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Saddlers split with Martinez
Jan 25 2003
By Brian Halford, Evening Mail
Walsall have said goodbye to Roberto Martinez after the midfielder agreed to join Swansea City and bring to an end one of the least productive Saddlers' careers in history.
The 29-year-old has signed on for the struggling Swans until the end of the season after it became clear he was not part of manager Colin Lee's plans at the Bescot Stadium.
Martinez, who joined Walsall on a free transfer last summer, started just one game for the club -at home to Reading in August but failed to finish it after being sent off for two bookable offences.
He has since been confined to reserve duty and eight appearances on the first-team bench while supplementing his income by working as a pundit on Spanish football for Sky TV.
When Swansea boss Bryan Flynn expressed an interest, Lee was happy for the player to talk and now Martinez will plunge into the Swans' battle to avoid a drop to the Conference.
"He's been very positive about the move ever since we started talking," Flynn said. "He wanted to come to Swansea from the word go.
"He was on the bench for Walsall last weekend and could have stayed there until the end of the season but he is a young man at the peak of his career and he wants to be playing regularly."
