Nigel Pearson speaks of an important summer for Bristol City but increasingly it appears to be a window that will be about addition more than subtraction, following the decision to extend Chris Martin’s contract by 12 months.
The veteran striker’s option has been exercised, keeping him at Ashton Gate until 2023 as reward for his performances across this season. It also means that there are now only four players who are out of contract this summer - Callum O’Dowda, Louis Britton, Robbie Cundy and Andy King - a stark departure from 2021 when Pearson used the opportunity for a first-team overhaul as 10 senior players were released as their deals expired.
There, of course, will be departures from BS3 - there has to be - but they won’t be nearly as seismic in terms of numbers, and Martin is a clear example of an individual the manager likes working with who he considers of continuing benefit to the group.
Such is City’s league position and a general feeling of irritation over their inconsistencies, Martin’s extension hasn’t exactly been welcomed with the usual social media-led fervour but that shouldn’t detract from its significance and what it potentially says about the summer and next season. And, for the doubters, here are four reasons why it makes sense to retain the services of the veteran for another campaign…
He deserves it
Maybe we’re being a bit idealistic and sentimental, and football can be a brutal sport at the best of times, but Martin has started 35 of a possible 38 games this season - including 23 straight at the beginning of the campaign - and only Andi Weimann has played more than his 3,150 minutes.
He has been tasked, for the most part, at leading the line in attack, when it’s not his natural game per se, chasing endless lost causes and competing for constant headers against centre-backs often of considerably higher stature. Not only that but, as Pearson has reminded us in the statement that greeted Martin’s extension, he is a vitally important defensive player given how much he gets his head to the ball on set-pieces.
If you’re after those numbers (and it’s been a perverse fascination all season), Martin has competed for 548 headers in the Championship, 220 more than any other player; he’s won 238, the most in the division but also lost 310, also a league-leading number.
In very simple terms, Martin has gone through an absolute ton of work this season, on the ground and in the air, often to the detriment of what he’s good at - consider his touch-play around the penalty area when operating alongside Antoine Semenyo - and has never once looked disinterested or jaded.
Even in defeat, when balls are pumped down into the channel you can guarantee Martin will be giving it his absolute all to chase it down, irrespective of how insignificant it may appear.
This has all happened in what is supposed to be the twilight of his career and after a serious calf injury which robbed him of the second half of last season. Whatever your opinion on Martin the player, you cannot deny his absolute commitment to the cause.
Sometimes a club has to do the right thing, not just by the individual but also in setting an overall message, to the outside world but also within (and we’ll touch on that again a bit further down) and Martin deserves another 12 months for this.
Overall impact
“You can’t give contracts to players just because they work hard!” Don’t worry, I hear you. And to frame this decision as some kind of act of charity or a testimonial-like reward would be unfair, both to City and Martin because there’s much more to it than that.
His goal return may not stand up against the Championship’s finest but nine in 37 appearances (roughly one in four) is solid enough and the Scotland international should hit double figures by the time the season is out. That’s not a bad return as a secondary goalscorer, considering what he also brings to the table.
His finishing has also been pretty consistent as he’s finding the target with 14.5 per cent of his goal attempts. That is again, a decent number especially when you take into consideration the lack of transfer fee paid, relatively low wage and the fact Martin, based on his age, should be declining but is durable and available for selection most weeks, yet remains a level of consistency.
The simple fact remains that City don’t have a striker like Martin who can be a physical presence, if required, but also has that strong awareness around the penalty area and can bring his teammates into play - he has four assists and is averaging 0.9 key passes per 90 minutes so is creating for others when he’s on the field as well.
But in many ways there is a slightly complicated contradiction in discussing Martin’s value to the squad because Pearson plays him as a traditional No9 through the middle but he’s always looked at his best when in tandem with another forward or a little deeper, with runners beyond him - namely, Semenyo.
It also speaks volumes of him as a player that he’s struck such an immediate chemistry with Weimann and Semenyo (it’s hard to place Nahki Wells in this conversation because they’ve played so few games together) but Martin is the perfect partner in many regards in his unselfish work off the ball and how he’s happy to take one for the team, so to speak.
There are doubts about exactly what strikers will be at the club for next season (see below) but Weimann and Semenyo won’t be the only ones to testify to the fact how easy and enjoyable it is to slot inside alongside Martin.
That is an underrated aspect of his play and assuming there will be signings in that area in the summer, Pearson knows he can rely on the veteran to partner whoever and whatever type of forward he wishes to buy.
Striker shake-up
With respect to the talents of Tommy Conway and Sam Bell, it’s fair to say that City have four first-team forwards at present: Martin, Semenyo, Weimann and Wells. It’s every chance that two of them won’t be at the club by the start of next season with Semenyo’s star in rising and City’s financial position such, that they will do very well to hold onto him.
At the very least, there is reason to believe that he might be sold. He might not, but you have to make allowances for all scenarios, and the balance of probability is not in the Robins favour.
With a need to get Wells’ wage off the books, as the club have tried and failed to do over the last two windows but you’d imagine will be successful at the third attempt, if Martin was to be released that would leave Weimann - not even really a striker - as the club’s only frontline forward.
With limited transfer resources, areas of need elsewhere on the pitch (defensive midfield, right wing-back and centre-back), is it really prudent to be entering the summer transfer window needing to sign three first-team ready strikers? It seems an almighty gamble, even if a Semenyo sale does give Pearson some money to play with.
It is, in many ways, the hardest position to fill on the field and one where players tend to command higher wages than in other positions. Financially you’re leaving yourself open at then having to overpay just to fill spots in the squad.
Martin’s extension may not be the sexiest piece of business done by the club, but in the context of what they have and what they may need in a few month’s time, it’s one less thing to worry about.
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Setting the example
The minutes Martin has accumulated this season makes it the third-highest for usage since he first became a professional in 2006. It’s the most he’s played in a season since 2015/16 for Derby County and, yes, you may guffaw that it somehow speaks volumes in terms of where City are at, that they’re flogging a veteran to such an extent but considering it from a different angle, what an advert for his professionalism and a message to send to the rest of the squad.
City will be operating with a young-ish squad again as even though Pearson would like more experience and Championship nous that costs money and we can expect more to be elevated from the Under-23 set-up.
Martin not only acts as a great reference point in how they should conduct themselves as professionals - attitude, work ethic, commitment, desire to learn, diet and various other unseen qualities - but can also be a sounding board for them.
By his own admission Martin wasn’t such a dedicated pro in his younger days, and has alluded to that being a reason why Pearson loaned him out at the Rams, but has received something of a wake-up call in his later years.
Just having his presence around the club is of considerable benefit to other members of the squad and he can act as something of a lieutenant for the manager in terms of being his eyes and ears in the dressing room while taking on a leadership-type role.
It's also worth noting that Martin is very much part of the club. He often makes public appearances and is involved in community side of City's operations including with the Robins Foundation and in promoting the women's team. His work with the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership (AWP) should also not go unnoticed.
That may not mean a lot to people at 3pm on a Saturday who simply want City players who can win football matches, and that's totally understandable, but the striker has qualities beyond just what he does on the field, that are important to the club and the identity of City.
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