MARTIN GRITTON

Full Name: Martin Francis Gritton

Born: 01 June 1978

Came from: Porthleven   Went to: Torquay United

First game: 08 August 1998   Last game: 27 August 2001

Appearances: 55 (20/35)   Goals: 9

Born in Glasgow, Gritton's family moved to the south west of England when he was five. A lifelong Celtic fan and a keen rugby player at school, he ultimately turned to football, playing for Cornish non-league sides Perranwell and Truro City, and Porthleven in the South Western League, while studying at the University of Portsmouth. In 1997-98, he helped the Fishermen reach the quarter-finals of the FA Vase.

It was at Porthleven that he caught the eye of Argyle manager Kevin Hodges, earning a trial in the summer of 1998. He initially joined on a non-contract basis to allow him to complete his degree, graduating with a degree in Sports Science from the University of Portsmouth in 1999. While at university, he was also selected for the England and British University representative sides and, ironically, scored against Scotland.

His Football League debut with Argyle came as a substitute in August 1998, in a 2-1 home win over Rochdale. Although he did enough to secure a full-time deal at Home Park, he struggled to establish himself in the starting line-up and was allowed out on loan to Yeovil Town in February 2001 (four appearances) and Irish side Shelbourne in November 2001 (eight appearances).

Used mainly as a substitute, he made 55 appearances for Argyle, of which only 20 were starts, and scored nine goals. In August 2002, having played just twice in Argyle's 2001-02 promotion-winning side, he joined Torquay United initially on loan before signing permanently on a free transfer the following month. He settled in well at Plainmoor, scoring 16 goals in his first season and helping the Gulls secure automatic promotion in 2003-04. However, with Torquay struggling in the higher division and looking to cut costs, he was allowed to join Grimsby Town for a nominal fee in December 2004. In total, he made 100 appearances and scored 26 goals over three seasons.

At Blundell Park, his appearances spanned two League Two seasons, during which he played 53 times and scored six goals. He left Grimsby a year later to join Lincoln City. Unable to secure a regular place in the first team, he made 30 appearances and scored three goals. During his second season, 2006-07, he spent time on loan at Mansfield Town, where he scored six goals in 19 appearances. In January 2007, he invoked the familiar 'Law of the Returning Striker', scoring a hat-trick against former club Torquay in a 5-0 win at Field Mill.

Lincoln released him on a free transfer the following May, and he joined Macclesfield Town a few weeks later. He scored 16 goals in 59 appearances over two League Two seasons before moving to Chesterfield for a fee of £40,000 on a two-and-a-half-year deal. He spent three seasons with the Spireites, scoring five goals in 30 appearances, although he did not feature during the third, 2010-11 season. In 2011-12, he was loaned to League Two rivals Torquay United, making 15 appearances without scoring, although his time there was hampered by a knee injury. After returning to Chesterfield, he had his contract cancelled in January 2012.

After his release by Chesterfield, he wound down his career with brief spells in the latter half of the 2011-12 season, firstly with Chester, the successor club to Chester City, in the Northern Premier League (five appearances and one goal); Yeovil Town in League One (two appearances); Stockport County in the National League (11 appearances); and finally Truro City in the National League South (eight appearances and two goals), having been persuaded to return to Cornwall by former team-mate and City manager Lee Hodges.

After leaving Truro, he retired from football and moved to London. From his beginnings in Cornish non-league football, he had built a career spanning almost 400 appearances and scoring nearly 75 goals.

Towards the end of his career, he had also studied professional sports writing and broadcasting at Staffordshire University. He subsequently worked as a co-commentator for BBC Radio Devon's coverage of Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United matches, and occasionally contributed to BBC Radio Humberside's coverage of Grimsby Town.

Alongside his broadcasting work, he pursued a career in marketing and communications, including roles associated with the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in 2019 and Sport Relief. Since 2020, he has worked at London Stadium, becoming its Senior Marketing and Communications Manager in 2023.