Martin; in his Lions days
It's looking highly likely that Derby County left winger Dave Martin is the man the Shrimpers are looking to sign on the dotted line before Saturday's game with Port Vale.
After a brief mention of his name on www.shrimperzone.com a frenzied hunt began to see if there was any legs in this one, let's face it, there's been quite a few players put out there.
However, his agents, www.paramountsm.com/, did indeed confirm he was in talks with the club, and after questioning by fans Echoman Chris Phillips has admitted the pieces fit and Martin is the man.
He also tweeted that the Sidcup born boy is 'very' close to putting pen to paper.
Former Lions legend Neil Harris may have been involved here, or even our new man on the board and ex-chair at the Den Stewart Till, though he might have just missed seeing the player before he left.
Dave Martin is indeed one of those out of contract at the end of the season, and has not featured for Derby this season.
And he certainly has a Southend link; sort of!
After Dave was spotted at the age of 10 by Brighton & Hove Albion he moved to Kent based Slade Green and then Dartford.
Martin's time at Dartford proved productive, scoring 14 goals in 68 appearances and attracting the attention of Championship club Crystal Palace, who he joined for £25,000 in January 2007.
Martin made his debut for Crystal Palace as a substitute in a 1–0 win over the Shrimpers at Roots Hall in February 2007, Dougie came on and got the winner with Spud Taylor as boss, but it was only oin the 90th minute to kill a bit of time before they sneaked off with the points!
He only spent a year at Selhurst Park, where a thigh strain and managerial changes meant he was restricted to just 14 appearances, primarily as substitute, before making the switch to Millwall for an initial fee of £50,000, rising to £100,000 depending on appearances.
Martin made his Millwall debut in the 2–0 defeat away to Nottingham Forest on 9 February 2008, before scoring a goal in each of his next two games, a 2–1 victory over, yes, Southend United, and a 3–0 win over Port Vale, (Shrimpers v Valiants on Saturday, spooky), and finishing the season with 11 appearances and two goals.
He then signed for Derby on loan until the end of the 2009–10 season on 9 February 2010, making it permanent in June of that year on a two year deal but made just 13 appearances in that time, including two starts, last featuring in the home defeat by Sheffield United in September 2010..
Martin made five appearances on loan at League One Walsall at the start of this present campaign after undertaking a stint on loan at Notts County in the second half of last season.
If this does indeed turn out to be our man, and we better get him after all this, it's another massive show of faith from the powers-that-be in Blues boss Paul Sturrock, on top of the signing of Elliot Benyon from Swindon, and from a left winger, possibily just in time for another Ryan Hall suspension, who could have looked at a league higher for a new club.
Hopefully he'll be in one next season!
A few of these would go down nicely: www.youtube.com
Now Sky have got in on the act: www1.skysports.com
Like the sound of him?: http://boards.footymad.net
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David John Martin | ||
| Date of birth | 3 June 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Sidcup, London, England | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Left winger | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Derby County | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2004–2005 | Slade Green | 66 | (14) |
| 2005–2007 | Dartford | 68 | (14) |
| 2007–2008 | Crystal Palace | 14 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Millwall | 78 | (9) |
| 2010 | → Derby County (loan) | 11 | (1) |
| 2010– | Derby County | 2 | (0) |
| 2011 | → Notts County (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2011 | → Walsall (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:10, 20 October 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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