David Edward Martin (born 22 January 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for National League football club Southend United. He has also played for Wimbledon, Liverpool, Accrington Stanley, Leicester City, Tranmere Rovers, Leeds United, Derby County, Milton Keynes Dons, Millwall and West Ham United and at youth international level for England U16, England U17, England U18 and England U19.
Club career
Youth career
Born in Romford in the London Borough of Havering, Martin started his career as a youth-team player with Tottenham Hotspur where he originally played as defender.
Wimbledon / Milton Keynes Dons
He moved to Wimbledon in 2003, shortly before the club relocated to Milton Keynes in September of that year. After the club was reformed as Milton Keynes Dons in June 2004, Martin made his debut in 2004 and went on to make 25 appearances for the club, including 15 league appearances to January 2006.
Liverpool
After a successful trial period, he signed for Liverpool on 12 January 2006. He was an unused substitute in Liverpool's League Cup game against Reading on 25 October 2006. In his first season playing for Liverpool Reserves he kept eight clean sheets out of 13 starts, and became a regular starter in the reserve team. And when Charles Itandje was injured he was an unused substitute in a number of first team matches.
Accrington Stanley loan
On 23 February 2007 he was signed by Football League Two club, Accrington Stanley on loan for a month. However, he was injured within five minutes of his debut, without even touching the ball, against Lincoln City, damaging his ankle which ruled him out for the rest of his loan spell and he returned to Liverpool. After regaining his fitness he returned to Accrington on loan for the rest of the season, making his comeback in a 1–0 win over Torquay United, and helping the club avoid relegation to the Conference National.
Return to Liverpool
On 6 November 2007 Martin was on the bench when Liverpool beat Turkish club, Beşiktaş 8–0 at Anfield in their UEFA Champions League group match. He was a member of the Liverpool reserve team which was Premier Reserve League Northern champions and Premier League National champions in the 2007–08 season. In May 2008 he signed a new contract with Liverpool until June 2010.
Leicester City loan
On 4 August 2008, Martin joined League One team Leicester City on a six-month loan, making his debut in a 1–0 home win over Stockport on 12 August. In December, Martin's loan deal at Leicester was extended until the end of the season. He revealed on 30 January 2009 that he wanted a permanent move to Leicester, having made 13 clean sheets in 26 appearances for the club. Martin made a total of 25 league appearances as Leicester secured their promotion as league champions, but was unable to secure a permanent deal with the club.
Return to Liverpool again
Rafael Benitez named Martin in Liverpool's 28-man squad for the 2009–10 Champions League group stage.
Tranmere Rovers loan
On 16 October 2009 he joined Tranmere Rovers on loan for a month. Martin competed for the number one jersey with Luke Daniels and played three league games for Tranmere before returning to Liverpool. Martin was an unused substitute against Southampton.
Leeds United loan
On 26 November, Martin joined Leeds United on loan until 28 December to provide cover for the injured Shane Higgs and provide competition with Casper Ankergren and Alan Martin. Liverpool decided to not allow him to be available for Leeds' FA Cup games. Martin was named on the bench against Oldham Athletic, meaning he replaced Alan Martin as Leeds' sub goalkeeper whilst Higgs was injured.
He made his debut for Leeds in the Football League Trophy Northern Section semi-final at Elland Road against Accrington Stanley. On 24 December he extended his loan by a further month, until 30 January, and Liverpool also gave him permission to play for Leeds against Manchester United F.C. in the FA Cup. The loan extension was largely to do with Higgs suffering a further setback in his recovery from injury. Martin's loan deal was extended again on Transfer on deadline day (1 February) until 10 February 2010 after which he returned to Liverpool.