After making his Premier League debut against Chelsea, David Martin has caught the hearts of the West Ham faithful. But is he now the number one candidate to replace Fabianski?
Stepping up as third-choice goalkeeper is a huge ask even for the likes of Lee Grant and Scott Carson.
However, for David Martin, it was a dream come true at Stamford Bridge.
As a die-hard Hammers fan, Martin played a key role in his side’s 1-0 victory at the weekend, picking up a clean sheet as Aaron Cresswell scored to give the Irons a much-needed win.
Heading into the weekend’s game, Manuel Pellegrini’s side had not registered a win in eight games and coming up against a side like Chelsea who sit in the Champions League spots was a daunting task.
A victory over that side will only boost the Irons’ mentality heading into Wednesday night’s clash with Wolverhampton at the Molineux.
Martin has had a lot of experience in his career at the likes of Leicester, Accrington Stanley, and Tranmere Rovers where he learned his trade as a youngster.
His career really got underway at MK Dons though, where he made a total of over 270 appearances and was named the club’s player of the year during the 2015/16 season.
He then moved to Milwall making just 11 appearances, including the Lions’ quarter-final defeat to Brighton in last year’s FA Cup where he made a crucial error that later proved costly as Millwall went on to lose on penalties.
Roberto, who up until last week had been Pellegrini’s choice to replace the injured Fabianski, was dropped after having made a number of high profile mistakes including scoring an own goal against Burnley.
These mistakes had led fans to call for Martin to take the goalkeeping spot with Hammers academy keeper Joseph Anang also being speculated as a choice for the clash with London rivals Chelsea.
It was ultimately Martin who was picked and provided a solid performance against a Chelsea side who have scored a total of 28 goals so far this season.
Despite making a few spills of the ball, he was able to recover well and stop the Blues from finding the net – something not many teams have been able to do. The clean sheet that 33-year-old Martin picked up is West Ham’s third in the Premier League having previously not conceded against Norwich and Manchester United.
The latter was the last time they picked up a victory before going on their run of eight games without a win.
It is safe to say that the Hammers have found a player who wants to play for the club and the badge instead of being someone who has been referred to as a ‘prima donna’ – the likes of which have been slated by West Ham fans in the past.
This connection with the fans is what the Irons need to succeed: Declan Rice, Mark Noble – people who have grown up around West Ham, people who have come through their academy of football.
That ethos is what drives the club at its heart, something which can drive results at the London Stadium.
