Alan Andrew Martin (born 1 January 1989) is a Scottish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Gibraltar Football League The Gibraltar Football League is the only senior tier of association football in Gibraltar, founded in 2019 as the Gibraltar National League after a merger of the Gibraltar Premier Division, which served as the top division of football on the R ...

club Manchester 62. Martin has previously played for

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

, Barrow,

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the , the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is The Honest Men, fro ...

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spr ...

, Clyde,

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

, Queen of the South,

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; ), sometimes referred to as EK, is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. Historically a small village, it was designated Scotland's first "new town" on 6 Ma ...

and Edinburgh City.

Club career

Martin began his career with the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

club

, making the

first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...

for the 2005–06 season. Martin was an often used as a substitute for Motherwell and failed to make a League appearance for them before moving on.

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

made enquiries about signing Martin in 2007, before he joined

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

club

on an initial two-year contract on 31 August 2007, taking the opportunity to be more involved in a first team squad. Despite not appearing for Leeds he was offered a new contract in September 2008, and moved to Barrow of the

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

to get more first team experience. Martin's time at Barrow was extended to a season-long loan and he became a fans' favourite. Martin was declared

man-of-the-match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

in Barrow's

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

third-round game versus

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, receiving praise from the club's co-manager

Dave Bayliss David Anthony Bayliss (born 8 June 1976) is an English football scout. He previously played in defence, and was manager at Barrow. Career Born in Liverpool, Merseyside, Bayliss joined Rochdale and progressed through the ranks, making his Footba ...

. Injuries reduced Martin's appearances for Barrow towards the end of that season. Despite suggestions that Martin could be involved in the Leeds first team for the 2009–10 season, he was loaned out again and joined

of League Two until January 2010. Martin had his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

debut with Stanley in the opening game of the season in a 1–0 defeat to

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

and fought for the number one jersey with fellow goalkeeper

Ian Dunbavin Ian Stuart Dunbavin (born 27 May 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. He spent the majority of his career at EFL League Two side Accrington Stanley, where he amassed 151 league appearances ...

. In total, Martin played ten matches for Accrington Stanley. On 27 October 2009, Leeds recalled him, with current number one goalkeeper

Shane Higgs Shane Peter Higgs (born 13 May 1977) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He made 306 appearances in the Football League and Football Conference between 1996 and 2012, most notably spending ten years at Chelte ...

out with a thigh injury and loanee goalkeeper

Frank Fielding Francis David Fielding (born 4 April 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Stoke City. He began his career at Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League. He spent time on loan at Wycombe Wanderers, Northamp ...

having returned to his parent club. Martin expected to be the back-up keeper for

Casper Ankergren Casper Ankergren (; born 9 November 1979) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is now the Head of Goalkeeping at Danish Superliga side Brøndby IF. He played three matches for the Denmark national under-21 ...

. Martin was regularly on the bench whilst Higgs was out injured, but he was displaced versus

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

with David Martin having arrived on loan from Liverpool. However, Martin returned as a Leeds substitute versus

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

, as Leeds already had five loan players in the squad and David Martin was therefore unable to be included. Martin was part of the Leeds squad that gained promotion to the Championship, although he was confined to being third choice keeper behind

and

. During the summer of 2010 Ankergren left the club and was replaced by

Kasper Schmeichel Kasper Peter Schmeichel (born 5 November 1986) is a Danish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Celtic F.C., Celtic and the Denmark national footb ...

, which meant that Martin continued to be only the third choice goalkeeper. On 4 August 2010, Martin re-joined Barrow on loan until January 2011. On 14 August 2010, Martin made his second debut for Barrow versus

Histon Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road (England), A14 road which runs eas ...

and conceded three goals in a 3–1 defeat. In October, after injuries to

and

, Leeds contemplated recalling Martin to act as cover but decided to let him stay at Barrow to help his development. On 4 January 2011, Martin returned to Leeds after Barrow decided they couldn't afford to keep him. On 31 January 2011, Martin's contract was cancelled by mutual consent, allowing him to find a new club, after the loan signing of

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

goalkeeper David González Giraldo. After his release from Leeds, Martin moved back to Scotland to sign for part-time club

South Ayrshire South Ayrshire (; , ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. South Ayrshire had an estimated population in 2021 of 112,45 ...

