Norwich City Hit Big With Academy Ace With 5 Goals In The EFL This Season

Norwich City have had some fantastic strikers represent the yellow and green throughout the years.

From Teemu Pukki’s goalscoring exploits in the Championship to Grant Holt’s consistency in finding the back of the net in the Premier League, the Canaries supporters will hold some great memories of these iconic frontmen.

But nothing beats seeing one of your own transitioning into a reliable goalscorer when leading the line, and that’s exactly what Chris Martin managed to achieve during his time in East Anglia.

The now 36-year-old came through the academy ranks at Carrow Road, forcing his way into the first-team picture and having a significant presence for the majority of his seven-year stint with the Canaries.

Entering the early stages of his career, Norwich definitely got the best years out of him, with the frontman heavily contributing to their promotion push back to the Championship, that in turn helped the Canaries establish themselves back in the top-flight.

Chris Martin’s impact at Norwich City

Chris Martin progressed through the youth ranks at Norwich City before making the jump into professional football in Norfolk, entering the first-team fold back in 2006.

At just 18, Martin showed what he was all about when presented with opportunities, recording his first goal for the club in an FA Cup meeting against Blackpool in February 2007 before grabbing his first league goal in a draw with Coventry City and adding to his tally against the likes of Luton Town, Barnsley and Derby County.

Announcing himself on the big stage at Carrow Road, Martin surprisingly fell out of favour under Peter Grant, while he hardly featured under Glenn Roeder, who was critical of his attitude and effort.

In urgent need of gametime, Martin linked up with Luton Town on loan at the start of the 2008/09 campaign, with Michael Spillane following him to Kenilworth Road.

After his loan spell in Bedfordshire, Martin returned revitalised and set his sights on getting Norwich back to the Championship at the first time of asking following their relegation down to the third tier.

Under the tenure of Paul Lambert, Martin returned to being a regular starter for the Canaries, with a successful campaign in front of goal leading to the forward signing a new three-and-a-half-year contract midway through.

It would be by far Martin’s best scoring season for Norwich, notching 17 strikes and nine assists from 42 appearances as an instant return to the Championship was secured.

Following on back in the second tier, Martin would feature in 30 of the 46 games that season, scoring four times as well as producing four assists, but he would be ruled out for the final portion of the season with a hamstring injury.

It would be a sour ending to Martin’s career with his boyhood club, making just five appearances across two years in the top-flight as well as undergoing loan spells at the likes of Crystal Palace, Swindon Town and Derby County, before the forward joined the Rams permanently on a free transfer in 2013.

In Martin’s seven-year stay at Carrow Road, he registered 34 goals and 14 assists from 117 matches.

Norwich City got tremendous value out of Chris Martin’s spell, who is still scoring in the EFL to this day

Despite not always getting into the team on a regular basis, Chris Martin did prove himself as a reliable frontman when the club needed him most.

It could have been easy to fall away into the League One abyss after relegation from the Championship, but Martin’s physical presence and astute eye for goal was such a significant factor in Norwich’s immediate promotion back to the second tier.

This was the catalyst to Norwich eventually making an eagerly anticipated return to the Premier League and establishing themselves there for three consecutive seasons, before entering a yo-yo period between the top two divisions.

Martin will always be fondly remembered for helping dig the club out of their League One battle and setting the club on their way to more success years down the line, while his longevity in the EFL has been on display, with the forward currently at Bristol Rovers and netting five times this term in League One, as well as 16 goals the season prior in the third tier.

Still having an impact at the upper ends of the football pyramid at 36, it shows how much of a top-class centre forward Martin has been throughout his career, and Norwich certainly got a piece of his quality to help move them into a positive direction.