Martin Bullock

Not to be confused with Martin Bulloch.

Martin John Bullock (born 5 March 1975) is an English former professional footballer and manager who is the head coach of the New Zealand U17 team and a Football Development Officer at the Northern Football Federation. He previously played for five league teams over 15 years, making 452 league appearances. He also won a cap for the England under-21 side in 1996.

Martin Bullock

Personal information
Full name	Martin John Bullock[1]
Date of birth	(1975-03-05) 5 March 1975 (age 50)
Place of birth	Derby, England
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[2]
Position	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	New Zealand U17 (head coach)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1992–1993	Eastwood Town	?	(?)
1993–2001	Barnsley	185	(4)
2000	→ Port Vale (loan)	6	(1)
2001–2005	Blackpool	153	(4)
2005–2007	Macclesfield Town	83	(11)
2007–2008	Wycombe Wanderers	25	(0)
2009–2012	Waitakere United
Total		452+	(20+)
International career
1996	England U21	1	(0)
Managerial career
2020–	New Zealand U17
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Bullock played as a midfielder and began his career at non-League Eastwood Town before earning a move to Barnsley in 1993. In an eight-year association with the club he played almost 200 league games for the club, helping them to the Premier League at the end of the 1996–97 season. Loaned out to Port Vale in 2000, the following year he transferred to Blackpool. He enjoyed a highly successful four years with the club, lifting the Football League Trophy in 2002 and 2004. He then played for Macclesfield Town between 2005 and 2007 before ending his professional career with Wycombe Wanderers in 2008. He later turned out for leading New Zealand side Waitakere United, helping them to three Premiership titles before his retirement in June 2012.

Club career

Bullock began his career with Northern Premier League First Division side Eastwood Town. He turned professional after a £15,000 move to Barnsley in 1993. He remained at Oakwell for eight years, making 218 appearances in all competitions for the "Tykes". He played 28 league games, mostly as a substitute, in the club's historic 1996–97 campaign, which saw them finish second in the First Division. In the subsequent 1997–98 Premier League season he played 33 top-flight games. Barnsley were relegated, though Bullock remained a key part of their 1998–99 campaign. He found himself out of favour in 1999–2000, however, making just six starts, five of which were in the League Cup. He was utilised more frequently in 2000–01, after spending February 2000 on loan at Second Division Port Vale, for whom he scored once against Queens Park Rangers.^[3]

In September 2001, he joined Steve McMahon's Second Division newcomers Blackpool on a free transfer.^[4] He became a key player for the club, making 43 league appearances in his maiden season there. His contribution was particularly telling in the semi-final of the Football League Trophy, as he scored the golden goal winner against Huddersfield Town that ensured the club a date at the Millennium Stadium.^[5] He went on to play the full ninety minutes of the club's triumph over Cambridge United in the final.^[6]

He enjoyed a similarly successful campaign in 2002–03 and was offered a two-year contract extension in March 2003.^[7] He was later named in the PFA Second Division Team of the Year for his performances throughout the season.^[8] The 2003–04 campaign was also memorable for Bullock, as he helped Blackpool to lift the League Trophy for the second time in three seasons, following victory over Southend United.^[9] He made a further 28 league appearances for the club in 2004–05. The new boss Colin Hendry told him he would not be offered a new contract.^[10] He signed for Brian Horton's Macclesfield Town in June 2005.^[11] In his first season with the club he made 40 appearances in League Two. He made a further 43 appearances in his second season at Moss Rose. In May 2007, he switched clubs to Wycombe Wanderers, penning a two-year deal.^[12][13] He made 27 appearances in all competitions for the club in 2007–08, before he announced his retirement from the professional game in May 2008.^[14]

In 2009, he made a late move to New Zealand to play for Waitakere United. Following a second-place finish in 2009–10, Waitakere went on to reach the final of the OFC Champions League, and Bullock played both games of the 4–2 aggregate defeat to Papua New Guinea side Hekari United.^[15] Waitakere went on to win the championship in 2010–11 after defeating rivals Auckland City. They retained their title in 2011–12 with a 4–1 win over Team Wellington.^[16] He retired at the age of 37 in June 2012.^[17]

International career

Whilst with Barnsley, Bullock won a cap for the England under-21 side in 1996.

Coaching career

Bullock was appointed head coach of the New Zealand U17 team and a Football Development Officer at the Northern Football Federation in March 2020.^[18] In December 2024, he became the first coach in Oceania to complete his assessment and achieve the OFC/NZF Pro Licence coaching diploma.^[19]

Personal life

Bullock is married to Michelle Bullock and has two children, Lillie and Maggie. He is focusing on earning his coaching badges to coach professionally.^[17]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[20][21]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Barnsley	1993–94	First Division	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
	1994–95	First Division	29	0	1	0	1	0	31	0
	1995–96	First Division	41	1	2	0	3	0	46	1
	1996–97	First Division	28	0	2	1	2	0	32	1
	1997–98	Premier League	33	0	5	0	2	0	40	0
	1998–99	First Division	32	2	5	2	5	0	42	2
	1999–2000	First Division	4	0	0	0	5	0	9	0
	2000–01	First Division	18	1	0	0	0	0	18	1
	Total		185	4	15	3	19	0	219	7
Port Vale (loan)	1999–2000	First Division	6	1	0	0	0	0	6	1
Blackpool	2001–02	Second Division	43	2	4	0	8	3	55	5
	2002–03	Second Division	38	1	3	0	2	0	43	1
	2003–04	Second Division	44	1	3	0	10	0	57	1
	2004–05	League One	28	0	1	0	1	0	30	0
	Total		153	4	11	0	21	3	185	7
Macclesfield Town	2005–06	League Two	40	7	2	0	6	1	48	8
	2006–07	League Two	43	4	4	0	0	0	47	4
	Total		83	11	6	0	6	1	95	12
Wycombe Wanderers	2007–08	League Two	25	0	1	0	1	0	27	0
Waitakere United	2009–10	NZ Premiership	13	0	—		11[a]	1	24	1
	2010–11	NZ Premiership	6	0	—		6[b]	0	9	0
	2011–12	NZ Premiership	14	0	—		9[c]	0	23	0
	Total		33	0	0	0	26	1	56	1
Career total			485	20	33	3	73	5	588	28

1. Eight appearances; one goal in OFC Champions League; three appearances in New Zealand Football Championship play-offs
2. Three appearances in OFC Champions League; three appearances in New Zealand Football Championship play-offs
3. Five appearances in OFC Champions League; three appearances in New Zealand Football Championship play-offs; one appearance in Charity Cup

Honours

Barnsley

• Football League First Division second-place promotion: 1996–97

Blackpool

• Football League Trophy: 2001–02,^[6] 2003–04^[9]

Waitakere United

• New Zealand Football Championship: 2010–11, 2011–12^[16]
• OFC Champions League runner-up: 2010^[15]

Individual

• PFA Team of the Year: 2002–03 Second Division^[8]