Ian Gayle

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.[4] In March 2011, Gayle joined United Counties League Premier Division side St Neots Town on a youth loan.[5] He made his debut for the club against Boston Town, coming on as a substitute in a 3–2 win.[5] His first start for the club came in a 5–2 win over Newport Pagnell Town.[5] His final appearance came in an 8–1 away win against Cogenhoe United, as St Neots clinched the league title.[5] 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.[6]

In August 2011, Gayle joined Isthmian League Division One North side Grays Athletic on a short-term loan deal with an option to extend.[7] He made only one appearance during his loan spell in a 1–1 draw with Heybridge Swifts before returning to the Daggers.[8] In October 2011, he joined Isthmian League Premier Division side Kingstonian on loan until the end of the season.[9] His debut came in the 3–0 away league defeat to A.F.C. Hornchurch, featuring as a substitute.[10] He scored in his first start for the club, in a 3–1 Isthmian League Cup defeat to Margate.[10] He scored the second in a 2–1 win over Dulwich Hamlet in the London Senior Cup quarter final.[10] In March 2012, he scored the winner in a 2–0 league win over Canvey Island.[10] His final game of his loan spell came in April 2012, in a 5–2 defeat to East Thurrock United.[10] 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.[12] 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.[13] In January 2013, Gayle re-joined Isthmian League Premier Division side Kingstonian on loan.[14] He played his first match in a 3–1 away win over Carshalton Athletic.[15] In March, his loan was extended until the end of the season.[16] His final game of the loan spell came against Leiston in a 2–2 draw.[15] 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.[17] In November 2013, Gayle returned to Grays Athletic on an initial one-month deal.[18] His first game came in a 1–0 defeat to Canvey Island.[8] In December 2012, his loan was extended for a further month.[19] His final appearance for Grays came in a 3–2 away defeat to Dulwich Hamlet.[8] In January 2014, Gayle returned to the Daggers after his loan spell had been blighted by injuries.[20] In February 2014, Gayle was on the move again joining Conference South side Whitehawk on a one-month loan deal.[21] His debut for the Hawks came in a 2–1 home defeat to Eastbourne Borough.[22] His second and final game for the club came in a 3–1 defeat to Bath City.[22] 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.[23] He went on to make a further three league appearances as the Daggers finished in the top half of the table.[24] In June 2014, he signed a new one-year contract until 2015.[24] 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.[25] In December 2014, following a 1–0 defeat to Bromley, his loan was extended for a further month.[26] His final game for St Albans came in February 2015, in a 1–1 draw with Basingstoke Town.[27] He returned to Dagenham at the end of the month having made sixteen appearances for the club in all competitions.[28] In August 2015, he re-joined National League South side St Albans City on an initial one-month loan.[29] In November 2015, he joined National League South side Bishop's Stortford on a one-month loan deal.[30] In February 2016, he joined National League side Welling United on loan until the end of the season along with Adeoye Yusuff.[31] In May 2016 as his contract expired, he was released along with eleven players as Dagenham were relegated to the National League.[32]

In August 2016, he signed for National League side Braintree Town on a free transfer following his release by Dagenham.[33] 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.[34] 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.[35]

On 4 June 2018, following his release from Wealdstone, Gayle joined recently relegated Woking.[36] 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.[37] 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.[38]

As of match played 14 March 2020

• Ian Gayle at Soccerbase