Ryan Bird
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ryan Bird[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 15 November 1987[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Slough, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[3] | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Eastleigh | ||
| Number | 26 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Burnham | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2013 | Burnham | 297 | (114) |
| 2013–2014 | Portsmouth | 20 | (3) |
| 2013 | → Havant & Waterlooville (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2014 | → Cambridge United (loan) | 13 | (9) |
| 2014–2015 | Cambridge United | 24 | (6) |
| 2015 | → Hartlepool United (loan) | 6 | (2) |
| 2015–2016 | Yeovil Town | 36 | (8) |
| 2016– | Eastleigh | 15 | (3) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:57, 13 November 2016 (UTC). | |||
Ryan Bird (born 15 November 1987) is an English footballer who plays as a forward for Eastleigh.
Career
Burnham
Bird began his footballing career at Burnham's academy, and was promoted to first team in December 2004. His main position was firstly a central defender, but later moved to a more forward role, establishing himself as a striker.[4] As a part-time footballer, he was also an electrician.[5]
In 2010–11, Bird scored 24 goals and finished the season as the club's topscorer. He signed a new contract with Burnham in June 2011.[6] In 2012–13, Bird scored an impressive mark of 45 goals in 45 matches (41 league goals in 39 matches), being again topscorer as Burnham were crowned champions.[7] At the end of the season, Bird secured two trials at Wycombe Wanderers and Portsmouth. He was also asked to return in pre-season training.[3]
Portsmouth
Bird returned to Portsmouth on a trial basis in early June.[3] On 9 July, he scored twice in a friendly match against Havant & Waterlooville.[8] On the 22nd, Bird revealed on his Twitter account that he had signed a contract with Pompey.[9] A day later, the deal was officially announced, with Bird signing a one-year deal.[10]
Bird made his Portsmouth debut on 6 August, in a 0–1 away defeat against Bournemouth.[11] He was handed his first start on 3 September, in a 0–0 away draw against Torquay for the season's League Trophy.[5] On 19 September, Bird joined Havant & Waterlooville in a one-month loan deal.[12] After appearing three times with the Hawks, he returned to Pompey.
Bird scored his first professional goal on 26 October, in a 1–1 away draw against Torquay.[13] He netted twice in his first league start in the following weekend, in a 3–2 home win over Exeter City.[14] Bird joined Cambridge United on loan on 24 January,[15] and scored twice in the first 16 minutes on his debut against Dartford in the following day.[16] He was instrumental in sending Cambridge to the FA Trophy final for the first time in their history, scoring all three goals over two legs against Grimsby in the semi-finals.[17] Bird scored the first goal in the FA Trophy final tie against Gosport Borough in a 4–0 win at Wembley Stadium.
Bird was recalled by Portsmouth on 27 March, and left the U's after scoring nine goals.[18] However, a groin injury took him out of the season's finale at Pompey, but the club did exercise the one-year extension on his contract on 9 May.
On 1 September 2014 Bird left Pompey by mutual consent,[19] in an attempt to find regular football elsewhere.
Cambridge United
Following his release by Portsmouth, Bird re-signed for Cambridge United on 1 September 2014 on a permanent deal following a spell on loan during the 2013/14 season.[20] On 25 February 2015 he was loaned to fellow league team Hartlepool United in a one-month deal.[21] At the end of the 2014–15 season the club did not offer him a new deal when his contract expired. He is widely regarded as a Cambridge United legend and will always remain special in the fans hearts. He was a great striker who could play with both feet and was versatile in the air. [22]
Yeovil Town
On 14 July 2015, Bird joined League Two side Yeovil Town on a two-year contract.[23]
Eastleigh
On 1 August 2016, Bird signed for National League side Eastleigh.[24]
Career statistics
- As of 4 December 2016.
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other1 | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Burnham | 2009–10 | 40 | 12 | 4 | 0 | — | 9 | 7 | 53 | 19 | |
| 2010–11 | 37 | 19 | 3 | 4 | — | 3 | 1 | 43 | 24 | ||
| 2011–12 | 40 | 8 | 5 | 0 | — | 7 | 2 | 52 | 10 | ||
| 2012–13 | 39 | 42 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 3 | 45 | 45 | ||
| Subtotal2 | 297 | 114 | 13 | 4 | — | 30 | 14 | 340 | 133 | ||
| Portsmouth | 2013–14 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 3 |
| 2014–15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Subtotal | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 3 | |
| Havant & Waterlooville (loan) | 2013–14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Cambridge United (loan) | 2013–14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 9 |
| Cambridge United | 2014–15 | 24 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 5 |
| Subtotal | 33 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 41 | 14 | |
| Hartlepool United (loan) | 2014–15 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| Yeovil Town | 2015–16 | 36 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 43 | 8 |
| Eastleigh | 2016–17 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 4 | — | 0 | 0 | 17 | 7 | |
| Career total | 410 | 140 | 23 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 18 | 475 | 167 | |
1 Including FA Trophy, Berks & Bucks Senior Cup, Red Insure Cup, Wycombe Senior Cup, Southern League play-offs and Football League Trophy.
2 Including all matches since 2004.
References
- ↑ "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/07/2011 and 31/07/2011". The FA. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ↑ "@Ryan7Bird's tweet". Twitter. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- 1 2 3 "Pompey set to run rule over triallists". Portsmouth News. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ↑ Ryan Bird conversion gives Burnham FC lift off; Berkshire News, 29 November 2012
- 1 2 Bird: Goals will come; Portsmouth News, 4 September 2013
- ↑ Burnham FC delight as Bird signs new contract; Maidenhead Advertiser, 2 June 2011
- ↑ Ryan Bird targets professional deal after Burnham FC title win; Slough Observer, 29 April 2013
- ↑ Hawks 0 Pompey 5; Portsmouth FC, 9 July 2013
- ↑ Bird signs contract with Pompey; Portsmouth News, 22 July 2013
- ↑ Pompey Swoop For Bird; Portsmouth FC, 23 July 2013
- ↑ Bournemouth 1–0 Portsmouth; BBC Sport, 6 August 2013
- ↑ Pompey swoop for Marquis; Portsmouth FC, 19 September 2013
- ↑ Torquay 1–1 Portsmouth; BBC Sport, 26 October 2013
- ↑ Portsmouth 3–2 Exeter; BBC Sport, 2 November 2013
- ↑ Transfer window: Cambridge sign Ryan Bird and Josh Gillies;BBC Sport, 25 January 2014
- ↑ Dartford 3–3 Cambridge United; BBC Sport, 25 January 2014
- ↑ United Into FA Trophy Final; Cambridge United Official Web Site, 22 February 2014
- ↑ Ryan Bird Recalled; Cambridge United FC, 27 March 2014
- ↑ Bird leaves Blues; Portsmouth FC, 1 September 2014
- ↑ Transfer deadline day: Cambridge sign Portsmouth's Ryan Bird; BBC Sport, 1 September 2014
- ↑ Ryan Bird: Hartlepool United sign Cambridge United striker; BBC Sport, 25 February 2015
- ↑ "U's retained list confirmed". Cambridge United. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
- ↑ "Ryan Bird: Striker joins Yeovil after leaving Cambridge". BBC Sport. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
- ↑ "Eastleigh FC sign Northampton Town's Ryan Cresswell and Yeovil Town's Ryan Bird". BBC Sport. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
External links
- Ryan Bird career statistics at Soccerbase
- Ryan Bird profile at Soccerway