Martin Foyle
Martin John Foyle is an English former professional footballer and manager who is the Head of Recruitment at club Carlisle United. In his 20-year playing career, he played 533 League games, scoring 155 goals. As a manager, he took charge of Port Vale and York City, Northwich Victoria, Hereford United and Southport.
Foyle started his career with Southampton as a trainee, and after spending four years at the club, during which he was loaned out on two occasions, he joined Aldershot for a £10,000 fee in August 1984. A £140,000 move to Oxford United followed in March 1987, and he became Port Vale's record signing when they paid £375,000 for him in June 1991. He spent nine seasons at the club, scoring 108 goals in 353 appearances. He was twice voted the club's Player of the Year and helped the Vale to win the Football League Trophy in 1993.
After retiring as a player, he managed Port Vale's youth team and, in February 2004, took charge of first-team affairs, eventually leaving the club in September 2007 by mutual consent. A spell as caretaker manager at Wrexham preceded his appointment as manager of York City in November 2008. Foyle took York to an FA Trophy final and Conference Premier play-off final, but resigned in September 2010. He was put in charge of Northwich Victoria for three months in February 2012 before being appointed manager at Hereford United in May 2012. He stayed with Hereford until departing in March 2014. He was appointed as Southport manager in May 2014 but resigned five months later. In 2015, he embarked on a new career as a Head of recruitment, working at Northampton Town, Motherwell, Morecambe, St Mirren and Carlisle United.
Playing career
Southampton
Foyle was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, where he made his name in local football before Football League referee Tony Glasson saw him playing for Bemerton Athletic and recommended him to Lawrie McMenemy, manager of Southampton. He joined Southampton as a trainee in 1980, signing as a professional on 13 August of that year. He had grown up supporting the club and would get to play alongside his idol, Mick Channon.He spent the summer of 1982 from May to October playing on loan with Swedish Division 5 side IFK Munkfors, which helped his development, scoring 30 goals in 22 appearances as Munkfors were promoted for the first time since 1959. Shortly after his return to Southampton he made his first-team debut on 15 January 1983 in a 1–1 draw at home to Coventry City.
On 25 October 1983, he came on as a second-half substitute for Ian Baird in a League Cup match at home to Carlisle United. His 86th-minute goal brought the tie level on aggregate. It was followed by the winner in extra time. In the next round, Foyle came on as a sixth-minute substitute for Mark Wright, who had broken his nose in a collision with his goalkeeper, Alistair Sperring, but was unable to prevent Southampton going out 2–1 to Rotherham United. He spent a few weeks on loan with Blackburn Rovers in March 1984, without making any first-team appearances, before joining Aldershot on 3 August 1984 for a fee of £10,000.
Aldershot
He made 98 appearances and scored 35 goals in the league for Aldershot, as the "Shots" posted mid-table finishes in the Fourth Division in 1984–85 under Ron Harris. Foyle was named as Aldershot Town Player of the Season for the 1984–85 campaign. Harris was replaced by Len Walker for the 1985–86 campaign, and another mid-table finish ensued. The club won promotion in 1986–87 after beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–0 in the play-off final. However, Foyle missed out on the celebrations, as he was transferred to Oxford United on 26 March 1987 for a fee of £140,000, of which Southampton received £40,000.Oxford United
He featured for Oxford in the First Division during two seasons and scored 44 goals in 151 appearances for the club. The club avoided a relegation play-off in 1986–87 by two points, before a last-place finish in 1987–88, after which manager Maurice Evans was replaced by Mark Lawrenson. Lawrenson resigned in October 1988, and was replaced by Brian Horton; Oxford then posted mid-table finishes in the Second Division in 1988–89, 1989–90, and 1990–91. He missed two-thirds of the 1989–90 season with injury.Port Vale
