NEW GULL PROFILE

Sam Jones – @samuellejones

Sam talks about the new signing

Neil Warnock is, as most of you are aware, touring around the UK with his show asking the simple question “Are you with me?”. Based on the fact that the entire of Wotton’s new Yellows went on stage, as well as the announcement of three new signings, the answer is a resounding Yes. If you missed the show last night, you can read about it in Clive’s brilliant blog here, but we are hear to take about the first of the new signings announced. That was midfielder Dan Hayfield, who joined from Bath City, who was rudely interrupted having a Spa Day at the Cary Inn. But who is the new man sporting the very stylish TUFC bathrobe?

📽️ 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘺 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘯 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴…#tufc pic.twitter.com/vlxxKEHDCa
— Torquay United AFC (@TUFC1899) June 28, 2024

CAREER SUMMARY

Similar to our other signings, Dan Hayfield was born at a very young age, this time in Exeter. He joined the Grecian Academy before moving to Canada in 2015 to join what is quite possibly the team with the greatest name of all time: the St. Francis Xavier X-Men. Looking them up, they’re a University team based out of Antigonish Nova Scotia. Don’t say these articles aren’t educational. He spent two years playing there on a Football Scholarship, winning the award for best Male player in the University Soccer League in 2017. He then moved even further west to join the Calgary Foothills, who play in Step 3 of the Canadian Football Pyramid League and completed his Scholarship. He returned to Blighty in August 2020 and joined Tiverton town for the 20/21 season. After two seasons there, he made his way up the M5 to join Bath City where he became an ever-present for The Romans over his two seasons at the club. He left them in June 2024 to join Wotton’s Gulls.

HIGHLIGHTS

Here he is scoring an absolute worldy for Tiverton in March 2022:

And here he is firing in a late equaliser for The Romans last season at Havant:

TALKING ABOUT DAN

Bath City Fan who shared insight with TT – “13 goals in 100 appearances is unfair without context. Although he should have scored more, Hayfield played a good chunk of 2022-2023 season at right back to cover for injuries. He was very good there. That versatility in a small squad was invaluable. Never injured. Vicious shot from distance and some good quality passing.”

Gutting this!
Very versatile and very able! Slotted in wherever and consistently did a fantastic job! Made great progress with us!
Always gave his all and will be a great asset to his next club.
All the very best Dan ⚫️⚪️⚫️🫡🫡
— GJ 🏉⚽️🏏 (@woodruf_gj) June 17, 2024

HAYFIELD STATS

DATE OF BIRTH: 25TH JANUARY 1997 – 27 YEARS-OLD

HEIGHT: 1.88M

POSITION: CENTRE MIDFIELD

NLS 23-24 STATS: APPEARANCES 45, GOALS 5, YELLOW CARDS 4, RED CARDS 0

MOST LIKELY/LEAST LIKELY

Most Likely To

Provide a burst of energy and height in midfield. Hayfield seems to be the classic box-to-box midfielder who can contribute at both ends of the pitch. Standing at over six foot tall, he should help us when defending as well as attacking. Think of a Brett McGavin who can actually move.
Play a number of positions. The feedback from Bath City fans was that he had to play a number of roles for The Romans when the injury curse struck them. Expect him to slot into the defence, or complement the attack when the occasion calls for it.
Be compared to Asa Hall. He is tall, lanky, has light brown hair and wore the number 8 shirt for Bath. These comparisons write themselves.

Least Likely To

Be our top scorer. Despite looking like a bundle of energy, he’s not a prolific goal scorer with only 13 scored in 100 games for Bath.
Miss a game. The new man only missed one game for Bath last season, and I couldn’t find a good reason for why. Someone with a bit of resiliency would be great to see.
Find good poutine in the Bay. Having spent five years in Canada I’m sure he’s had his fair share of poutine, their national dish. A delicious and hearty concoction of chips, gravy and cheese curds, I doubt he will find much of that on the English Riviera. What even is a cheese curd anyway?

CONCLUSION

After the three announcements at Warnock’s show on Friday, we now have 15 players on the books. Hayfield joins Collins, Threlkeld and Hasani (and maybe Booth) in the midfield ranks. It does feel like we need one more midfielder to complete the set and provide us with a variety and depth. The only other obvious gap is a second keeper, unless we expect Booth to cover there too. Along with Collins, Hayfield will provide plenty of energy in the middle of the park as the template for Wotton-ball begins to take shape. Hayfield fits the Wotton requirements perfectly: a local lad with NLS experience and a bloody hard worker. It feels like a cracking signing, that could prove to be a fans favourite. He is also my Canadian wife’s new favourite player, and will hope to share a pint of Maple Syrup with him soon.