Nigel Martyn
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Antony Nigel Martyn | ||
| Date of birth | 11 August 1966 | ||
| Place of birth | St Austell, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1989 | Bristol Rovers | 101 | (0) |
| 1989–1996 | Crystal Palace | 272 | (0) |
| 1996–2003 | Leeds United | 207 | (0) |
| 2003–2006 | Everton | 86 | (0) |
| Total | 680 | (0) | |
| National team | |||
| 1988–1989 | England U21 | 11 | (0) |
| 1989–1994 | England B | 6 | (0) |
| 1992–2002 | England | 23 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Antony Nigel Martyn (born 11 August 1966), more commonly known as Nigel Martyn, is an English retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper from 1987 until 2006.
Having started his career with Bristol Rovers he moved to Crystal Palace where he became the first £1million 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. Subsequently, Martyn spent six seasons at Leeds United. He went on to win 23 England caps. An ankle injury forced him to retire in 2006, following three seasons at Everton.
Born in St Austell, Cornwall, 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 F.C., Bugle and St Blazey while working in a plastics factory and for a coal merchant, before beginning his professional career with Bristol Rovers in 1987 after apparently having been "spotted" by Rovers' tea lady whilst she was on holiday.
While still in Cornwall he was also a cricketer, and played with Cornwall Schoolboys as a wicket keeper, as well as Fowey C.C. Since his retirement from professional football, he has returned to cricket, playing regularly for a local Leeds team called Leeds Modernians in the Airedale & Wharfedale Senior Cricket League (see stats from 2015 onwards).
He 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. It was at Crystal Palace that Nigel first gained international recognition with a call up to the full England side. He remained at Palace for seven seasons, appearing 349 times for his club, including the 1990 FA Cup Final (where Palace were beaten by Manchester United on a replay, and the 1991 Zenith Data Systems Cup final (where Palace beat Everton). In 1996, he signed with Leeds United, setting another record fee for a goalkeeper of £2.25m.
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