, becoming one of the few[quantify] Cornishmen to play for England.[citation needed] He earned 23 caps for his national side, spending the peak of his career as second-choice goalkeeper behind David Seaman.

Martyn replaced the injured Seaman for England's final UEFA Euro 2000 group match against Romania, a 3–2 defeat.[18] In Sven-Göran Eriksson's first game in charge of England against Spain in February 2001, Martyn came on as a substitute for David James and saved a Javi Moreno penalty in a 3–0 win.[19] He also started in goal for a 2–2 draw with Greece at Old Trafford that qualified England for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.[20]

Martyn was selected for the England squad at both the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups, remaining second choice behind Arsenal's David Seaman at both tournaments.

Coaching career

Martyn spent time as goalkeeping coach at Bradford City,[21] a role he started in March 2007 as a favour for former Leeds United teammate David Wetherall, who was then caretaker manager at Bradford.[22]

Personal life

Martyn grew up supporting Plymouth Argyle.[23]

While still in Cornwall he was also a cricketer, and played with Cornwall Schoolboys as a wicket-keeper, as well as Fowey Cricket Club.[2] Since his retirement from professional football, he has returned to cricket, playing regularly for a Leeds team called Leeds Modernians in the Airedale & Wharfedale Senior Cricket League.[24] As a player for Knaresborough C.C., alongside another former England goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, he won promotion to the Yorkshire Premier League North, in 2024. In 2026 he was selected for England’s over-60s cricket team [25][26]. His son Thomas is an opera singer.[27]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[28]
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupEuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bristol Rovers1987–88Third Division3904020—2[a]0470
1988–89Third Division4602020—8[b]0580
1989–90Third Division160—20—1[a]0190
Total10106060—1101240
Crystal Palace1989–90First Division25070——5[c]0370
1990–91First Division3803050—6[c]0520
1991–92First Division3801080—3[c]0500
1992–93Premier League4201080——510
1993–94First Division4601040—2[d]0530
1994–95Premier League3707070——510
1995–96First Division4602040—3[e]0550
Total2720220360—1903490
Leeds United1996–97Premier League3704030——440
1997–98Premier League3704040——450
1998–99Premier League34050104[f]0—440
1999–2000Premier League380302012[f]0—550
2000–01Premier League230100012[g]0—360
2001–02Premier League38010208[f]0—490
2002–03Premier League000000——00
Total2070180120360—2730
Everton2003–04Premier League3403030——400
2004–05Premier League3201000——330
2005–06Premier League20020104[h]0—270
Total860604040—1000
Career total66605205804003008460
  1. ^ Appearance(s) in Associate Members' Cup
  2. ^ Four appearances in Associate Members' Cup, four in Third Division play-offs
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in Full Members' Cup
  4. ^ Appearances in Anglo-Italian Cup
  5. ^ Appearances in First Division play-offs
  6. ^ Appearances in UEFA Cup
  7. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  8. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two in UEFA Cup

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
England199220
199310
199720
199830
199940
200020
200150
200240
Total230

Honours

Crystal Palace

England[29]

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Nigel Martyn". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  2. ^ Jay, Mike & Byrne, Stephen (1994). Pirates in Profile: A Who's Who of Bristol Rovers Players. Bristol: Potten, Baber & Murray. ISBN 0-9524835-0-5.
  3. ^ "IAN HOLLOWAY | Open Goal Meets..." – Open Goal, YouTube, 25 October 2021, 01:00/01:43
  4. ^ Chris Charles (21 September 2007). "Holloway column". BBC Sport. The Bristol Rovers tea lady discovered Nigel Martyn?
  5. ^ "How the Bristol Rovers tea lady helped sign Nigel Martyn" – Bristol Post, 4 June 2018
  6. ^ Fordyce, Tom (17 September 2002). "Goalkeepers – crazy but crucial". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  7. ^ "The hardest FA Cup of all". The Guardian. 2003-02-05. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  8. ^ "Back in the Day: April 7th - Crystal Palace Win the ZDS Cup". Red n Blue Army. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Centenary: All-Time XI". CPFC. Archived from the original on 8 May 2005. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  10. ^ "£2.6m Bowyer Signs for Leeds". The Independent. 4 July 1996. Archived 20 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  11. ^ Alan Smith (19 March 2005). "The Alan Smith interview: Life is so sweet for Everton's veteran". The Telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media Group. (registration required)
  12. ^ "Martyn Free To Leave Leeds". The Daily Telegraph. 1 August 2003. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  13. ^ "The Greatest Leeds United Team Unveiled". Leeds United F.C. 11 April 2006. Archived 14 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  14. ^ Chandler, Matthew (2021-01-20). "Nigel Martyn: 'I trained as hard at 39 as I ever did in my 20s'". Royal Blue Mersey. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
  15. ^ "How Everton's Masters Team Would Look in 2020". 14 April 2020. Archived from the original on 28 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  16. ^ "Keeper Martyn forced to quit game". BBC Sport. 8 June 2006. Archived 29 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  17. ^ Owen, Danny (2018-09-19). "Nigel Martyn compares himself to Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford". HITC. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
  18. ^ "Late penalty breaks English hearts". BBC Sport. 20 June 2000. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  19. ^ "Sven's England off to winning start". BBC Sport. 28 February 2001. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  20. ^ "England reach World Cup finals". BBC Sport. 6 October 2001. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  21. ^ Parker, Simon (4 February 2008). "Loach 'star-struck' by Martyn". Telegraph & Argus. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  22. ^ Parker, Simon (9 March 2007). "Martyn offers a helping hand". Telegraph & Argus. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  23. ^ Errington, Chris (June 6, 2024). "Nigel Martyn gives Wayne Rooney tip over Plymouth Argyle switch". Plymouth Live
  24. ^ "Player Statistics - Player Nigel Martyn". Leeds Modernians Cricket Club. – via Play-Cricket.com.
  25. ^ Wallace, James (2026-05-11). "‘As good as any feeling I had in football’: Nigel Martyn on swapping goalkeeping for a red England cricket cap". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  26. ^ "Nigel Martyn: Former England goalkeeper savours 'special' international cricket call-up". BBC Sport. 2026-05-11. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  27. ^ Broadbent, Rick (2024-10-06). "Nigel Martyn's opera star son aims to perform at Everton like his Dad". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  28. ^
  29. ^ Campbell, Paul & Lacey, David (25 Jun 2013). "From the Vault: Recalling How England Won Le Tournoi de France in 1997". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  30. ^ "Tournoi Espoirs de Toulon: Official Player Awards". rsssf.or. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  31. ^ "Premier League Player Stats - Clean sheets". premierleague.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2022. Select season in the "Filter by season" drop-down menu.