| Ian Gayle | |
| Fullname: | Ian George Gayle[1] |
| Birth Date: | 23 October 1992[2] |
| Birth Place: | Welling, England |
| Height: | [3] |
| Position: | Defender |
| Currentclub: | Folkestone Invicta |
| Youthyears1: | 2010–2011 |
| Youthclubs1: | Dagenham & Redbridge |
| Years1: | 2011–2016 |
| Clubs1: | Dagenham & Redbridge |
| Caps1: | 10 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2011 |
| Clubs2: | → St Neots Town (loan) |
| Caps2: | 8 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2011 |
| Clubs3: | → Grays Athletic (loan) |
| Caps3: | 1 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2011–2012 |
| Clubs4: | → Kingstonian (loan) |
| Caps4: | 26 |
| Goals4: | 1 |
| Years5: | 2012 |
| Clubs5: | → Histon (loan) |
| Caps5: | 8 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2013 |
| Clubs6: | → Kingstonian (loan) |
| Caps6: | 12 |
| Goals6: | 0 |
| Years7: | 2013–2014 |
| Clubs7: | → Grays Athletic (loan) |
| Caps7: | 4 |
| Goals7: | 0 |
| Years8: | 2014 |
| Clubs8: | → Whitehawk (loan) |
| Caps8: | 2 |
| Goals8: | 0 |
| Years9: | 2014–2015 |
| Clubs9: | → St Albans City (loan) |
| Caps9: | 14 |
| Goals9: | 0 |
| Years10: | 2015 |
| Clubs10: | → St Albans City (loan) |
| Caps10: | 8 |
| Goals10: | 0 |
| Years11: | 2015–2016 |
| Clubs11: | → Bishop's Stortford (loan) |
| Caps11: | 6 |
| Goals11: | 0 |
| Years12: | 2016 |
| Clubs12: | → Welling United (loan) |
| Caps12: | 16 |
| Goals12: | 2 |
| Years13: | 2016–2017 |
| Clubs13: | Braintree Town |
| Caps13: | 22 |
| Goals13: | 0 |
| Years14: | 2017–2018 |
| Clubs14: | Welling United |
| Caps14: | 17 |
| Goals14: | 0 |
| Years15: | 2018 |
| Clubs15: | Wealdstone |
| Caps15: | 12 |
| Goals15: | 1 |
| Years16: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs16: | Woking |
| Caps16: | 16 |
| Goals16: | 1 |
| Years17: | 2019–2022 |
| Clubs17: | Eastbourne Borough |
| Caps17: | 28 |
| Goals17: | 1 |
| Years18: | 2022 |
| Clubs18: | → Cray Valley Paper Mills (dual-reg) |
| Caps18: | 6 |
| Goals18: | 1 |
| Years19: | 2022– |
| Clubs19: | Folkestone Invicta |
| Caps19: | 66 |
| Goals19: | 8 |
| Club-Update: | 13:56, 7 May 2024 (UTC) |
Ian George Gayle (born 23 October 1992) is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Folkestone Invicta.[4]
Gayle was born in Welling, London Borough of Bexley and is of Jamaican descent. Gayle joined the youth system at Dagenham & Redbridge in 2010 as a scholar.[5] In March 2011, Gayle joined United Counties League Premier Division side St Neots Town on a youth loan.[6] He made his debut for the club against Boston Town, coming on as a substitute in a 3–2 win.[6] His first start for the club came in a 5–2 win over Newport Pagnell Town.[6] His final appearance came in an 8–1 away win against Cogenhoe United, as St Neots clinched the league title.[6] Gayle made a total of eight appearances for St Neots scoring no goals. In May 2011, he completed his scholarship and progressed into the first team after being offered a one-year contract by first-team manager John Still, with the option of a one-year extension.[7]
In August 2011, Gayle joined Isthmian League Division One North side Grays Athletic on a short-term loan deal with an option to extend.[8] He made only one appearance during his loan spell in a 1–1 draw with Heybridge Swifts before returning to the Daggers.[9] In October 2011, he joined Isthmian League Premier Division side Kingstonian on loan until the end of the season.[10] His debut came in the 3–0 away league defeat to A.F.C. Hornchurch, featuring as a substitute. He scored in his first start for the club, in a 3–1 Isthmian League Cup defeat to Margate. He scored the second in a 2–1 win over Dulwich Hamlet in the London Senior Cup quarter final. In March 2012, he scored the winner in a 2–0 league win over Canvey Island. His final game of his loan spell came in April 2012, in a 5–2 defeat to East Thurrock United. Gayle made a total of 31 appearances in all competitions scoring three goals.
In the summer of 2012, Gayle signed a one-year contract extension. In August 2012, he joined Conference North side Histon on loan until January 2013.[11] He made his debut for the club in a 4–1 home defeat to Guiseley. In October 2011, Histon manager Dennis Greene ended Gayle's loan spell and he returned to Dagenham after picking up an injury playing in a training match for his parent club.[12] In January 2013, Gayle re-joined Isthmian League Premier Division side Kingstonian on loan.[13] He played his first match in a 3–1 away win over Carshalton Athletic. In March, his loan was extended until the end of the season.[14] His final game of the loan spell came against Leiston in a 2–2 draw. He made a total of thirteen appearances in all competitions as Kingstonian finished in mid-table.
