Martin Lane (born 12 April 1961) is an English former footballer who played mainly as a full-back. Born in

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

, he made appearances in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for four clubs, with most of his career being spent with Chester City.

Playing career

Lane joined

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

as a youngster in 1977 and spent five years at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

without making a competitive first-team appearance. He joined Chester City in August 1982, making his debut in a

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

tie away at Chesterfield during the same month.Sumner (1997), stats section He quickly became a regular in the side and even had a successful game as a makeshift centre-forward in Chester's 4–2 win at

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

in December 1982, scoring twice. Despite remaining a regular player, Lane had to wait until April 1986 for his next Chester goal, scoring direct from a

corner kick A corner kick, commonly known as a corner, is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defe ...

in a 2–1 win over

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

to help the club move to the brink of promotion. During the same season, Lane was part of a defence that helped Chester go 423 minutes without conceding a goal. After helping Chester to a 2–1 win over

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

in the

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 in January 1987, Lane moved to Division One side

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

for £25,000. After making just three league appearances in two years at

Highfield Road Highfield Road was a football stadium in the city of Coventry, England. It was the home ground for Coventry City for 106 years. History It was built in 1899 in the Hillfields district, close to the city centre, and staged its final game on 30 ...

and spending time on loan with

, Lane returned to Chester for the same amount he had been sold for in January 1989. His arrival was quickly followed by a run of four successive wins without conceding a goal, as Chester came close to qualifying for the

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the Third Division become the fourth tier of English football. In 2 ...

play-offs. Lane remained a regular until the end of the 1990–91 season, playing his final game in a 1–0 defeat at

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

on 11 May 1991. Lane made just 10 appearances in a season with

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

and then dropped into non-league football, having spells with clubs including Shepshed Albion,

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English Association football, football club based in Worcester, England, Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Southern Football League Premier Division Central, the seventh tier of English football. ...

and Hinckley Town, while working for a security company.''Player Memories'', Chester City v. Hull City matchday programme; 4/12/1993; p 24

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Martin 1961 births Living people Footballers from Altrincham English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks English Football League players Manchester United F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Shepshed Dynamo F.C. players Worcester City F.C. players Hinckley Town F.C. players