Alvin Martin

Football manager infobox


playername = Alvin Martin
fullname = Alvin Edward Martin
height =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1958|7|29|df=y
cityofbirth = Bootle, Liverpool
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Defender
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1977-96
1996-97
clubs = West Ham United
Leyton Orient
caps(goals) = 469 (27)
017 0(0)
nationalyears = 1981-86
nationalteam = England
nationalcaps(goals) = 17 (0)
manageryears = 1997-99
managerclubs = Southend United

Alvin Edward Martin (born 29 July 1958 in Bootle) is a retired English footballer who spent most of his career with West Ham United.

Martin started out with Merseyside club Everton as a schoolboy, but left in 1973 after the Goodison Park club only offered him an apprenticeship on a part time basis, stating at the time that he "would never kick a ball for them again".Fact|date=January 2008 An unsuccessful trial later that summer with Q.P.R was followed the very next day by one for West Ham United, where he was awarded a contract.Fact|date=January 2008

Martin went on to amass 586 first team appearances for the Hammers in a successful 19-year career at Upton Park, in which he became one of only two players, along with Billy Bonds, to be awarded two testimonials.cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/scouser-martins-heart-with-the-hammers--at-a-stretch-477140.html |title=Scouser Martin's heart with the Hammers - at a stretch|first=Ronald|last=Atkin|date=2006-05-07|publisher=The Independent|accessdate=2008-01-25]

It was alongside Bonds in the centre of defence that Martin - nicknamed ’Stretch’ - enjoyed his most rewarding years, winning the FA Cup and Second Division winners medals in successive seasons at the start of the 80s.

Martin was given his first England cap by Ron Greenwood, who brought him to West Ham as a 14-year-old, against Brazil at Wembley in May 1981. Injury ruled him out of the World Cup finals in Spain in 1982, but he was playing some of the finest football of his career when the next England manager, Bobby Robson, included Martin in his 1986 squad for the finals in Mexico. He played in the victory over Paraguay but was surprisingly dropped for the next game, the quarter-final defeat by Argentina’s infamous ’Hand of God’. In total he made 17 appearances for England.

He also achieved the rare feat of scoring a hat-trick against three different Newcastle United goalkeepers - Martin Thomas, who was then injured, and outfield players Chris Hedworth and Peter Beardsley - in a Division One match in April 1986. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/3485602.stm |title=The hat-trick Hall of Fame|first=Phil|last=McNulty|publisher=BBC Online|date=2004-02-25|accessdate=2008-01-25]

After leaving West Ham, he had a brief spell with East London neighbours Leyton Orient, before managing Southend United for two years.

After retiring from football management Martin joined London based radio station talkSPORT and is also a regular pundit on Sky Sports TV football talk shows.

His sons David and Joe are also footballers. David is currently goalkeeper currently at Leicester City on loan from Liverpool and Joe is a midfielder currently on loan at Blackpool from Tottenham Hotspur.

References

ource

* [http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=2&ham=434&united=Alvin_Martin Alvin Martin on www.westhamstats.info]