In the summer of 2013, Gayle was set to be released, however he impressed in pre-season friendlies against Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace and signed a three-month contract in August with a view to an extension.[15] In November 2013, Gayle returned to Grays Athletic on an initial one-month deal.[16] His first game came in a 1–0 defeat to Canvey Island.[9] In December 2012, his loan was extended for a further month.[17] His final appearance for Grays came in a 3–2 away defeat to Dulwich Hamlet.[9] In January 2014, Gayle returned to the Daggers after his loan spell had been blighted by injuries.[18] In February 2014, Gayle was on the move again joining Conference South side Whitehawk on a one-month loan deal.[19] His debut for the Hawks came in a 2–1 home defeat to Eastbourne Borough.[20] His second and final game for the club came in a 3–1 defeat to Bath City.[20] In April 2014, Gayle finally made his Daggers and Football League debut in a 2–0 defeat to Wycombe Wanderers, replacing Matthew Saunders as a substitute. He went on to make a further three league appearances as the Daggers finished in the top half of the table.[21] In June 2014, he signed a new one-year contract until 2015.[21] After finding it difficult to break into the first team, in November 2014 he was sent to Conference South side St Albans City on an initial one-month.[22] In December 2014, following a 1–0 defeat to Bromley, his loan was extended for a further month.[23] His final game for St Albans came in February 2015, in a 1–1 draw with Basingstoke Town. He returned to Dagenham at the end of the month having made sixteen appearances for the club in all competitions.[24] In August 2015, he re-joined National League South side St Albans City on an initial one-month loan.[25] In November 2015, he joined National League South side Bishop's Stortford on a one-month loan deal.[26] In February 2016, he joined National League side Welling United on loan until the end of the season along with Adeoye Yusuff.[27] In May 2016 as his contract expired, he was released along with eleven players as Dagenham were relegated to the National League.[28]
In August 2016, he signed for National League side Braintree Town on a free transfer following his release by Dagenham.[29] On the opening day of the season, he went onto make his debut during Braintree's 0–0 draw with North Ferriby United, playing the full 90 minutes.[30] Following several major injuries, Gayle's playing time was limited at the National League side and the centre-back only managed to feature just twenty-three more times before leaving for Welling United in June 2017.[31]
On 4 June 2018, following his release from Wealdstone, Gayle joined recently relegated Woking.[32] On the opening day of the 2018–19 campaign, Gayle made his Woking debut during their 1–0 away victory over East Thurrock United, featuring for the entire 90 minutes.[33] Three days later, he scored his first goal for the Surrey-based side, netting the winner in their 2–1 home victory against St Albans City.[34]
In June 2022, Gayle signed for Isthmian Premier Division side Folkestone Invicta for the 2022/2023 campaign.[35]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 2010–11 | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | League Two | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | League Two | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | League Two | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |||
| St Neots Town (loan) | 2010–11 | UCL Premier Division | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Grays Athletic (loan) | 2011–12 | IL Division One North | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Kingstonian (loan) | 2011–12[36] | IL Premier Division | 26 | 1 | — | — | 5[37] | 2 | 31 | 3 | |||
| Histon (loan) | 2012–13[38] | Conference North | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Kingstonian (loan) | 2012–13[39] | IL Premier Division | 12 | 0 | — | — | 1[40] | 0 | 13 | 0 | |||
| Grays Athletic (loan) | 2013–14 | IL Premier Division | 4 | 0 | — | — | 3[41] | 0 | 7 | 0 | |||
| Whitehawk (loan) | 2013–14[42] | Conference South | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| St Albans City (loan) | 2014–15[43] | Conference South | 14 | 0 | — | — | 2[44] | 0 | 16 | 0 | |||
| St Albans City (loan) | 2015–16 | National League South | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| Total | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||||
| Bishop's Stortford (loan) | 2015–16[45] | National League South | 6 | 0 | — | — | 2[46] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |||
| Welling United (loan) | 2015–16 | National League | 16 | 2 | — | — | — | 16 | 2 | ||||
| 2016–17 | National League | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |||
| Welling United | 2017–18 | National League South | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 | ||
| Wealdstone | 2017–18 | National League South | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||||
| Woking | 2018–19 | National League South | 16 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | ||
| Eastbourne Borough | 2019–20 | National League South | 28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[47] | 0 | 33 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | National League South | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | National League South | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |||
| Cray Valley Paper Mills (dual registration) | 2021–22[48] | IL South East Division | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[49] | 0 | 7 | 1 | ||
| Folkestone Invicta | 2022–23[50] | Isthmian Premier Division | 38 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 47 | 9 |
| Career total | 254 | 13 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 2 | 252 | 17 | |||
Woking