While Leeds United Edge closer to a high -flying return, one of their old big ones has already celebrated the promotion of the Premier League.
Nigel Martyn hung up his football boots almost two decades ago due to a chronic ankle injury. But at the age of 58, the former goalkeeper of England was back in gloves – this time as a counter. And the legend of whites was successful in the Whites last summer, helping Knaresborough to reach the BCE Yorkshire Premier League North, the best level of club cricket, after winning the western division of the championship.
“There is nothing better in sport than winning something with your friends,” explains the affable martyn, sitting in the sun outside the Knaresborough Cricket Club pavilion, a few steps from his home on the market near Harrogate. “Obviously, it is bigger if you do it for a professional team, but that no longer means for the person. It’s the same thing. I take it seriously.
Martyn is now preparing for the start of the Knaresborough campaign in 2025 on Saturday – a date on which he has been counting since the end of last season. He shows Mail Sport An application on his phone called “Big Day”, which displays the remaining days until April 26, alongside a photo of him taking a dive.
“Cricket has always been my first love,” says Martyn. “I was just better in football and football, then I took the relay from 1987 to 2006. But if it is a blow between the big match or a test match on TV, then the cricket is on.”
Martyn’s enthusiasm for sport, however, recently took a little bit. Despite being a pillar of the First Xi Knaresborough for six years, the specialist Gloveman has been informed that he will start the new season in the seconds to make way for a stronger striker – a blow to his ambition to play in the Premier League, where the stars of Yorkshire often take place.
Leeds Great Nigel Martyn plays as a ticketkeeper nearly two decades after his retirement
Martyn, now 58
Martyn has been a pillar of Knaresborough XI for six years but is now in the seconds
“I always feel a little disappointed,” admits Martyn, who also plays for his original county championship in the BCE county championship on the 1950s. “For me, sport must be played at the highest level that you can arrive and I wanted to experience it.
“But I will not throw my landau toys and I do not go away. I will play in both, keeping my standards as high as possible and being ready and available if the first team needed me. I had that with England and David Seaman!
Martyn took 14 catches and seven strains for Knaresborough last season, with a score of 15 people who were not released, although he mainly struck at No11. Asked about his highlighting point of all time, he cited six to his former Modern club Leeds club to beat Green Lane and Seal Promotion to Division Two of the Airedale and Wharfedale League in 2016. “The feeling that gave me was as good as everything I ever had in football,” he said.
According to the personal experience of playing against Martyn, he is talkative behind the stumps but does not rush. Does he receive a lot of discussions himself? “I receive the occasional comment,” you should stick to football, “he said. “But most people laugh with you.
One of his biggest laughs came a few seasons following a farce played by the Whitkirk opponents. “A launcher brought me out and, completely without the knowledge of me, his teammates wrote to him a letter by pretending to be me, saying how a good ball was,” martyn grochus. “Apparently, he was everywhere and even put the letter in his hangar!”
“When we played them again, their guys told me what they had done and asked if I bored to go. So I said to the launcher, “Did you have my letter ok?”. They were all in the background who absolutely liked that. He was mortified, he had fallen in love.
Another funny moment came when Martyn shared a wardrobe with his former Leeds teammate, Paul Robinson, whose son was in the junior configuration of Knaresborough.
“We were really short for a weekend and I asked him if he would help us,” explains Martyn. “ Robbo was my boot when I went for the first time to Leeds, so at the end of the game, I took my cricket shoes and said, “Can you prepare them for me next week?”. The guys were killed!
Cricket was Martyn’s first great love, but football took over during his career from 1987 to 2006
Martyn joined members of the Cricket team in England during a training session in 2017
Martyn spent a large part of his career in England as a second choice behind David Seaman
Martyn won 23 caps for England and was one of four teams during major tournaments
Robinson ended up being the goalkeeper who ousted Martyn as Leeds No1 after Terry Venables replaced David O’Leary as a boss in the summer of 2002.
Martyn remembers returning exhausted from the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, where he was an unused member of the England team, and that he had been told that he had to travel during the pre-seasoning of the Whites in the Far East and Australia.
He informed Eddie Gray – who took charge of the training with mysteriously absent venables – he did not want to go. The next day, Martyn was invited to enter the interior to take a phone call from the director.
“Terry was like:” I can’t ask my senior players not to come on this trip. If you don’t come, you will never play for Leeds United again, ”recalls Martyn. “I said,” Terry, as I feel right now, I’m noticing it “. I came out and I said to the secretary: “He has been director for a while now, where is he?”. She said, “He just turns shooting what you are here …?”.
“The next day, he was in it and I trained with the children. I sat on the bench for all this season before going to Everton.
It was a sad end for the successful passage of Martyn to Leeds, which he joined in 1996 of Palace for a British record then for a goalkeeper of 2.25 million pounds sterling.
“This team should have won something,” he insists. “It’s a regret. We arrived at a semi-final of the UEFA Cup and the Champions League, but we just miss this additional song you need to cross the line.
Martyn remains in contact with many of this team from the Champions League via a WhatsApp group created by Dominic Matteo, who includes Rio Ferdinand, Mark Viduka, Alan Smith and Lucas Radebe. “The jokes are as if you were back in 2001,” he said. “These are the same people who say the same thing of the same people. It’s hilarious.
He joined Everton in 2003 after being ousted as Leeds goalkeeper by Paul Robinson
Martyn remains in contact with the Leeds team who made the Champions League last four
Leeds lost against Valence in the semi-finals and Martyn regrets that the team did not win something
The former recluing of England and Leeds teammate David Batty is not in the WhatsApp group
A man who is not in the group is David Batty, the former midfielder in England. “I have a room with Batts for a while,” explains Martyn. “He said one day:” I am your teammate but I will never be one of your friends. Once I have finished football, none of you will never see me again. ” And he was good at his word!
“There have been some batty observations that are less spread out on the east coast. But if I saw him in the street, I think everything I would have is a sign of the head. I don’t think he came and tell me what he’s doing for 20 years!
On the other hand, Martyn made a public appearance in the reception suites at Elland Road for Leeds draw with Swansea last month and will work again in the boxes during Monday’s shock against Stoke. Daniel Farke’s team sits at the top of the championship with three games to do after their 1-0 victory against Oxford on Good Friday, five points from Sheffield United, third in the places of automatic promotion.
“I think they have proven that they are the best team in the league,” explains Martyn, whose daughter Fay is also involved in high -level sport as Physio in Harlequins, while his son Thomas is an opera singer. “But everything comes down to these last games.
Illan Meslier, on the left, was recently abandoned under the name of Leeds No1 with Karl Darlow, on the right, taking the gloves
Martyn thinks that Meslier needs to stand up when he is crowded on parts to eliminate stigma
Leeds closed his return to the high flight with a 1-0 victory against Oxford on Good Friday
Leeds’ greatest headache this season has been in the old role of Martyn, Farke recently abandoned the No1 Illan Meslier for Karl Darlow after a series of errors. “The oppositions were only the ball in the box on free kicks and corners and putting the players in and around him because he had trouble in these situations,” explains Martyn about the French.
“To get rid of this stigma, he must stand in these moments, be physically strong and go to catch it. When confidence is high, you have a good goal there. But when you make a mistake, it hurts.
Martyn, however, has his own form to fear from next weekend.
“At 58, I expect to dive again there,” he adds. “My wife said to me,” You are 60 years old next year, how long are you going to do this? ” ». But I appreciate it so much, I never want to stop.
