Some people sound surprised at how well he has done. I also think people look at isolated incidents and judge a player on those. Martin played against Leeds in the opening game of the season. He was fantastic. He won every header - more than Fonte that day and was solid, however inside the first ten minutes there were two moments when he got caught in posession and played a back pass straight out for a corner; he was showing some understandable nerves. After that game, he was criticised, but I thought he was excellent that day against a strong and physical Leeds team. At Reading, he came on at half-time and was again very good. This is a very good footballer who has a very bright future in the game. Glad he's a Saint. The more he plays, the better he'll get. Let's just not bemoan him if he makes a mistake.
I agree whole heartedly. He is a gem and we should be thankful that we were given the chance to sign him by Eastleigh.
The yardstick for how well he played against Leeds was that nobody criticised him for the penalty he gave away. He has gone from strength to strength since then and fully deserves the run he's getting now.
If fonte was ruled out for the rest of the season, i wouldnt be worried at all if martin was centre back for the rest of the season. I think we would miss hooiveld a lot more than we are missing fonte, jos has been so good for us this season, and if it wasnt for him we may not have won yesterday.
I never thought I would be saying that we have a better CB than Fonte, as I always thought he was PL quality from when we signed him. But it's true, Hooiveld has been absolutely amazing for us. Fantastic player, and comes across as a great guy in the media/twitter. Plus he is always the first to come over and applaud the fans. I think he will be our captain before too long.
Yep, the lad has done well and it's great to see. Would still like to see Fonte back asap, but yeah I haven't been worried at seeing Martin's name on the teamsheet in his absence.
And that was never a penalty v leeds. If that happened against man utd we would still be hearing about it now.
There was an interview with him the other week on the OS just after he came into the team. He was bitterly dissapointed that the team were loosing and said that he stays behind in training to do extra to try and get into the team. I'm glad his dedication has paid off, even if he is just in the team because of Jose's injury, he has shown that when we need him he's more than capable. I'll try and find the link.... Here it is if anyone missed it. He seems like a good lad who really want to do well for the club. http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~2567446,00.html
^^ thats a good interview! hard worker and glad to hear jaidi, fonte & hooiveld are helping him out, with pro's like that teaching him he is going to be a great player by learning from some of the best!
his contract runs out in the summer so hopfully there is a extension clause or he signs an extension quickly before prem clubs come sniffing.
