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Nigel Martyn

Antony Nigel Martyn (born August 11, 1966 in St Austell), more commonly known as Nigel Martyn is a former English football goalkeeper who played more than 600 competitive matches in English football. He most prominently played seven seasons each for Crystal Palace and Leeds United, and also won 23 England caps. An ankle injury forced him to retire in 2006, following three seasons for Everton. He is goalkeeping coach at Bradford City.

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 sixteen. He started at amateur side St Blazey before beginning his professional career with Bristol Rovers in 1987 after apparently having been "spotted" by Rovers' tea lady whilst she was on holiday. 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.

Leeds United

Martyn played as Leeds' first-choice goalkeeper for six seasons and his consistency was a large factor in their strong run in the Champions League. It was a disagreement with new Leeds manager Terry Venables, combined with the increasingly good form of youngster Paul Robinson, that kept him from playing any games in Leeds' 2002-03 season.

Everton

In summer 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 ever finish in the Premier League of 4th. Many fans believed that Martyn almost single-handedly stopped them from slipping down the table after Thomas Gravesen's departure. 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 2005, Martyn was voted in Palace's Centenary XI. On April 10 2006, he was voted as part of Leeds United's greatest team being the only player from after the _.22The_Glory_Days.22 to be part of the team.

On June 8 2006, Martyn announced his retirement from football due to an ankle injury. David Moyes said that he would miss Martyn as he was his "greatest ever signing".

International career

Martyn made his debut for the England national side in Moscow in 1992, becoming one of the few Cornishmen to play for England. He earned only 23 caps for his national side, spending the peak of his career as second-choice goalkeeper behind David Seaman.

Coaching career

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