. Martin was the regular first choice keeper after signing and helped the

Somerset Park Somerset Park is a football stadium located in Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It has been the home of Scottish Championship team Ayr United since the club was founded in 1910. Prior to that, it was the home ground of Ayr, who merged with Ayr ...

club to win promotion to the

Scottish Football League First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...

via the play-offs in May 2011. Although being offered a contract at the ''Honest Men'' for the 2011–12, Martin declined the offer when he stated he wanted to go back to full-time football. Martin signed an initial one-year deal with

in July 2011, after impressive performances for the club during their pre-season, finally making his first-team debut on 11 August 2012, keeping a clean sheet in a 5–0 home win over

Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...

in a Capital One League Cup first round tie. Martin had his League One debut a week later, letting in two goals as

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

won 2–1 at

Gresty Road Gresty Road or the Alexandra Stadium, currently known as the Mornflake Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Crewe, Cheshire, England. The home ground of Crewe Alexandra, it has an all-seated capacity of 10,153. History C ...

. On 27 January 2014, Martin departed Crewe by mutual consent. He moved to

and made three league appearances for the club. Martin was released by Aldershot at the end of the 2013–14 season. In July 2014, Martin spent time on trial with

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

. On 23 September 2014, Martin signed for

Scottish League Two The Scottish League Two, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foo ...

club Clyde. He made his debut the same day, as Clyde defeated Montrose 2–1. Martin then signed for

in June 2015. After one year with the club, Martin moved to

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...

club

in August 2016, signing a one-year contract with the ''Sons''. Following an impressive season, in which he started 39 matches, Martin won five awards at the club's Player of the Year night, including the Sons Trust Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year. During the middle of May 2017, Martin's future with the ''Sons'' was in doubt, with the keeper allegedly looking for a new club after admitting that the ''Sons'' latest contract offer to be unacceptable. On 25 May 2017, Martin signed a two-year contract with

club Queen of the South. On 29 June 2019, Martin signed for

Lowland League The Scottish Lowland Football League (SLFL, commonly known as the Lowland League) and the Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland League for sponsorship reasons is a senior football league based in central and southern Scotland. The league sits a ...

club

. On 3 January 2020, Martin signed for Edinburgh City, He was released on a free transfer on 31 January 2020 after just four appearances for the club. On 27 January 2020 he reportedly signed with the

Philippines Football League The Philippines Football League (PFL) is a men's professional association football, football league in the Philippines. Sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and organized by Liga Futbol Inc., it is the country's Football in t ...

club Global Makati. It was announced on the clubs'

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account. However, in the summer he moved again, this time to

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

to join Bruno's Magpies. He was unveiled on the club's social media on 4 August.

International career

Martin has played for Scotland at youth levels, up to and including the under-21 team. Martin had his under-21 debut versus

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in November 2008 and despite playing only nineteen minutes due to an injury, he retained his place as the team's first-choice goalkeeper for some future matches. Martin then played for Scotland in the European Championship Qualifying play-offs.

Honours

Crewe Alexandra *

Football League Two play-offs The EFL League Two play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from fourth to seventh in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are part of the annual Engli ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

References

External links

* (2006–2010) * (2010 onwards) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Alan 1989 births Living people Footballers from Glasgow Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Motherwell F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players F.C. Bruno's Magpies players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Aldershot Town F.C. players Clyde F.C. players Hamilton Academical F.C. players Dumbarton F.C. players Queen of the South F.C. players East Kilbride F.C. players Edinburgh City F.C. players St Joseph's F.C. players Manchester 62 F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Scottish Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players Gibraltar National League players Scotland men's youth international footballers 21st-century Scottish sportsmen