Martin: 'I hope to help us go up in to League One this season'
As we reported earlier Wednesday David Martin has put his signature on the contract that will make him a Shrimper until the summer of 2013.
The left winger has left Championship Derby County and dropped down two divisions, a serious signal of intent Southend's promotion rivals in League Two that along with the signing of Elliot Benyon, and hopefully Michael Timlin, both from Swindon, that they plan to enter the second half of the season in an even stronger state than they ended the first.
No fee was disclosed by either club.
Martin told www.southendunited.co.uk: "I never really had a chance to show what I could do with Derby and I can’t wait to get back playing again. It’s been frustrating but I’m pleased to have joined Southend and I will get my head down, work hard and try to play like I did to get the move to Derby in the first place.”
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, ( a 'Back in Time' feature Thursday), 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 two seperate spells on loan at Notts County in the second half of last season.
Now though it's all about the Blues, and continuing their fight to get back in to the third tier.
Martin concluded: “Southend are in a strong position in the league and I hope to help us go up in to League One this season."
And so say all of us; welcome to Roots Hall Dave and the best of luck
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The Martin Files
| 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 | Southend United | ||
| 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) |
| 2010-2011 | → 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). |
|||
(Full player info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Martin_(footballer_born_1985)
Martin's first appearance an Eagle, just!
| Competition: Coca-Cola Championship Date: Tuesday, 20th February 2007 Kick off: 19:45 Venue: Roots Hall | ||||
 |
Southend Utd.
|
0 - 1 | Crystal Palace
Ifill 65
|
 |
| Match Finished | ||||
| Starting line-ups | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darryl Flahavan | 6 |
| 4 | Lewis Hunt | 4 |
| 15 | Peter Clarke | 7 |
| 3 | Che Wilson (Harrold 79) | 5 |
| 16 | Efe Sodje | 6 |
| 7 | Mark Gower | 8 |
| 17 | Jamal Campbell-Ryce (Francis 84) | 7 |
| 8 | Kevin Maher | 8 |
| 10 | Freddy Eastwood | 7 |
| 12 | Lee Bradbury | 5 |
| 9 | Richie Foran | 7 |
| Substitutes | ||
| 13 | Stephen Collis | |
| 5 | Spencer Prior | |
| 2 | Simon Francis (Campbell-Ryce 84) | |
| 25 | Franck Moussa | |
| 24 | Matt Harrold (Wilson 79) | |
| Starting line-ups | ||
|---|---|---|
| 28 | Gabor Kiraly | 9 |
| 18 | Gary Borrowdale | 7 |
| 5 | Mark Hudson | 6 |
| 6 | Leon Cort | 7 |
| 2 | Matt Lawrence | 6 |
| 20 | Danny Butterfield (Freedman 46) | 4 |
| 27 | Paul Ifill (Martin 90) | 7 |
| 23 | Carl Fletcher | 9 |
| 15 | Mark Kennedy | 7 |
| 8 | James Scowcroft | 7 |
| 11 | Clinton Morrison (Grabban 82) | 6 |
| Substitutes | ||
| 12 | Julian Speroni | |
| 4 | Darren Ward | |
| 21 | Dave Martin (Ifill 90) | |
| 33 | Lewis Grabban (Morrison 82) | |
| 9 | Dougie Freedman (Butterfield 46) | 9 |
| 19 | Goal Attempts | 13 |
| 9 | On Target | 5 |
| 10 | Off Target | 8 |
| 0 | Hit Woodwork | 0 |
| 5 | Corners | 6 |
| 4 | Offsides | 5 |
| 6 | Fouls | 12 |
| Referee | Attendance |
|---|---|
| Lee Probert | 10,419 |
| Southend Utd. cards shown | ||
|---|---|---|
| none | ||
| Crystal Palace cards shown | ||
| none |
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