Craig Martin joined Orlando Pirates as a rather surprise signing in January however things didn’t go according to plan for the speedy winger.
Martin struggled to adapt to life in Johannesburg and went from being a regular player at Cape Town City to a fringe player at the Buccaneers.
Martin made just six appearances for the Buccaneers, and looked far from his exciting usual self.
The wing-back has since opened up about his time at the Buccaneers after securing a move to Chippa United ahead of next season.
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“I am disappointed with that, but sometimes in football it happens like that. Sometimes things don’t go your way, other times they go your way.” Martin told Sowetan.
“It was a new environment, so I had to adapt to being new there and being in Cape Town for all my life and having to move [to Johannesburg] for the first time outside the Mother City. I probably also didn’t fit into the coach’s plans.
“But having played for a bigger team with all the fans around, I learned a lot from my move from Cape Town to Johannesburg, where I had my family supporting me. It was not easy.
“I also learned a lot from playing with top players in the league and understanding what is expected from you at a big team.”
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SuperSport United top boss Stanley Matthews has revealed why smaller clubs can’t sign Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Sundowns’ fringe players.
A number of players are struggling for minutes at the ‘big three’ however, they can only move to other PSL teams if they accept massive salary cuts.
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We can’t afford Chiefs, Pirates and Sundowns players
“The big problem with players coming across from Sundowns, Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, most of us can’t meet their package,” Matthews told FARPost
“It’s like Andile Jali. Who wouldn’t want to take Andile Jali? You know what I mean, I think every team in the PSL would like to sign Andile Jali.
“But how much do you earn? ‘I can’t afford that’. ‘Can I give you half? No, I can’t take half’. Okay, what can you do? But we’re going to try our best.”
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