TT BLOG
Matty Hayward – @MattyHayward96
Matty discusses new Gull Corie Andrews
We’ve signed someone who’s older than me! And he actually looks quite good! There was a very minor rumour mill whirring after the Buckland game, when an athletic-looking man was spotted on the sidelines in a TUFC tracksuit, and his signature was confirmed hours before the Exmouth clash. A striker; a goalscorer; another brick in Gary’s rebuild.
CAREER SUMMARY
Andrews was born in South London’s footballing hotbed, Lambeth, and was on Crystal Palace’s books from a young age. After spells at Margate and Kingstonian, he was released from Selhurst Park, had what Transfermarkt kindly describes as a “career break”, then joined Whyteleafe FC.
A season there and a season back at Kingstonian earned the forward a move to AFC Wimbledon, though he never played for the Dons. Last season he had a temporary crack in the National League at Aldershot, where he had the most success of his career, scoring nine times in twenty – four of which came in a three-game run. This form got him recalled, and sent out on loan to League Two’s Colchester United. He scored just one in eleven for them – the third in a 3-0 win at Salford.
HIGHLIGHTS
Here’s his highlights package. Some neat but not especially explosive finishes (which I’m taking to mean that he gets into the right positions and is a born goalscorer, not that he’s a flat-track bully) are bookended by two instances in which he embarrasses a certain Geordie centre half. The boy looks strong, and adept with both feet (many of his strikes are left-footed, but he takes penalties with his right), and clearly has an eye for goal.
STATS
POSITION – Striker
DATE OF BIRTH – 20/09/1997
HEIGHT – 1.80m
BIRTHPLACE – London
PREVIOUS CLUBS – Crystal Palace, Margate, Kingstonian, Aldershot, Colchester, Wimbledon
STATS 21-22 – National League: Played 20, Goals 9, Yellow/Red Cards 4/0
ANDREWS CHAT
Andrews on the move to Plainmoor – “I’m delighted. I had a bit of a wait, but the staff have looked after me, the players have been helpful and welcoming, so I’ve settled now already, but I’m delighted to get it done. I’ve spoken to quite a few people that have played for Torquay and they’ve just had good things to say about the Club. I’ve spoken to people who have played against Torquay, and they’re saying that coming here, as a team against Torquay, is one of the worst places to come!”
MOST/LEAST LIKELY TO
Most Likely To:
- Have people (me) commenting on how big his bum is. Seriously, Nicki Minaj is jealous.
- Play alongside Jarvis: going off Gary’s comments, he looks like he can be a number 9 or 10, and is probably suited to bouncing off a target man
- Put his hat in the ring to take penalties. I don’t know if he’s missed any, but he took and scored two penalties against ‘rivals’ Woking as a 23 year-old loanee at Aldershot, so he’s clearly got confidence from the spot.
Least Likely To:
- Be worse than our last Andrews.
- Be a benchwarmer, once fit.
CONCLUSION
This looks like a big chance for Andrews. He’s done the dirty work in the lower reaches of the non-league; he’s had flashes of opportunity in the Football League that haven’t quite worked out; he’s proved his worth in a poor National League side. This is the sort of player we should be signing: those with some experience, ready to make a town their home and kickstart their previously bitty careers. We should still approach this signing with caution, though – he’s still young and hasn’t scored bags over a prolonged period of time – so let’s at least wait until he puts three past Oldham before plotting the open top bus route.
NEW GULLS PROFILES SERIES
AARON JARVIS – RYAN HANSON – DYLAN CROWE – BRETT MCGAVIN – KIERON EVANS – ROSS MARSHALL
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