NEW GULL PROFILE

Matty Hayward – @MattyHayward96

Matty talks about the new signing

It’s good to have a transfer policy, isn’t it? A set of rules that dictate the sort of player you’re after. Harry Redknapp had one. Gary Johnson certainly did. I think Paul Wotton does too.

Allow me to create a Venn Diagram in your mind. One circle is labelled “DEFENDERS”, the second “WAS AN EXETER CITY PLAYER IN 2018” and the third “WAS BORN AFTER THE TURN OF THE MILENNIUM”.

You will do well to find many of this summer’s recruits who don’t fit into any of those categories, but, more impressively, Jordan Dyer sits firmly in the epicentre of that particular Venn. Here is some more information about him, this time without relying on your SATs-level maths.

CAREER SUMMARY

Dyer came through the youth academy at, you guessed it, Exeter City. During his five years there as a senior pro, Dyer made 7 starts in the Papa Johns and one in the Carabao. These, combined with 31 minutes off the bench across two games in two different seasons, meant that his first-team appearances were largely restricted to loan deals.

If you want to know more about the not-completely-village-but-still-very-non-league tier of south west football, Dyer is your man. He’s had spells with Bideford, Tiverton (X2), Chippenham, Yeovil and Bath (X2). It was the latter who earned his affections, so when he was released by Exeter in the summer of 2022, he joined the Romans on a permanent basis.

There, he played 96 times across two seasons, scoring five, and evidently becoming a stalwart of a defence that dabbled with the playoffs on both occasions.

📽️ This guy really is a model pro…#tufc pic.twitter.com/tSWZNO8Oxo
— Torquay United AFC (@TUFC1899) June 28, 2024

HIGHLIGHTS

You don’t sign a centre back for his goals, but you also don’t tend to see YouTube compilations of a Conference South defender making sensible positional decisions. I have found something of a halfway house, because Bath City seem intent on making their highlights videos painstakingly long.

Therefore, you probably can see Dyer making some great interceptions in this 24-minute video (I wouldn’t know; I’m not watching it all), but you can also see him take the lead against Hemel Hempstead with a well-guided header from a free-kick. (4 mins 30)

Then, here, after eight minutes, you can watch him absolutely nail a header into the ground for it to bounce up into the net. It is a textbook centre half’s goal from ten yards.

TALKING ABOUT JORDAN

Bath City Fan who shared insight with TT – “Solid. Wins a lot in the air. Grapples and wins battles when teams go long. The sort of player you want in your back four. Will put his head in the way of anything. Scores goals from corners too. Well-liked by fans. In his original loan from Exeter before signing permanently, made a couple of appearances in midfield. Outstanding for us last season and sad to see him go”.

DYER STATS

DATE OF BIRTH: 29TH MAY 2001 – 23 YEARS-OLD

HEIGHT: 1.83M

POSITION: CENTRE BACK

NLS 23-24 STATS: APPEARANCES 39, GOALS 2, YELLOW CARDS 2, RED CARDS 0

MOST LIKELY/LEAST LIKELY

Most Likely To

Start for us. I know we’ve spent more on defence than most European countries already this season, but Dyer seems to be perfectly suited to come into our back three. He was almost ever-present in a good Bath team across the last two years, and seems ready-made for the step up (?) into the Yellows back-line.
Be called Danny. Or Dani. Or Kieran. Or “Bloody hell, that was absolutely”

Least Likely To

Go goalless. We’ve seen he’s got a threat in the opposition box, and I expect we’ll be planning to maximise set-piece opportunities next season. He will be hoping to profit.
Go friendless. It seems that he’ll know most of the squad already through his time at previous clubs, and – unless he’s fallen out with the lot of ‘em – he’ll fit in quickly as a result.

CONCLUSION

Jordan Dyer looks like a good addition. With the usual caveat that we’ve seen nobody kick a ball yet, I think signing a decent defender from a decent Conference South club seems like good business. It’s clear Wotton fancies him, too, because it sounds like we paid a small fee for the privilege.

We’re in a position now where, without relying on injury-ravaged grandparents, the spine of our squad has a fair amount of experience. At 24, Dyer has done the dirty work in his career, and is now surely on the way back up where he came from.

Wotton, I think understandably, says our defence is now finished. The next steps have to be looking for some creativity and pace further upfield, but The Gaffer is keen to reiterate that these players are always the most sought after, and are likely to be the last through the door.