ABSTRACT
Martin Roderick was born in 1967 in Portsmouth. He played for Portsmouth Football Club as a schoolboy and when he was 16 became an apprentice with them at £25 per week, then a non-contract professional at 17 on £40 per week and was contracted to the club before his eighteenth birthday. He played for Portsmouth for three years, mainly for the youth and reserve teams. He made one full appearance in the Football League and three in the ‘Full Members Cup ‘. During his three years at the club Portsmouth twice narrowly missed promotion to the top division, clinching a place in the final season. He played one game for the England Youth team. Nearly all his football was played as a wide, left-sided midfield player. At the age of 20 Martin Roderick announced that he did not want a new contract and wished to pursue his education. He was admitted to Carnegie College, which was by then part of Leeds Polytechnic specializing in physical education. He played for the Polytechnic at football and represented Great Britain in the World Student Games. After graduating from there, he was admitted to the Centre for Research into Sport and Society at the University of Leicester where he gained a Master's degree. He stayed there to register for a doctorate and works there now as a telephone tutor for graduate students on distance learning programmes. With Ivan Waddington he has completed research funded by the Professional Footballers’ Association on the treatment of professional players’ injuries by clubs.
