Gary Martin (footballer)
English footballer (born 1990)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gary John Martin (born 10 October 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Northern Premier League Premier Division club Hebburn Town. Besides England, he has played in Hungary,[3] Iceland,[4] Belgium and Norway.[5]
|
Martin with Lokeren in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gary John Martin[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 10 October 1990[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Darlington, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Hebburn Town | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2010 | Middlesbrough | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010 | Middlesbrough | 0 | (0) |
| 2010 | → Újpest (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2010–2012 | ÍA | 36 | (22) |
| 2011 | → Hjørring (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2012–2016 | KR | 69 | (35) |
| 2016–2017 | Víkingur Reykjavík | 13 | (5) |
| 2016–2017 | → Lillestrøm (loan) | 10 | (4) |
| 2017 | Lokeren | 8 | (0) |
| 2017 | York City | 3 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Lillestrøm | 19 | (2) |
| 2019 | Valur | 3 | (2) |
| 2019–2021 | ÍBV | 31 | (23) |
| 2020 | → Darlington (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2021–2024 | Selfoss | 64 | (26) |
| 2024 | → Víkingur Ólafsvík (loan) | 18 | (10) |
| 2024–2025 | Bishop Auckland | 24 | (5) |
| 2025– | Hebburn Town | 24 | (18) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12:00, 24 January 2026 (UTC) | |||
Career
Martin was born in Darlington, County Durham.[6] He started his career with Middlesbrough, where he came through the club's youth system and was given a youth-team scholarship (YTS) in 2007.[7] He was a prolific goalscorer at both youth and reserve levels, scoring 19 goals in 39 matches for the academy team, and 17 goals in 26 appearances for the reserve team.[8] In June 2009, his YTS was extended by a year,[9] and in the build-up to the 2009–10 season he played with the first team in pre-season.[10] On 23 February 2010, Martin joined Nemzeti Bajnokság I club Újpest on loan until the end of the season.[11] He went on to make two league appearances during his spell with Újpest, coming on as a substitute in a 4–1 home win against Diósgyőr and a 1–0 defeat away to Lombard-Pápa.[2]
After being released by Middlesbrough in May 2010,[12] Martin signed for 1. deild karla club ÍA on 23 July 2010, initially on a short-term contract to the end of the season.[8] He made his debut five days later, coming on as a 54th-minute substitute for Stefán Örn Arnarson in the 1–1 draw with Fjölnir,[13] and scored his first goal for the club two weeks later in a 2–2 draw away to Þór Akureyri.[14] Martin joined Danish 1st Division club Hjørring on loan in August 2011,[15] making seven appearances[16] before the club decided to not extend his loan in November.[17]
After two successful seasons, Martin signed for Úrvalsdeild champions KR for a nominal fee.[citation needed] In the 2013 season, KR again won the Úrvalsdeild title,[2] with Martin being joint top scorer in the league with 13 goals.[18] He was named the best foreign player in the league and was selected in the Team of the Year.[citation needed] During the season, Martin also made his first appearance in the UEFA Europa League, scoring his first goal in that competition against Glentoran.[2] He was the Úrvalsdeild top scorer in the 2014 season with 13 goals.[19]
Martin signed for KR's Úrvalsdeild rivals Víkingur Reykjavík on 15 February 2016 on a three-year contract.[20] On 10 August 2016, he signed for Tippeligaen club Lillestrøm on loan for the remainder of the 2016 season, joining up with his former coach at KR, Rúnar Kristinsson.[21] He returned to Víkingur Reykjavík in January 2017.[22]
Martin signed for Belgian First Division A club Lokeren on 16 January 2017 on a two-and-a-half-year contract, where he again joined up with his former manager Rúnar Kristinsson.[23] Having not played at the beginning of the 2017–18 season, Martin was released on 18 October 2017.[24]
