ON THIS DAY

Jamie Reid celebrates his 31st birthday

Torquay-born Jamie Reid (one of our own!), started his career at Exeter City, signing his first professional contract all the way back in early in early 2012, making his debut for the Grecians later that year.

With opportunities limited at St James Park, he had loan spells at Dorchester, Truro City and at Torquay United, firstly under Chris Hargreaves in 2015. The Gulls then loaned the striker again for the whole of the 2016-17 season, as Kevin Nicholson’s side battled against relegation. Reidy showed glimpses of his ability, but struggled to hold down a regular place in his preferred position upfront.

He would sign permanently for United in October 2017, but suffered more than most from supporter backlash as the team struggled to find results in the National League, eventually succumbing to relegation to the National League South in what had been a grim time at Plainmoor.

2018-19 started much the same, but the arrival of Gary Johnson kick-started a revival in United’s fortunes and nobody enjoyed this more than Reidy, who revelled in the attacking tactics from the new manager and the opportunity to be the main man upfront.

In the end Jamie bagged 32 goals in 48 games that season, scoring from all sorts of angles, leading United to promotion and showing what he could achieve in the right circumstances. He followed that up with more goals in the National League and that attracted attention from EFL clubs. In 2020 he joined Mansfield Town on a 2 year deal.

Since then Reidy has enjoyed promotion success in League 2 with Stevenage and was voted to the Team of the Season in 2023/24. He recently signed a new contract with the club. The striker’s form has also earned him 8 caps for Northern Ireland.

A player who struggled badly for confidence and form at Plainmoor, but bounced back to enjoy an excellent career. Maybe we’ll see him back one day!