He signed for Port Vale on 25 June 1991 for a club record fee of £375,000. He was signed as a replacement for Darren Beckford and was convinced to sign for the club by manager John Rudge and chairman Bill Bell, who sufficiently impressed enough for him to reject the opportunity to speak to other clubs. Foyle had wanted to move north and was persuaded by Rudge's persisitence and the opportunity of playing in a strike partnership with Beckford, although Beckford was sold shortly after Foyle's arrival. Foyle's transfer fee of £375,000 was set by a tribunal after Oxford asked for £700,000, and Vale offered £200,000. His first game was against his former club, Oxford, at Vale Park, and he scored both goals in a 2–1 win. Although he finished as leading scorer in the 1991–92 campaign with 16 goals, the club finished bottom of the Second Division that season and were relegated.During the following season, Foyle was part of the team which won the Football League Trophy and narrowly missed out on automatic promotion before losing the play-off final against West Bromwich Albion. He played from the start of the Football League Trophy final win over Stockport County and provided an assist for Bernie Slaven's goal. He returned to Wembley a week later for the play-off final, which ended in a 3–0 defeat. He opened the home campaign of the 1993–94 season with a hat-trick in a 6–0 win over Barnet, scoring a left-footed, right-footed and headed goal. He ended the season with 18 goals, Foyle was again the club's leading scorer as the club finally achieved promotion in 1994. One of his 20 goals in the 1994–95 season was the winner in Vale's 1–0 victory in the Potteries derby at the Victoria Ground in 1995, and later he was voted as the club's player of the year for 1995. He played in the 1996 Anglo-Italian Cup final, scoring twice as Vale lost 5–2 to Genoa. He scored against Everton at Goodison Park in the FA Cup, which he later said was his most enjoyable goal; the match finished 2–2 and Vale went on to win the replay. In 1998–99 the ageing striker became the club's top scorer for a fourth time, with nine goals.
During his time at Port Vale, Foyle scored 108 goals, which made him the club's record post-war goalscorer until Tom Pope overtook this tally in 2020. Some of his important goals include a late equaliser in a League Cup tie at Liverpool in 1991, two at Brighton which sealed promotion in 1994, and one in a game at Huddersfield Town in 1998 which saved the club from relegation. In May 2019, he was voted into the "Ultimate Port Vale XI" by members of the OneValeFan supporter website. In December 2025, supporters voted him onto the all-time Port Vale XI on the club's official website.
Coaching and management career
Port Vale
Persistent knee injuries forced him to retire from football at the age of 36 in 2000, but he stayed at the club as manager of the youth team. Foyle took over first-team responsibilities at the club on 13 February 2004 after Brian Horton left by mutual consent, and the team narrowly missed out on a play-off place on goal difference at the end of the 2003–04 season. Following the end of the season, Foyle aimed to keep players at the club, but eventually lost top scorer Stephen McPhee and midfielder Marc Bridge-Wilkinson. The club also had to make massive cut backs due to having just come out of administration and when Steve Brooker was sold to Bristol City any chance of a play-off push was unlikely. Vale eventually finished 17th in a frustrating season where many players suffered injuries leaving the squad threadbare on more than one occasion. The next two seasons saw an increase in the playing budget as Vale got their house in order after administration, and Foyle steered the side to 13th and 12th-place finishes in League One. Two cup runs to the 4th round of the FA Cup in 2005–06 and 4th round of the League Cup in 2006–07, coupled with the selling of players such as Chris Birchall and Billy Paynter saw the club make a profit on the financial front. He also signed striker Akpo Sodje from Darlington, who would be sold on to Sheffield Wednesday for a reported £300,000 a year later. Showing a talent for signing attackers, he bought striker Leon Constantine for £20,000 from Torquay United, who would hit 26 goals in the 2006–07 season; attacking midfielder Danny Whitaker from Macclesfield Town, who would have a long and successful career; and winger Jeff Smith, who impressed enough to win a £60,000 transfer to Carlisle United.Despite the improvements, the standard of football on offer was becoming a concern to some, with losses to League Two Hereford United in the FA Cup and at eventually relegated Chesterfield singled out in particular for criticism. Foyle did enough to stave off the critics at the end of the 2006–07 season with some improved performances, which saw the side finish in the top half. With a positive pre-season, which included beating a young Manchester United team and some exciting prospects signing, things appeared to be looking up, with chairman Bill Bratt claiming that the club's ambition would be challenging for play-off places. However, the team had a poor start to the 2007–08 campaign, claiming just five points from their first seven games, scoring just three goals and also losing in the League Cup to League Two Wrexham. Foyle's tenure as Port Vale manager ended on 26 September 2007, as he left the club by mutual consent. New signing Marc Richards, who Foyle had been tracking for months, picked up an injury at the start of the season and was unable to contribute, though would justify Foyle's faith in him with 75 goals over the next five years.