On 24 October 2017, Martin signed a three-year contract to return to Lillestrøm, effective from 1 January 2018.[25] He signed for National League North club York City on 2 November 2017 on a short-term contract,[26] playing for them in the interim period before his transfer to Lillestrøm.[27] He made his debut two days later in York's 2–1 home win over Curzon Ashton, in which he provided an assist for Jon Parkin to score the opening goal.[28] Martin scored his first goal in his fourth appearance, a 3–1 home victory over Coalville Town in the FA Trophy third qualifying round on 25 November 2017.[2][29] He scored the opening goal of the match, with a curling shot from the edge of the penalty area into the top-left corner.[29] Martin left the club two days later, because of what York described as a disciplinary issue.[30] It was reported in The Press that the club had discovered that he had been playing for Darlington Albion in the Darlington Sunday Morning Invitation League.[31]
Martin signed for Úrvalsdeild champions Valur on 7 January 2019 on a three-year contract.[32] However, after five months with Valur, he left the club to join fellow Úrvalsdeild club ÍBV.[33] He finished as top scorer in the 2019 Úrvalsdeild, with 14 goals for Valur and ÍBV combined.[34] Martin signed for his home-town club, Darlington of the National League North, on 11 January 2020 on loan until late March.[35][36] On 1 May, he signed with 1. deild karla club Selfoss.[37] In April 2024, he joined Víkingur on loan.[38]
On 1 November 2024, Martin returned to England, signing a two-year deal with Northern Premier League side Bishop Auckland.[39] On 16 November, he scored on his debut in a 2–0 win over Liversedge.[40] In May 2025, Martin joined Hebburn Town.[41]
Career statistics
- As of match played 18 September 2021
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Újpest | 2009–10[2] | Nemzeti Bajnokság I | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| ÍA | 2010[42] | 1. deild karla | 9 | 10 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 10 | ||||
| 2011[42] | 1. deild karla | 16 | 9 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 17 | 10 | ||||
| 2012[42] | Úrvalsdeild | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 36 | 22 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 38 | 23 | |||||
| Hjørring (loan) | 2011–12[16] | Danish 1st Division | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| KR | 2012[42] | Úrvalsdeild | 11 | 4 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 13 | 6 | |||
| 2013[2][42] | Úrvalsdeild | 22 | 13 | 3 | 1 | — | 4[b] | 1 | 1[c] | 0 | 30 | 15 | ||
| 2014[2][42] | Úrvalsdeild | 21 | 13 | 5 | 2 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 29 | 15 | ||
| 2015[2][42] | Úrvalsdeild | 15 | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | 4[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 23 | 6 | ||
| Total | 69 | 35 | 13 | 6 | — | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 95 | 42 | |||
| Víkingur Reykjavík | 2016[42] | Úrvalsdeild | 13 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 5 | |||
| Lillestrøm (loan) | 2016[2] | Tippeligaen | 10 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 4 | ||||
| Lokeren | 2016–17[2] | Belgian First Division A | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 6[e] | 0 | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18[2] | Belgian First Division A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||||
| York City | 2017–18[2][29] | National League North | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 1[f] | 1 | 4 | 1 | |||
| Lillestrøm | 2018[2] | Eliteserien | 19 | 2 | 3 | 3 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 1[g] | 0 | 25 | 5 | |
| Valur | 2019[2][42] | Úrvalsdeild | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 5 | 2 | |
| ÍBV | 2019[2][42] | Úrvalsdeild | 12 | 12 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 12 | |||
| 2020[2][42] | 1. deild karla | 19 | 11 | 4 | 7 | — | — | — | 23 | 18 | ||||
| 2021[42] | 1. deild karla | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 31 | 23 | 5 | 8 | — | — | — | 36 | 31 | |||||
| Darlington (loan) | 2019–20[2] | National League North | 6 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Selfoss | 2021[42] | 1. deild karla | 22 | 13 | — | — | — | — | 22 | 13 | ||||
| Career total | 228 | 106 | 27 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 280 | 126 | ||
- Includes Magyar Kupa, Icelandic Cup, Danish Cup and Norwegian Football Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in Icelandic Super Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League play-offs
- Appearance in Mesterfinalen
Honours
ÍA
KR
